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Qualification
Follow the Grand Prix Aragon live. This MotoGP race starts at 13:55 on 17 September 2011. Find race results, calendar, standings, scores and all of this season’s MotoGP races.
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Highlights
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We'll be back tomorrow for live commentary of the race - join us at 13:00 UK time for that one!
So a terrific effort from Stoner. He was the quickest almost immediately, and he kept improving. He was quickest on his preferred bike, fell off it, went quicker still on his second bike. He'll go into tomorrow's race the favourite.
Well done Aoyama - he has finished in the top 10 in qualifying for the first time this season - ninth place in Aragon!
Rossi mired in 13th! He'll have plenty of work to do to get through the field tomorrow.
Ninth pole of the season for Stoner! Top four riders are through - can any of the midfielders improve? De Puniet, Simoncelli? Dovizioso?
SESSION OVER! Last laps to be completed - Lorenzo up to fourth, but he won't be on the front row...
One last tilt for every rider. But Pedrosa won't improve - he's lost his line on his last lap...
1:48.451 for Stoner! Still he keeps improving! Pedrosa follows in, three-tenths behind.
Spies flying! But a wobble in the clsoing moments of his lap keeps him stuck in third place - meanwhile Stoner is charging ahead on his second bike!
Dovizioso improves on his fifth, but cannot hold on to fourth. Abraham also beats his best but makes no move up the leaderboard - he's still 13th.
Almost everyone on track - Rossi, de Puniet and Simoncelli making a quick call into the pits before the final push.
Fourth for Lorenzo now - but the fastest man on track at the moment is the man one place behind him, Dovizioso.
Lorenzo improving again from the first sector split. There's plenty of shuffling still to be done to this order.
Yes - fifth - 1:49.640 - but that's still a second down on Stoner. Rossi moves up to ninth, a whisker under 1:50.
Lorenzo is set to improve here, however...
Two men with plenty to do - Lorenzo and Rossi. They lie 12th and 13th at the moment.
Telemetry suggests that Stoner had gone a full half a second quicker than his pole time in the first sector of his last lap before he went off the track - what a time that could have been...
Soft tyres really changing the lap times here. Pedrosa comes back to within four-tenths of his team-mate, while Dovizioso moves to third, until Spies nips back past him. Crutchlow surges into 7th!
Well - he's just broken the two-wheel lap record around Aragon with that effort, a 1:48.663 - but he then slides off the side of the track which takes the gloss off the time just a touch!
WOW! STONER HAS TAKEN ANOTHER 0.5 SECONDS OFF HIS BEST!
Lorenzo closed the gap on Stoner in the championship race last time at Misano, but Stoner has laid down a marker here so far.
Cameras pan to Lorenzo in the pitlane. The shoulders are slumped, and he looks far from happy. He's languishing in ninth at the moment, and needs a strong showing in the next 15 minutes.
Aoyama has shaved a touch off his best time, but he's still just 13th.
There's a really tight battle in midfield - from Bautista in fourth to Capirossi in 15th there's less than a second of difference.
Remember, you can watch the final denouements of the session on British Eurosport 2 LIVE NOW on television, or watch on the
Could Casey Stoner put his feet up already and turn up on pole tomorrow? Or does this session have another twist?
Just seven bikes out on track at the moment - another lull as we near the end of the session.
After bossing Moto2 last season, Toni Elias's sobering season looks set to continue - he's languishing in last place - 17th - a full half a second behind Loris Capirossi.
Bautista, who'd just set a best to move to fourth, has gone still quicker - a 1:50.083 in the Suzuki!
De Puniet has a huge wobble there! Hits the sand very quickly and does remarkably well to hold on to the bike. Heart in mouth moment, but he's alright, and back on the track.
Nicky Hayden has been mighty quiet this afternoon - until now - he leaps up sixth with a much-improved lap. Rossi slips to 10th for the moment.
There's another racer under 1:50! Great effort from de Puniet, who is just two-tenths behind Pedrosa and jumps to third.
Our top 10 as we pass the halfway mark of the session: Stoner, Pedrosa, Spies, Dovizioso, de Puniet, Lorenzo, Simoncelli, Barbera, Rossi, Abraham.
Crutchlow creeping up the leaderboard just a touch here. He dips under 1:51 to move up to 12th position.
All but four bikes are on track, and Rossi has also managed to get back out.
Another note here on Motegi - to quell any fears about racing in Japan, the IRTA plan to monitor radiation levels throughout the weekend.
The camera just above Lorenzo's front wheel shows just how hard the defending world champion is pushing, but he's not making an impression on the timesheets.
A quiet spell at the moment. There's a debate in the commentary box about Rossi's position if he requires another engine. He took his sixth at Misano.
Stoner cannot quite improve his time. No matter - it's up to the likes of Jorge Lorenzo to catch him. Lorenzo almost 1.5 seconds off the pace.
Spies nips into fourth place, but still well adrift, more than a second behind the pole-sitter.
Stoner back out... and he's competing with himself at the moment! First sector time just thousandths of a second quicker than his own best.
Considerably quieter on track at the moment, Simoncelli, Rossi, de Puniet, Dovizioso, Barbera and Crutchlow have all stopped running for the moment.
Pedrosa posts a best time, still 0.453 down on Stoner - but this pair are the only two to have dipped under 1:50s so far.
And as if to prove the point, Spies and Simoncelli nip ahead and drop Rossi to eighth...
Rossi sitting in sixth place at the moment, but with so much time left in the session there's every chance he'll slip down the pecking order...
Randy de Puniet was a surprise 3rd on his Pramac Racing Ducati earlier this morning in practice - we've seen nothing of him so far... but suddenly he finds some extra pace and jumps to 4th place!
After two attempts at a push start, it looks like Rossi will be able to get his bike back to the garage for a once-over...
Rossi is struggling to get his bike back into action - and he's at a bad spot on the track to get back to the pits if there's work to be done - about as far away as he can be...
TROUBLE FOR ROSSI! He's come off his Ducati at the Bus Stop turn - lost the back and that could affect his qualifying.
Stoner still a clear half a second clear of team-mate Pedrosa - Honda looking very good so far.
First wobble of the session! Dani Pedrosa in some trouble at turn one and runs well wide off the track, but manages to hold on.
Slow start from Cal Crutchlow - he's almost three seconds off the pace in 15th spot at the moment.
If qualifying ended here, the top 10 on the grid for tomorrow would be Stoner, Pedrosa, Dovizioso, Lorenzo, Rossi, Abraham, Spies, Simoncelli, Barbera, Bautista...
Stoner, half a lap behind his opponents, comes around and extends the advantage, a belting lap of 1:49.165. Beat that!
Sure enough, Lorenzo shaves a couple of tenths off that time, as does Dani Pedrosa...
Times will come down, though - Stoner put in a 1:49.272 earlier today.
Top time on the board - it's the Australian Casey Stoner. 1:50.904 is the early benchmark.
While Valentino Rossi has also confirmed he will be travelling to Japan.
Talk of the upcoming race in Motegi dominating the discussion in Spain.
The cameras pan to a rather unusual angle of Simoncelli's behind, where his name is written in enormous lettering. If you don't want to miss that (or any of the riding) you can watch
The riders are out nice and early. Stoner, the championship leader, hits the track, and there's movement from Lorenzo as well.
Right - here we go. 60 minutes of action ahead as the riders battle for pole.
Saturday morning practice:
Free Practice 2:
Free Practice 1:
Plenty of news to bring you from Aragon this weekend so far...
Good afternoon everyone and welcome to LIVE comments from MotoGP qualifying in Aragon.