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Qualification
Follow the Grand Prix Czech Republic live. This MotoGP race starts at 13:55 on 13 August 2011. Find race results, calendar, standings, scores and all of this season’s MotoGP races.
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Highlights
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So, Dani Pedrosa claims pole position for the Czech Grand Prix, his first of the season! Thanks for joining us, and be sure to come back for coverage of the main race on Sunday at 13:00!
Pedrosa takes another fraction off his time and goes too 1:56.591. Can Jorge Lorenzo best that on his final lap?... No! The defending champion will start second though, clocking in at 1:56.704. Stoner is third on the grid.
DE PUNIET OFF TOO! The Frenchman has been on the gravel almost as much as on the track this year! Simoncelli goes fifth as Rossi moves up to seventh.
Abraham is back out on track. He's bottom of the chart at the moment, and is unlikely to change that.
Lorenzo flies out of the final turn but he can't beat his own best time, let alone Pedrosa's leading lap. The Spaniard is getting the jump on his rivals up the hill on this circuit.
Ben Spies is only .061 seconds off a place at the front of the grid. This has been a debut season for the American as a Yamaha factory rider.
Pedrosa is still the man to beat with less tham 10 minutes of qualifying to go. Can Lroenzo or Stoner step up to the plate? Abraham is OK, he's hitched a lift back to the pits on the back f a scooter.
NOW KAREL ABRAHAM CRASHES OUT! The Czech rider flies off on his home circuit! Can't see him yet, but the medical staff do not look as though they are responding to an emergency. Let's hope he can recover and race in front of his home crowd tomorrow.
CRUTCHLOW IS OFF! The Brit rider has crashed out of qualifying! He walks away from the incident, but his boke looks in a bit of a state. Where will his time of 1:57.797 see him end up on tomorrow's grid?
Now it's Dani Pedrosa's turn to stake his claim for pole position... 1:56.660! Cracking stuff from the guys at the top of the championship.
BOOM! Lorenzo is the first man to go under 1:57, flying over the line in 1:56.704!
Pedrosa announces a step up in pace for the final quarter of an hour be setting a new quickest mark in a time of 1:57.075! Here we go...
If Stoner does grab pole here, then expect plenty of 'what a great day to celebrate his wife becoming pregnant' comments. Still, congratulations to him.
Lorenzo and Pedrosa are both hard on Stoner's heels now. This could be going to the wire.
Rossi has dropped out of the top 10 as we approach the final third of this qualifying session. Good showing from Britain's Cal Crutchlow.
For the inside track on the wiorld of MotoGP, you could do a lot worse than follow Duncan Bishop's weekly blog right here in this here website.
Stoner shaving a little more of his leading time, dropping it down to 1:57.117. Lorenzo and Pedrosa are his nearest rivals as the top of the timesheet begins to take shape. Andrea Dovizioso, currently third in the championship standings, is sixth-quickest at the moment.
Nico Terol took his fifth pole position of the year with a commanding performance in qualifying for tomorrow's 125s race.
Jorge Lorenzo, Ben Spies and Randy de Puniet have all gone round the circuit 12 times, more than anyone else so far.
No one has yet surpassed the mark set by Stoner some eight minutes ago. All a bit tentative at the moment but it can't be long before riders start to attack.
Here is the weather forecast for the Brno area. conditions looking good for tomorrow's racing.
The track has dried up pretty well since this morning's practice session. Doesn't look as though anymore rain will be bothering the riders today.
Here's a more detailed look at the Brno circuit, courtesy of our friends at Trackpedia:
Rossi has guaranteed "100%" that he will be riding a Ducati next season. The team will surely have to make some progress in the next 12 months if he is to make a similar vow this time next year though.
Stoner is ratcheting up the pace now, going over the line in 1:57.213.
Dani Pedrosa and Hiroshi Aoyama are the only two riders who have been out since the start of this session. Everyone else has been back intot he garage at least once already.
Valentino Rossi is the quickest Ducati thus far, down in 10th.
Pedrosa cracks 1:57 first this lunchtime, crossing the line in 1:57.793.
Some sad news - John Hopkins will miss the Czech Grand Prix after dislocating two fingers in an accident during Saturday morning's final practice session. The American, who was competing as a wildcard entrant for Suzuki at Brno, fell at Turn 3 in wet conditions and complained of pains in his hand as he returned to the garage.
Marci Simoncelli continues to set the pace at the moment. Think he wants his qualifying lap out of the way early. The Italian is passing every second mark before the rest of the pack.
In the 125s, Nicolas Terol returned to the top of the timesheets in the wet ahead of his rival for the title Johann Zarco.
Earlier on Saturday in Moto2, Marc Marquez took the title fight to Stefan Bradl by topping a wet final practice.
Stoner checks in at sub-2:00, clocking in at 1:59.753.
Stoner's best time in practice was 2:07.321. So far Toni Elias is quickest with a lap of 2:00.670.
Plenty of big names out on the track already, including Lorenzo, Rossi, Stoner and Pedrosa, but as yet no one is going out for a flying lap. Get those tyres warm first, chaps.
The Masaryk Circuit at Brno is 5.403km long, with eight right-hand turns and five lefts.
The clock has started ticking, and the hour-long qualifying session has begun!
Stoner is now open to the idea of competing at the Japanese Grand Prix, having previously said that racing at the Motegi event was out of the question. He told Autosport.com: "In these past weeks I've taken a lot of data from Australia from people we feel we can trust on the matter. And I'm now slightly more open to it than I was before. I'm not saying I'm going, but I'm not saying I'm not either. In the next few weeks we'll continue talking."
Remember you can watch the action LIVe right now on British Eurosport 2 or on your PC via the Eurosport Player. Of course, just because you are watching it doesn't mean you have to abandon my live comments!
With eight races to go this season, Stoner is currently 20 points ahead of defending champion Jorge Lorenzo in the standings.
On Friday, championship leader Casey Stoner bounced back from an early crash to set the pace in a wet final practice session at Brno.
Welcome to Eurosport-Yahoo!'s live coverage of qualifying for the Czech Republic Moto GP at Brno!