Lorenzo puts Yamaha on pole position in US

MOTO GP: MotoGP championship leader Jorge Lorenzo put Yamaha on pole position at the US Grand Prix after a tight, fluctuating battle with Ducati's Australian Casey Stoner in qualifying.

Lorenzo secured the top slot with a best lap of one minute 20.978 seconds at a sun-soaked Laguna Seca circuit, with Stoner second in 1:21.169 and Honda's Italian Andrea Dovizioso third in 1:21.617.

It was the 23-year-old Spaniard's fifth consecutive pole, the 14th of his MotoGP career, and left him ideally placed to stretch his 47-point overall lead on Sunday when he will bid for his sixth victory of the season.

American Ben Spies at least gave the home fans something to celebrate by finishing fifth on his Yamaha, just 0.024 seconds behind Honda's Spaniard Dani Pedrosa, winner of last week's German Grand Prix at the Sachsenring.