Casey Stoner on his Repsol Honda stormed to pole position at the Mugello race track in Italy for tomorrow’s Italian Grand Prix. There was a threat of rain with dark clouds hovering over the circuit and all riders made a dash to the circuit to try and get in their best lap times in the dry. The rain did come about forty minutes into the one hour qualifying session. Casey Stoner took pole and in the dry it was Yamaha’s Ben Spies who took second place and Marco Simoncelli on the factory spec San Carlo Gresini Honda took third place on the grid. Fourth place went to Stoner’s Repsol Honda teammate Andrea Dovizioso and fifth on the grid will be Yamaha’s Jorge Lorenzo who could not repeat the speeds that he had shown in the free practice in the morning. Colin Edwards and Cal Crutchlow of the Monster Tech3 Yamaha took sixth and seventh and Dani Pedrosa returning from an injury after three weeks could manage eighth on the grid on the third Repsol Honda. Ninth place on the grid went to Nicky Hayden on the factory Marlboro Ducati while tenth went to Hector Barbera on the Mappfre Ducati of team Aspar while Karel Abraham took eleventh on the Cardion AB Ducati while Valentino Rossi on the other factory Ducati could only manage twelfth with no end in sight for his qualifying miseries. The non factory spec San Carlo Gresini Honda of Hiroshi Aoyama took thirteenth while Alvaro Bautista on the lone Rizla Suzuki finished in 14th place ahead of Pramac Ducati’s Randy De Puniet in fifteenth and Tony Elias sixteenth and last on the LCR Honda.