Drought-Dwellers Dominate in The Rain

Australian Casey Stoner has upstaged veteran Valentino Rossi in his 200th race start at Donnington. Stoner managed to secure pole with a time of 1′38.232. Six-tenths of a second faster than the bi-centenarian who starts from second. Chris Vermeulen joins Rossi and Stoner on the front row, once again proving his affinity for wet weather racing.

For a nation that is essentially a desert, Australia made a good showing, with Anthony West starting from 7th on the grid. It’s a good result for the troubled Kawasaki rider who has so far failed to match the stellar results of his maiden MotoGP season.

Also putting in welcome strong performances are Nicky Hayden in fourth on the new pneumatic valve engine Honda, Loris Capirossi replacement Ben Spies on the Rizla Suzuki in 11th and JiR Team Scott rider Andrea Dovisio in 6th place. Colin Edwards is the best placed of the non-factory riders in fifth.

This race is the first time this season Bridgestone riders have claimed the front row of the grid, and in a display of parity between the manufacturers, four marques are represented in the first four positions on the grid.