In the
BMW M Award, which combines qualifying times, Stoner will start Saturday's session with a 0.497secs lead over
Valentino Rossi, while in the world championship standings Fiat Yamaha star Rossi needs to score just one point to secure second position ahead of Repsol Honda's
Dani Pedrosa.
Pedrosa can drop no lower than third, but a three-way battle for fourth position is brewing with Honda Gresini's
Marco Melandri just one point in front of Rizla Suzuki's
John Hopkins, with the second GSV-R of
Chris Vermeulen a mere four points further adrift.
Loris Capirossi also has a mathematical chance of fourth, but needs to bridge a 19 point gap to his 2008 Ducati replacement Melandri. Nevertheless, Loris has little to lose as he is already out of reach of eighth placed
Colin Edwards.
The M1 rider is only two points in front of 2006 world champion
Nicky Hayden, setting the scene for an all-USA battle, while Alex Barros needs to defend a five point lead over Kawasaki's
Randy de Puniet - and eight point advantage over
Toni Elias - to finish what could be his final
MotoGP season in the top ten.
In the MotoGP manufacturers' championship, the only position to be decided at Valencia is for second place, with Honda currently ahead of Yamaha by just 10 points. Suzuki will finish fourth, with Kawasaki fifth and the KR212V sixth.
In the teams' championship, second placed Fiat Yamaha is 20 points clear of Rizla Suzuki, with Repsol Honda four points further back in fourth.
The 250cc world championship has also been decided, with Rossi's 2008 team-mate
Jorge Lorenzo taking his second title last time out at Sepang, but the 125cc crown will go down to the very last round.
Hungarian Gabor Talmacsi will start 10 points in front of Aspar Aprilia team-mate - and home favourite - Hector Faubel.
