Honda LCR rider Casey Stoner will start from seventh on the third row of the grid for tomorrow’s Valencia Grand Prix. Stoner’s fastest lap of 1’31.47 was just 0.468s off pole position, claimed by Valentino Rossi. Stoner felt this was his best qualifying run of the season after being supplied the latest evolution qualifying tyre from Michelin -- just one tyre for his final lap.

After missing this morning's free practice session because of muscular back pain, Stoner was quickly on the pace as he continued to fine tune his race set-up. Following treatment at the Clinica Mobile and scans at Valencia hospital, Stoner says he is ready to take his place on the grid. Qualifying was held in sunny and warm conditions with a sell-out crowd expected for the race.

“Considering Casey missed practice this morning I am very happy with this result. Casey was able to improve his qualifying performance using a special type of qualifying tyre supplied by Michelin. He liked this tyre very much but only had one of them for qualifying”.

“I did the best qualifying lap I’ve ever done compared to my times on race tyres after finally getting a decent qualifying tyre. And I made a small mistake on my fast lap and lost 0.2s, which would have put me up in the top four positions. But I’m close to the front, and not 14th, which is where I was before I got that new tyre from Michelin. The tyre felt more predictable and didn't upset the bike. My back is OK when I am riding so that’s OK. This race is always close in qualifying but a lot riders drop-off towards the end; I’m just going out to do my own thing in the final race of the season”.