Casey Stoner took a sensational pole during the qualifying session for the 2012 Dutch MotoGP in Assen. Stoner put on a brilliant lap on a drying track in the session’s closing minutes to snatch pole away from team-mate Pedrosa who denied Jorge Lorenzo 2nd place.
Moto2 champion and LCR Honda driver Stefan Bradl took his best MotoGP qualifying position in fourth place, ahead of Cal Crutchlow’s Tech 3 Yamaha in fifth.
Ben Spies fell back to sixth, with Cal Crutchlow’s team-mate Andrea Dovizioso seventh and Alvaro Bautista settling for eighth after crashing at the end of the session.
Ducati duo Nicky Hayden and Valentino Rossi completed the final top 10 spots.
Pos Rider Team/Bike Time Gap 1. Casey Stoner Honda 1m33.713s 2. Dani Pedrosa Honda 1m33.828s + 0.115s 3. Jorge Lorenzo Yamaha 1m34.001s + 0.288s 4. Stefan Bradl LCR Honda 1m34.035s + 0.322s 5. Cal Crutchlow Tech 3 Yamaha 1m34.486s + 0.773s 6. Ben Spies Yamaha 1m34.644s + 0.931s 7. Andrea Dovizioso Tech 3 Yamaha 1m34.698s + 0.985s 8. Alvaro Bautista Gresini Honda 1m34.722s + 1.009s 9. Nicky Hayden Ducati 1m34.751s + 1.038s 10. Valentino Rossi Ducati 1m35.057s + 1.344s 11. Hector Barbera Pramac Ducati 1m35.289s + 1.576s 12. Randy de Puniet Aspar Aprilia 1m35.830s + 2.117s 13. Aleix Espargaro Aspar Aprilia 1m36.007s + 2.294s 14. Michele Pirro Gresini FTR-Honda 1m36.647s + 2.934s 15. Mattia Pasini Speed Master Aprilia 1m36.943s + 3.230s 16. Danilo Petrucci Ioda-Aprilia 1m36.967s + 3.254s 17. Karel Abraham Cardion Ducati 1m37.110s + 3.397s 18. Yonny Hernandez Avintia FTR-Kawasaki 1m37.191s + 3.478s 19. James Ellison Paul Bird Aprilia 1m37.281s + 3.568s 20. Ivan Silva Avintia Inmotec-Kawasaki 1m37.554s + 3.841s 21. Colin Edwards Forward Suter-BMW 1m38.305s + 4.592s