"I'm still hungry to win and get pole positions, after all this is why I line up to go racing" – Casey Stoner.
Casey Stoner may have won the 2011 MotoGP title two rounds ago, but the Australian proved his motivation hasn't dipped by sliding his RCV to pole position for the Valencia season finale - with a one-second advantage!
In the process, Stoner equalled countryman Mick Doohan's record of 12 pole positions in a single season.
"Of course I'm really happy with pole position today, I'm still hungry to win and get pole positions, after all this is why I line up to go racing," said Stoner. "Winning the Championship is the bonus at the end of the season, but I still try my best in every session and every race.
"There was a little rain in the sessions today and it was hard to know where to push. We felt comfortable though and the feeling in the bike was pretty good, with a similar set up to the test we had here last year and we put in a good lap.
"Now we'll have to see what the weather does tomorrow and take it from there, but we remain confident".
Stoner, the most successful rider of the 800cc era, will be aiming to win his tenth race of the season.
Starting second on the grid will be home favourite and Repsol Honda team-mate Dani Pedrosa.
"Casey was very fast and consistent," he admitted. "I'm happy with second position on the grid, it's a good place to start, but I'm not totally satisfied with the set up of the bike yet, we need to improve the front tonight with the mechanics. I want to have a good race tomorrow, it's the last one and in front on my fans, so I'll do my best to finish the season in the best way".
source: crash
