MotoGP: Qualifying Trouble for Ducati at the San Marino GP

With sunny weather finally becoming the status quo for MotoGP race weekends, the Adriatic track of Misano, Italy is playing host to the San Marino GP this weekend. Immediately following the Indianapolis GP, it seems little has changed in the past six days since the last US round. At the front of the week’s time slips have been the Hondas of Casey Stoner (setting another “best lap” record in Qualifying) and Dani Pedrosa, with moments of hope coming from the factory Yamahas of Jorge Lorenzo and Ben Spies.

Noticeably at the rear of the pack is a gaggle of Ducatis, which sees even the G.O.A.T. that is Valentino Rossi struggle against the non-works GP11/10s of Hector Barbera, Karel Abraham, and Randy de Puniet. Nicky Hayden has also struggled, while Pramac Ducati’s Loris Capirossi is likely just marking time until he can step away from his satellite Ducati, as the legendary Italian GP rider announced his retirement on Thursday at the pre-race conference.

Qualifying Results from the San Marino GP at Misano:

Pos.	No.	Rider	Nation	Team	Time	Diff.
1	27	Casey STONER	AUS	Repsol Honda Team	1’33.138	–
2	1	Jorge LORENZO	SPA	Yamaha Factory Racing	1’33.258	0.120
3	26	Dani PEDROSA	SPA	Repsol Honda Team	1’33.318	0.180
4	11	Ben SPIES	USA	Yamaha Factory Racing	1’33.947	0.809
5	58	Marco SIMONCELLI	ITA	San Carlo Honda Gresini	1’33.990	0.852
6	4	Andrea DOVIZIOSO	ITA	Repsol Honda Team	1’34.026	0.888
7	5	Colin EDWARDS	USA	Monster Yamaha Tech 3	1’34.054	0.916
8	19	Alvaro BAUTISTA	SPA	Rizla Suzuki MotoGP	1’34.360	1.222
9	8	Hector BARBERA	SPA	Mapfre Aspar Team MotoGP	1’34.592	1.454
10	7	Hiroshi AOYAMA	JPN	San Carlo Honda Gresini	1’34.637	1.499
11	46	Valentino ROSSI	ITA	Ducati Team	1’34.676	1.538
12	17	Karel ABRAHAM	CZE	Cardion AB Motoracing	1’34.727	1.589
13	35	Cal CRUTCHLOW	GBR	Monster Yamaha Tech 3	1’34.791	1.653
14	14	Randy DE PUNIET	FRA	Pramac Racing Team	1’34.870	1.732
15	69	Nicky HAYDEN	USA	Ducati Team	1’34.955	1.817
16	65	Loris CAPIROSSI	ITA	Pramac Racing Team	1’35.502	2.364
17	24	Toni ELIAS	SPA	LCR Honda MotoGP	1’36.167	3.029