MUGELLO, Italy, May 30 (Reuters) - MotoGP championship leader Jorge Lorenzo took pole position for Sunday's Italian Grand Prix thanks to a flying penultimate lap in qualifying on Saturday.
The 22-year-old Spaniard, who has won two of the season's four races so far, clocked 1:48.987 on his Yamaha, 0.021 seconds faster than the time Australia's Casey Stoner managed on his Ducati.
Italy's Loris Capirossi of Suzuki completes the front row, while world champion Valentino Rossi will start his bid for an eighth consecutive win at his home grand prix from the second row.
Rossi, who is joint second with 2007 champion Stoner in the standings, a point behind his Yamaha team mate Lorenzo, registered a fourth best time of 1:49.148 after leading for most of the qualifying session.
The Italian six-times premier class world champion is aiming to bounce back after finishing a dreadful 16th at the French Grand Prix earlier this month.
Honda's Dani Pedrosa, who is nine points behind his compatriot Lorenzo in fourth overall, finished qualifying eighth after hurting his leg earlier on Saturday when he took a knock on a curve in practice. (Reporting by Paul Virgo in Rome, editing by Rex Gowar; to query/comment on story email sportsfeedback@thomsonreuters.com)
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