Casey Stoner takes pole in Italian MotoGP on his Ducati

Congratulation to young Australian Casey Stoner for his first pole position in the MotoGP Motorcycle World Championship. Casey has qualified first ahead of fellow Aussie Chris Vermeulen and Casey's main rival, the Yamaha rider with the home track advantage, Italian Valentino Rossi.

While the fact that Casey's 800cc Ducati Desmosedici is by far the fastest bike on the track, what is really impressive about his performance, which has him leading the World Championship by a healthy margin, is that Casey does so well in heavy rain against much older and more experienced riders. The calmness, coolness and maturity displayed by this young Christian man does all of us, but especially his family and new wife Adriana, proud.

We'll be watching the race with fascination tonight Casey. Well done!