• Australian's eighth pole of the year set in 1min 33.138sec
• Jorge Lorenzo, just 0.12 behind, starts in second

Casey Stoner underlined his MotoGP title credentials with a blistering lap to take pole position for Sunday's San Marino Grand Prix at Misano.

The Repsol Honda rider, winner of the past three races and seven in total this season, took the 30th top spot of his MotoGP career with a time of 1min 33.138sec, a mark that bettered his own lap record around the circuit, set in 2008. "It's been a pretty good weekend for us here, steadily improving the bike each session," he said. "It will be a tough race. I'll try to get a good start but there are a few more overtaking opportunities here at Misano; it's not a track with only one line."

Stoner's eighth pole of the year came at the expense of title rival Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha), whose late bid for top spot fell short by 0.12sec. "Today has been a good day for us," said reigning world champion Lorenzo, who trails Stoner by 44 points with six races remaining. "We wanted pole position but the first row is a good start for tomorrow.

"I think we can be competitive. The weather conditions are being very tough this weekend, it might even rain. The race will be very difficult in all aspects."

In a session run in sweltering heat, Stoner's team-mate Dani Pedrosa, who won this race from pole position last season, took third place in a time of 1:33.318.

The second factory Yamaha of Ben Spies will start from the front of the second row, where he will be joined by Marco Simoncelli (Honda Gresini) and Andrea Dovizioso (Repsol Honda).

Colin Edwards (Yamaha Tech 3) will line up seventh, ahead of Alvaro Bautista (Rizla Suzuki) and Héctor Barberá (Mapfre Aspar), with Hiroshi Aoyama (Honda Gresini) completing the top 10.

Britain's Cal Crutchlow (Yamaha Tech 3) suffered a late crash and managed only 13th, one place ahead of Randy de Puniet (Pramac Racing) who also recovered from an accident earlier in the session.

It was a miserable day for the factory Ducati riders. Valentino Rossi, normally so strong at Misano, could only manage 11th, and team-mate Nicky Hayden 15th.

Leading final positions after final qualifying:

1 C Stoner (Aus) Honda 1min 33.138sec

2 J Lorenzo (Spa) Yamaha 1:33.258

3 D Pedrosa (Spa) Honda 1:33.318

4 B Spies (US) Yamaha 1:33.947

5 M Simoncelli (Ita) Honda 1:33.990

6 A Dovizioso (Ita) Honda 1:34.026

7 C Edwards (US) Yamaha 1:34.054

8 A Bautista (Spa) Suzuki 1:34.360

9 H Barbera (Spa) Ducati 1:34.592

10 H Aoyama (Jpn) Honda 1:34.637

11 V Rossi (Ita) Ducati 1:34.676

12 K Abraham (Cze) Ducati 1:34.727

13 C Crutchlow (GB) Yamaha 1:34.791

14 R De Puniet (Fra) Ducati 1:34.870

15 N Hayden (US) Ducati 1:34.955.