Australia's world champion Casey Stoner took his second consecutive pole position at the British MotoGP yesterday, edging out championship leader Valentino Rossi.

Stoner, who recorded his first pole of the season at the Catalan Grand Prix two weeks ago before finishing third, set the pace with a time of 1:38.232 on his Ducati, over six-tenths of a second quicker than Yamaha rider Rossi.

In heavy rain, Australia's Chris Vermeulen was third fastest on a Suzuki to make his first appearance on the front row this season.

The American pair of Nicky Hayden and Colin Edwards make up the second row for today's race alongside Italian Andrea Dovizioso.

Spain's Dani Pedrosa, Rossi's nearest championship rival who trails by seven points, finished ninth.

Fellow-Spaniard Jorge Lorenzo, a distant third overall and 42 points behind after seven races, finished 17th making a cautious return after fracturing both ankles last month.

In the 125cc category, Simone Corsi of Italy cruised to pole position ahead of world champion, Hungarian Gabor Talmacsi and Spaniard Sergio Gadea.