USA GP - Qualifying Practice
STORMING STONER ON POLE AT LAGUNA,CAPIROSSI GRABS
A SECOND-ROW START
 Ducati
Team riders Casey Stoner and Loris Capirossi rode a superb
qualifying session at sunny Laguna Seca this afternoon, setting
the fastest and sixth fastest times around the rollercoaster
Californian racetrack.
World Championship leader Stoner continued his amazing form
which has seen him lead all four sessions here, his best lap
at the end of qualifying more than two tenths ahead of his
closest rival. It was a particularly impressive performance
from the stunningly quick Australian who ran off the track
at turn six during his first run on qualifiers, but superbly
maintained his composure to win pole position in the final
moments of the session, then better his time once more on
his final lap. This is Stoner's third pole of the year and
his second in a row.
Capirossi also came on strong this afternoon, moving up to
sixth quickest, six tenths off pole, after some rewarding
set-up work during the first three sessions. This is the Italian's
best qualifying performance since last month's Italian Grand
Prix.
CASEY STONER, pole position, 1m 22.292s
"We basically did at least race distance this morning,
then we were pretty much using all the old tyres we had to
get a better set-up for the last part of the race. We were
still doing high 1m 22s on tyres with 32 or 33 laps on them,
which isn't too bad, so I'm feeling pretty confident for tomorrow.
On my out lap with my first qualifier I held up Dani [Pedrosa],
I looked behind me and there were a bunch of riders waiting
to get a tow, I didn't know who was going fast or slow, so
my apologies. Then I made a big mistake going into turn six,
I went up too many gears and ran in there with a little bit
too much pace, so that run didn't really go to plan. I came
back out with a second qualifying tyre, I wasn't feeling too
confident because I'd had a couple of front tucks on the run
before, but we managed to pull it off. The qualifying tyre
was pretty good for two laps. I'm really happy."
LORIS CAPIROSSI, sixth fastest, 1m 22.914s
"I'm quite satisfied with the second row. I'm still losing
some time through the third and fourth splits because my riding
style doesn't really suit the second half of the track. Anyway,
I love the circuit and I've got a good race pace, so I feel
like I should be able to fight for a good result tomorrow.
It's important to be near the front of the grid here because
overtaking is difficult. It's also the kind of track where
it's very easy to make mistakes, so tomorrow I want to start
well and get into a good rhythm, so I don't have too push
too hard."
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