In front of thousands of his supporters, local hero Casey Stoner took pole position and set a new record for the next MotoGP Australian Grand Prix at Phillip Island. The Ducati ace was able to make his record lap in the final stages of the qualifying session.

The results could have been different since Nicky Hayden (Honda) dominated most of the session, even managing to set a new record before it was again broken by Stoner. Fiat Yamaha's Jorge Lorenzo was also sitting near the top with also a remarkable time.

As it was the case with the 2007 MotoGP champion, Lorenzo went out a last time and was able to finish ahead of Nicky Hayden.

LCR Honda's Randy de Puniet put in a superb lap at the end of the session to secure the first position on the second row, followed by James Toseland (Tech 3 Yamaha) and the second Repsol Honda of Dani Pedrosa.

Valentino Rossi crashed his Yamaha after going off the track exiting Southern Loop with fifteen minutes remaining. The Italian fell hard on the gravel but was able to get back on the track at the very end. He finished 12th.

Qualifying Results:

Pos Rider Bike Time
1. Casey Stoner Ducati (B) 1:28.665
2. Jorge Lorenzo Yamaha (M) 1:28.734 + 0.069
3. Nicky Hayden Honda (M) 1:28.756 + 0.091
4. Randy de Puniet Honda (M) 1:28.808 + 0.143
5. James Toseland Yamaha (M) 1:29.031 + 0.366
6. Dani Pedrosa Honda (B) 1:29.277 + 0.612
7. Colin Edwards Yamaha (M) 1:29.513 + 0.848
8. Andrea Dovizioso Honda (M) 1:29.558 + 0.893
9. Shinya Nakano Honda (B) 1:29.710 + 1.045
10. Alex de Angelis Honda (B) 1:29.925 + 1.260
11. Loris Capirossi Suzuki (B) 1:29.942 + 1.277
12. Valentino Rossi Yamaha (B) 1:30.014 + 1.349
13. Toni Elias Ducati (B) 1:30.202 + 1.537
14. Sylvain Guintoli Ducati (B) 1:30.297 + 1.632
15. Chris Vermeulen Suzuki (B) 1:30.545 + 1.880
16. John Hopkins Kawasaki (B) 1:31.157 + 2.492
17. Marco Melandri Ducati (B) 1:31.939 + 3.274
18. Anthony West Kawasaki (B) 1:31.995 + 3.330