Honda’s Marco Simoncelli will start on pole for Saturday’s Dutch MotoGP after the Italian rider topped qualifying here on Friday. Simoncelli, seeking his first MotoGP win, is joined on the front row by Yamaha’s Ben Spies of the United States and the Honda of Australian Casey Stoner. He gained his second pole of the season after Catalunya with a time of 1 min 34.718, to edge Spies by .009s.
“It’s great to be on the front row at this special event (Yamaha’s 50th anniversary), I’m still a little disappointed as I had a shot at pole, but front row is fine for me,” Spies told eurosport. Spain’s reigning world champion Jorge Lorenzo, second to Stoner in this season’s championship race, Andrea Dovizioso and British rookie Cal Crutchow, Lorenzo’s teammate, start on the second row.
Stoner, who won here three years ago, goes into Saturday’s race aiming to follow up his success at Silverstone last time out and cement his place at the head of the riders’ standings. Lorenzo is 18 points behind the Australian after crashing out of the British GP on June 12. Valentino Rossi took 11th on his Ducati while his Italian compatriot Loris Capirossi may miss the race after a crash on his Pramac. In Moto2, championship leader Stean Bradl of Germany set himself up for his fifth win of the season with the fastest time. Spain’s Maverick Vinales starts from pole in the 125cc race.
Simoncelli grabs pole in Assen
