Stoner tops Valencia GP qualifying; Rossi 4th

Casey Stoner will start the season-ending Valencia Grand Prix from pole position after edging Moto GP champion Jorge Lorenzo in qualifying on Saturday. 

The Australian Ducati rider brushed off a run-off from earlier in the session to set a quickest lap of 1 minute, 31.799 seconds. That was 0.331 seconds faster than Spanish rival Lorenzo, who led for most of the session on his Yamaha. 

Lorenzo is vying for his ninth victory of the season and first at the Cheste circuit. Stoner, who won here two years ago, goes for his fourth win of the season, with the other three coming in the past five races. 

Marco Simoncelli starts third for Honda while Valentino Rossi will start fourth in his final race for Yamaha after seven seasons with the team. The Italian rider - who won four championships with the Japanese manufacturer - has a slim chance of overtaking Dani Pedrosa to finish the season second before his switch over to Ducati next year. 

Marc Marquez put himself in prime position to win the 125cc championship after topping closest rival Nicolas Terol by just over one-tenth of a second in qualifying to start from pole Sunday. Marquez leads Terol by 17 points.