Ducati's Stoner claims fifth consecutive pole at Laguna Seca

Australia's world champion Casey Stoner broke the lap record and claimed his fifth consecutive pole position at the US MotoGP late on Saturday in California.

The Ducati rider, seeking his fourth consecutive win on the 11th stop of the series, completed the Laguna Seca course in one minute, 20.700 seconds, nearly two seconds faster than the lap record he set last year.

Yamaha's Valentino Rossi, of Italy, the four-times world champion, was second, 0.447 slower than the pole-setter. Honda's Nicky Hayden, of the US, completed the front row, qualifying 0.730 slower than Stoner.

There were several crashes during the early qualifying session, but 18 riders advanced to the race.

Honda's Dani Pedrosa withdrew from the race due to the effects of left wrist and hand injuries suffered during last week's race in Germany.