MotoGP championship leader Casey Stoner bagged his fourth pole position in a row in yesterday's qualifying session for the San Marino Grand Prix.

The Ducati rider recorded a time of one minute 33.918 seconds, with Italian Valentino Rossi second in 1:34.094.

"I wasn't so happy with the lap and didn't expect to be in pole position but there we go," Australian Stoner said.

Stoner leads Yamaha's Rossi by 60 points in the championship with six races remaining.

World champion Nicky Hayden of the US will start third on the grid at Misano while Frenchman Randy de Puniet grabbed fourth spot.

Honda's Marco Melandri, who crashed heavily in yesterday's earlier practice session having been quickest on Friday in wet conditions, was only 12th fastest in qualifying.

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