Spain's Jorge Lorenzo edged defending MotoGP champion Casey Stoner of Australia in qualifying Saturday to claim pole position for Sunday's Grand Prix of Japan. Lorenzo, riding a Yamaha, clocked a time of 1 minute, 45.543 seconds for the fastest ever lap on the 4.8-kilometer Twin Ring Motegi course, .288 seconds ahead of Stoner. American Nicky Hayden, the 2006 world champion, was third-fasted with a time of 1.45.971. Italy's Valentino Rossi, who will attempt to clinch his sixth world championship on Sunday, was fourth in 1.46.060. It was the fourth pole of the season for Lorenzo. His last was in Portugal, where he went on to win. “It was an amazing lap. I didn't think I could do it. But after the first qualifying today, I thought maybe I had a chance,” Lorenzo said. “This is a very good result for us.” Rossi, who last won a world championship in 2005, can wrap up the title with a podium finish. He holds an 87-point lead over Stoner with four races left this season. Rossi has won seven races this year, including four straight from the United States Grand Prix in July. Stoner wrapped up the 2007 MotoGP world championship at Motegi with a sixth-place finish last year, when Rossi ran off the course with four laps to go to come 13th. Rossi's only victory at Motegi came in 2001. In the 125cc division, Mike Di Meglio of France took his first career pole with a time of 1.58.678 on a Derbi. Italy's Marco Simoncelli took pole position for the 250cc race, finishing with a fast lap of 1.51.473. Japan's Hiroshi Aoyama was second with a time of 1.51.719.
