Repsol Honda's Casey Stoner just stole MotoGP pole position from reigning world champion Jorge Lorenzo at Misano this afternoon, breaking the lap record with a 1'33.138 but the Spaniard was only a tenth slower with Dani Pedrosa only another fraction further back.
Stoner set his time with a little over ten minutes remaining and Lorenzo looked to have the measure of it but kept losing time in the last sector and had to settle for a 1'33.258 with Pedrosa 0.60s further back to complete the front row.
Nine-time world champion Valentino Rossi could only manage a fourth-row start in 11th place and is 1.5s slower than old enemy Stoner while team-mate Nicky Hayden is in even more trouble than that, being on the back row and three tenths further back.
San Carlo Honda's Marco Simoncelli is currently winning the battle of the HRC grovellers, staying ahead of Andrea Dovizioso in fifth but he has yet to beat his lifelong rival in the blue riband class. Colin Edwards banged in a last lap to go seventh just ahead of Alvaro Bautista on the Rizla Suzuki.
Once again Hector Barbera is the leading Ducati rider in ninth while Hiro Aoyama found some speed to round out the top ten. Rossi is just ahead of Karel Abraham and Britain's Cal Crutchlow finished in 13th after a fall at the end of the session.
