Stoner takes pole for final home MotoGP

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Stoner takes pole for final home MotoGP

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Stoner will retire at the age of 27 at the end of the season.

27 October,2012 10:52 am

Casey Stoner will start his final home MotoGP race in pole position for Sundays Australian Grand Prix.Aiming for his sixth successive win at Phillip Island and racing just weeks after surgery on his right ankle, Stoner overcame a crash to clock 1 minute, 29.623 seconds in Saturdays sole qualifying session on the 4.445-kilometer (2.76-mile) circuit.Stoner, who will retire at the age of 27 at the end of the season, was ahead of Yamahas championship leader Jorge Lorenzo (1:30.140) and Stoners Honda teammate Dani Pedrosa (1:30.575).Lorenzo leads Pedrosa by 23 points in the championship going into Sundays race, with the final race of the season scheduled for Valencia, Spain on Nov. 11 The Spaniards are the only two riders who can win the MotoGP title.