For the sixth time in eight rounds the MotoGP paddocks were hit by rain today as the clouds burst over Donington Park for the final free practice and qualifying sessions. Defending champoing Casey Stoner (Ducati Xerox), the fastest man in the dry yesterday, splashed his way to pole position for the second time in as many races. Valentino Rossi (Fiat Yamaha) managed second position on the grid - 0.649 seconds behind. Chris Vermeulen (Rizla Suzuki) showed his skills in the wet and is also on the 1st row - a first this season.

Nicky Hayden (Repsol Honda) piloted his pneumatic-valve Honda RV212V well in wet conditions - taking 4th position. Hayden had been told that he could only use the motor on the condition of a top four placing - the 2006 World Champion once again upheld his part of the bargain. Colin Edwards (Yamaha Tech 3) was the best satellite in 5th place, having much more success than his team-mate Toseland who suffered two crashes on his home circuit and qualified 1th - his worst starting position this season.

Andrea Dovizioso (JiR Scot) piloted his Honda to 7th position - in front of wet-weather specialist, Anthony West (Kawasaki Racing). Two time defending AMA champion Ben Spies impressed on his maiden MotoGP qualifying by taking 8th position on the Rizla Suzuki.

Casey Stoner - Ducati Xerox - Pole
We've always had a good setting with this bike for wet conditions but we managed to find a little bit extra today and I was able to get into a fast and consistent rhythm with a good feeling. Obviously I'm happy to have set this pace in the wet and to be on pole position by such a margin but the most pleasing aspect for us so far this weekend has been the bike's performance in the dry yesterday. The work we did at Barcelona has made it a lot easier to ride, it's a lot smoother and that gave me confidence to push it in wet conditions, which is important. You can never trust the weather forecast here so we'll just sleep on it and see what we get in the morning. Whatever it is I'm confident.

Valentino Rossi - Fiat Yanaha - 2nd
I'm so happy with this qualifying result and it's very important for us that we're on the front row tomorrow. We know that our Bridgestone tyres are very fast in the wet but this morning we had some problems with the setting and honestly I was quite concerned! Anyway, we made some important changes to the set-up for the afternoon and straight away the balance was better and I was able to open the throttle when I wanted to, in fact I had a lot of fun! With more small modifications throughout qualifying things got even better and lap-by-lap we were able to get faster, especially at the end. Now we are waiting for the weather in order to decide the tyres. If it's dry we have quite a big question mark about some things but we have some good ideas and I am not too worried. It's my 200th race and it's very exciting for me to reach another landmark in my career but for now I think about it as just another race.

Chris Vermeulen - Rizla Suzuki - 3rd
I'm happy to be back on the front row, it's the first time this year - so it was about time it happened! The team gave me a great bike to do the job on in the wet conditions. This morning I made a bit of a mistake in the wet and crashed, so that cost me a bit of track time. It made this afternoon a bit of a gamble as far as set-up goes, but as I say my guys gave me the tool to do the job. I just went out and reeled off some laps and felt very comfortable doing those times. If it's wet tomorrow we've got a good tyre, and if it's dry we've got our tyres sorted as well so hopefully in all conditions we'll be strong - we now have to wait and see what the weather does!

Nicky Hayden - Repsol Honda - 4th
I had hoped to be on the front row. Fourth here isn't so bad and we will be okay so long as we can get some stuff sorted out for the race. If it's wet tomorrow we're lucky it rained because we're using a completely different engine and today was the first time I rode it in the rain. It took some adjusting to, just a few laps to get comfortable on it. The engine is a little bit aggressive but I was able to control it okay. We certainly need more time to understand it some more but all in all it's not too bad. We knew this weekend we were going to be a little bit in the dark because we don't know what this bike is going to do on tyres over race distance and we could've done with some more time on fuel consumption. This morning things felt good in the wet, but when things dried out this afternoon we were struggling to go fast, that's where we've got to work with Michelin to improve. The track''s slippery, but it's cold too and that can make as much different as the surface. The race will be fun nonetheless, see what happens when that light goes out...

Colin Edwards - Yamaha Tech 3 - 5th
My team did an awesome job today and I just keep getting more and more impressed with them. We all did about 10 days of work in two hours to get to where we were this afternoon because this morning it just wasn't right. It was a disaster to be honest and it felt like I was sitting on the rear tyre with no front contact. It felt like if something was going to move I was going over the high-side. We played around with the bike and basically went to the set-up I had last year when I finished second and it worked, even though the chassis and engine is different on this bike. Once I got the right feeling I was dropping a second a lap this morning and we didn't really touch the bike much this afternoon. The front tyre I used this morning is the same front tyre I used all afternoon, so I did about 50 laps on a front tyre. We have obviously got no problem with front tyre endurance in the rain and the rear I'm pretty happy with. To me the track is not that bad for grip. The track is very flat but it has probably more grip than most other places. As long as you have load and you can squash the tyre onto the track it probably has more grip than any track. But we worked a lot on the electronics and thanks to my guys again because we got a much better feeling and more grip. I'm confident I can run at the front if it is full wet. Michelin has been doing a lot of work with the performance of the rain tyres on a drying track, so if it does get half and half I should be at the front. Rain or shine we are looking good and I want to get on the podium. This is my most successful track in MotoGP and I'm definitely looking to continue that good record.

Andrea Dovizioso - JiR Scot Honda - 6th
If it's wet we're in good shape for a very good race. In the afternoon the rain finally stopped, the grip conditions totally changed and we came to damp asphalt conditions. We had some difficulty finding the proper tyre for the most part of the afternoon session, which is why at the start we weren't up at the top, but then I grabbed the final position on the second row. In dry conditions I don't think we have the pace of the leaders but it will be crucial to get a good start and handle the race from there.

Anthony West - Kawasaki Racing - 7th
It's great to be back in the top ten and fighting for decent positions. The bike is working well and we have a good pace in both the wet and dry. The track was very slippery and we were top three for a lot of the session, but we weren't allocated a soft tyre for my final run, which meant some of the other riders had an advantage. I'm feeling confident for tomorrow; we're not going to make many major changes to the machine, although there are some areas in the turns where we need to improve the rear traction of the bike. I am pleased with how things are going, as we're moving forwards, and I hope we can finally gain a strong result in the race.

Ben Spies - Rizla Suzuki - 8th
I am pretty pleased with the result today, but I still want to be up front! I know I've got to take it step-by-step, but every session we are getting better and better again so things seem to be going good. If it's wet again tomorrow morning and the race is in the dry it's going to be pretty tough, but I think we will be able to cope with it, the crew are doing a real good job and I think everyone was pleased with how things went today. I'm pretty happy to get in the top 10 at my first GP qualifying and I've got to keep moving on from here.

Dani Pedrosa - Repsol Honda - 9th
The race won't be easy tomorrow because I've got to start from the third row of the grid. This is a tight, one-line racetrack where overtaking can be quite difficult. But the main unknown is the weather. If it's dry we already have some fairly clear ideas about machine set-up and tyre choice from yesterday's two dry sessions. Today the bike felt fine in the wet but some of the riders were going very fast with an impressive rhythm. So we will wait and see what the morning warm-up session brings. If I could choose, I would much prefer a dry race. As far as my physical condition goes, my back and hand are still hurting from yesterday's crash, though I do feel a bit better today.

Shinya Nakano - Gresini Honda - 10th
Unfortunately the bad weather affected my riding in both free practice and qualifying today. Heavy rain this morning made it really difficult to control the bike and I had a small crash, fortunately escaping without injury. In the afternoon we changed the setting of the bike, improved the grip and that allowed me to go faster and set more respectable times. I lost my feeling with the bike a little bit, though, in the final few laps of qualifying because the track conditions were changing and there was less water on the surface. Tenth place on the grid was at least an improvement on my position this morning, when I was seventeenth. Now we have to look and see if we can improve on anything for tomorrow because the general feeling with the bike isn't bad.

John Hopkins - Kawasaki Racing - 11th
The conditions were really tough out there because the track was incredibly slippery. The bike and Bridgestone tyres were both working really well, but I had a crash this morning and to be honest, with the back injury I have, I've been riding quite tentatively this afternoon. I know we are capable of more, but I'm feeling pretty confident with our race setting whatever the weather tomorrow. We have some improvements to make overnight, but we just need to get a good start and then aim for the leading group.

Sylvain Guintoli - Alice Ducati - 12th
I felt like the bike was faster with the track full of water. In the afternoon session the track has dried up a little and I couldn't be as fast as in the morning. This has probably been the best day of the season so far, with fifth and twelfth position in the two sessions. I thought I would be able to enter the top ten in qualifying. I will try to do it tomorrow in the race which is surely much more important.

Alex De Angelis - Gresini Honda - 13th
Qualifying today was a little unlucky and a fourth-row start is going to determine our race a little tomorrow. I'm clearly unsatisfied with the result because usually in wet conditions we are faster than this. Unfortunately we suffered some rear traction problems - the bike was spinning up under acceleration and we couldn't find a solution before the end of qualifying. Now we will work on the information we have gathered to try and come up with something that suits my riding style. We're strong under braking so if we can manage to improve the rear traction then we can look forward to a good race. Another comeback is not impossible because there are a lot of places to overtake at this track.

Randy de Puniet - LCR Honda - 14th
This morning I crashed twice and we could not improve our machine in the wet because we spent a lot of time adjusting both bikes. Then in the afternoon session we fixed some points in the chassis set-up but it's still not perfect. At the end of the session the track surface was still wet but getting better and we probably didn't choose the right tyre in those conditions. Basically we are paying for the track time we lost this morning and maybe it's cost us some grid positions.

Marco Melandri - Ducati Marlboro - 15th
I couldn't ride the bike during practice this morning but thanks to a few changes to the setting the situation was improved for qualifying. At the end of the session I pushed to improve my position but I was lacking rear grip in the fast section, where it was spinning up a lot, whilst in the slow section I was struggling with the front and couldn't brake as hard as I wanted. Unfortunately the track conditions are always really tricky in the wet here, probably worse than any other track we go to because of the virtually non-existent levels of grip. So, tomorrow I'm hoping for a dry race because we definitely found a better set-up for those conditions yesterday

James Toseland - Yamaha Tech 3 - 16th
Basically I made a mess of it. It was difficult conditions and the potential was there for a top six. Everything was going in the right direction but unfortunately I tried a few things that didn't work. Although sixth place was okay I felt like I was on the edge of the setting. I tried to change some things but we never really went in a positive direction. We were running out of time and put ourselves under pressure to get a lap in right at the end and I got on the throttle too early out of the last corner and high-sided myself. I got back on but it damaged the rear brake. I was going through Schwantz Curve and I think it engaged the rear brake and decided to chuck me off again. I think somebody was telling me they didn't want me to do the lap. I'd like to say thanks to the marshals because where I crashed at the last corner was in a bit of dodgy place and they risked a lot to try and get me going. They were true heroes. I've got to look at the positives and if it all went well we'd have been in the top six. The problem is in this class if you don't get it right you are 16th and I'm devastated that these conditions came in June in England. I was eighth yesterday but comfortable in the dry and another dry day I know I could have done a lot better. I had a lack of contact with the rear on the entry again and we really need to find this balance, especially at this track where there is so little grip. Unfortunately with only one hour you don't have the time to take a risk. Both my knees are a bit sore. In the crash this morning a handlebar hit me in the right knee and the second one this afternoon was in a fast place and it bashed me up a bit. It is going to be tough but my fans can be rest assured that I will still be giving it everything tomorrow.

Jorge Lorenzo - Fiat Yamaha - 17th
This morning I was riding quite well but in the afternoon the track changed; it dried out a bit and it became more difficult for me. I improved by three seconds but it wasn't enough because the others improved by six or seven seconds! I've never started so far back in MotoGP and it's a very different experience for me. I would have liked to have done one more session in the dry conditions but it hasn't been possible, and now I must be very focused tomorrow. For me it will be a success to finish the race, because for sure it's better to finish than to crash! We have to keep going step-by-step and then I know that we can improve in Assen. Yesterday we made a mistake because we wanted to change a lot of things on the bike but in fact the problem was me; this is a bad time for me but I can't let it get me down because I know this will pass and that sooner or later things will be better.

Toni Elias - Ducati Alice - 18th
Today nothing went well. Around the end of the morning session it seems like things were getting better, but in the afternoon with the different condition of the track our job got even more complicated. I really don't like the last position. I hope I will be able to improve my self tomorrow in the warm up to be more competitive for the race. It should be a race with dry track and maybe this could help us a little. Anyway, as usual, I will try to conquer as many points possible for me and the Team.

2008 British MotoGP Qualifying Times
 1.  Stoner      Ducati    (B)  1:38.232
 2.  Rossi       Yamaha    (B)  1:38.881
 3.  Vermeulen   Suzuki    (B)  1:39.018
 4.  Hayden      Honda     (M)  1:39.270
 5.  Edwards     Yamaha    (M)  1:39.601
 6.  Dovizioso   Honda     (M)  1:39.783
 7.  West        Kawasaki  (B)  1:39.995
 8.  Spies       Suzuki    (B)  1:40.244
 9.  Pedrosa     Honda     (M)  1:40.350
10.  Nakano      Honda     (B)  1:40.417
11.  Hopkins     Kawasaki  (B)  1:40.539
12.  Guintoli    Ducati    (B)  1:40.595
13.  de Angelis  Honda     (B)  1:40.667
14.  de Puniet   Honda     (M)  1:41.110
15.  Melandri    Ducati    (B)  1:41.379
16.  Toseland    Yamaha    (M)  1:41.751
17.  Lorenzo     Yamaha    (M)  1:41.873
18.  Elias       Ducati    (B)  1:42.933