Pole present for super Stoner

Home favourite Casey Stoner celebrated his 25th birthday by claiming pole position for the Australian Grand Prix at Phillip Island.

Stoner delighted the local fans who braved the cold and windy conditions to set a time of one minute 30.107 seconds and edge ahead of new MotoGP world champion Jorge Lorenzo.

Lorenzo's Yamaha had been quickest in miserable conditions in practice on Friday, but Stoner topped the timesheets by 0.6secs in his Ducati when it mattered most.

American Ben Spies (Yamaha) took third on the grid but Valentino Rossi, still struggling with his shoulder injury despite winning in Malaysia last week, was down in eighth place.

"We've got to wait and see what the weather is going to do Sunday," said Stoner, who has won the last three races on his home track.

"So far we've done the best work we can do in every condition.

"We improved a lot in the last 30 minutes this morning and with the last two soft tyres we were able to improve substantially."

Lorenzo admitted the conditions had made life tricky for the riders, adding: "The track is so cold and the wind is pushing a lot so it's difficult to keep on the bike.

"I'm happy with the pace because normally this track is not so good for me.

"We have done the second best pace so let's hope there is no rain Sunday and we'll see what happens."