Aussie one-two at Assen -ozzy go- sportal.com.au

Australia's wonder in the wet Chris Vermeulen produced the
goods in damp conditions once again, taking pole for the Dutch
MotoGP during the qualifying session at Assen ahead of Ducati
compatriot Casey Stoner.

In some typically rainy Dutch summer conditions, Rizla Suzuki's
Vermeulen produced the third pole position of his career with a
time of 1:48.555 to be 17 thousandths of a second ahead of
current MotoGP World Championship leader Stoner.

Vermeulen has become something of a wet weather specialist,
having won the rain-soaked French grand prix last month, but the
Australian is apparently keen to shed this tag and deliver some
top results in dry conditions.

As Vermeulen has previously won two Superbikes races at Assen,
the Dutch track is probably the best place to do this, but as the
circuit has been substantially modified since Vermeulen had his
wins, he will still have his work cut out for him to beat Stoner,
who is running hot after winning the last two MotoGPs in
spectacular style at Catalunya and Donington.

Once again, Stoner demonstrated the power and consistency of
his Ducati Desmodeci GP7, taking second position on the grid with
a time of 1:48.57 while impressive Kawasaiki rider Randy de
Puniet once again put aside the pain in his injured knee to claim
third through a time of 1:49.579.

Fourth position on the grid went to Honda Gresini's Marco Melandri
who put on a late burst to advance up the grid after languishing
behind the pace setters for much of the qualifying session, but the
Italian will be without Spanish team-mate Toni Elias who broke his
leg during an earlier practice session.

Vermeulen's Suzuki team-mate John Hopkins, who took pole at
this race in 2006, was fifth fastest during qualifying while
Australian MotoGP newcomer Anthony West produced another
impressive performance to take seventh with a time of 1:49.807
in just his second ride in the wet on Kawasaki's 800cc bike.

Rizla Suzuki.com
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