SPA, Belgium -- Nico Rosberg will start the Belgian Grand Prix from pole position after holding off a strong challenge from his Mercedes rival Lewis Hamilton in qualifying on Saturday. Hamilton was ahead of Rosberg on the first two time splits of his final lap but then drifted back, allowing Rosberg to clinch a fourth straight pole and sixth in the past seven races. The German driver leads Hamilton by 11 points in the overall standings. Rosberg clocked 2 minutes, 5.591 seconds in difficult conditions, with the Spa track drenched following a heavy downpour shortly before qualifying started. "It was just Lewis I had to focus on," Rosberg said after his 11th career pole. "It makes it easier when theres not a whole bunch, only one guy." Hamilton finished in 2:05.819 and Sebastian Vettel got a much-needed boost with the third quickest time -- although the fact that he was 2 seconds behind the Mercedes pair offers the Red Bull driver little hope of securing a first win this season. "It helped us that it was wet. The gap was a lot bigger and our car was really dominant," Rosberg said. "It was amazing to see that, how quick our car is." Two-time F1 champion Fernando Alonso was fourth in his Ferrari ahead of Daniel Ricciardo, the only non-Mercedes driver to win a race so far this season. Hamilton has won five, Rosberg four and Ricciardo has clinched two in an impressive first season with Red Bull. Hamilton had not qualified on the front row since the Canadian GP in June. "We have a great car here and were leading the way here. So cool to see that," Hamilton said. "We definitely have good chances for tomorrow." However, the 2008 champion was again plagued by technical problems -- just like in the previous four races, where he started from 22nd, 20th, sixth and ninth on the grid and still got on the podium every time. "I was nervous going into qualifying, not knowing if the car was going to get through it," the British driver said. This time, he had a brake problem. "You need to have confidence on the brakes. There were times in Q3 when I was just going straight on because the left brake wasnt really working. When it glazes its hard to recover, especially in the rain," he said. "But in the evening theyre able to scrub it and get rid of the glazing. In the dry tomorrow it shouldnt be a problem." Vettel, the four-time defending champion, did not take part in Fridays second practice run because of a power unit failure. The German drivers victory at Spa last year was the first of nine successive wins. The way things are going this season -- he is languishing in sixth place overall -- just a podium finish would be a success. "We know were down in power. Mercedes have a strong car and they have a lot of downforce. We are similar in the corners but quite a long way off in the straights," Vettel said. "Hopefully tomorrow will be closer in terms of race pace." Vettel has won 39 GPs -- including a record-equaling 13 last season -- and clinched 45 poles. But he has only two podium spots this term: third in Canada and Malaysia. "Im trying very hard. Its not like Im consciously deciding not to be on pole," he said. "Weve been on the other side for quite a while but thats the name of the game. The season was not what I was hoping for but there are still several races to come." In Q1, Mexican driver Esteban Gutierrez had to retire due to a technical problem and Venezuelan Pastor Maldonado failed to make Q2 after spinning his Lotus. His teammate, Romain Grosjean, failed to make Q3. The Frenchman starts the race from 15th as his difficult season continues. In the final practice earlier, Valtteri Bottas of Finland was fastest in his Williams ahead of Ricciardo and Rosberg. Air Max 90 Womens Canada . If there is one club built to handle an off-field controversy, its the Bill Belichick era Patriots. 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Nike Air Max Fury Canada . - After three days of light, make that very light, workouts, Team Irvin and Team Carter are ready for tonights Pro Bowl.TORONTO -- David Clarkson was one of several Toronto Maple Leafs who unburdened themselves on Tuesday. Clarkson finally scored his first goal as a Maple Leaf as Toronto beat the New York Islanders 5-2 for its second win in a row. The 29-year-old signed with the Maple Leafs as an unrestricted free agent in the off-season and was unable to score in his first 11 games with the team. "The biggest thing is that we won the game tonight," said Clarkson. "Ive tried to preach that the whole time. The chances were there, but Im here to win. "It does feel good, I guess, to get some people off my back a little bit," he joked. Phil Kessel also broke out of a mini slump, scoring a pair of goals. They were Kessels first goals in five games. He had just one point in his past seven. "Hes a highly talented player and doesnt need many chances to score goals," said linemate James van Riemsdyk. "Two sweet chances and in the back of the net. "Sometimes it comes in streaks -- its a long year. Hes got 12 goals in 21 games. Thats pretty good." Meanwhile, Trevor Smith had his first multipoint effort of his NHL career, scoring the first goal of the game for the Maple Leafs just 22 seconds in and adding a pair of assists for a three-point night. He has five points in three games since being recalled from the Toronto Marlies of the American Hockey League and six points in 12 games overall this season. "Im just trying to fill some spots for now," Smith said. "Its always tough when you have injuries, but injuries happen. Its part of the game. "You just got to come in, try to do the best you can, play confidently and work with what you got. The guys have been really great welcoming me and making it easy for me to play my game." And Joffrey Lupul had three assists to bust out of his rrecent slide.dddddddddddd After starting the season with 10 points in his first nine games, he had just two points in his next nine before his trio of helpers Tuesday. Mason Raymond also scored for the Maple Leafs (13-7-1) and Jonathan Bernier made 36 saves for the win. Casey Cizikas and Frans Nielsen replied for New York (8-11-3). Kevin Poulin stopped 19 shots in the loss. After Smith opened the scoring, the game remained 1-0 until midway through the second period. With Cal Clutterbuck off for tripping, Kessel took a pass from Lupul, curled inside the Islanders blue-line and snapped a shot from inside the right circle past Poulins blocker hand. It was Kessels team-leading 11th goal of the season. Toronto kept New York off the board until there were 11 seconds left in the second period. Cizikas got a breakaway behind the defence, deked to his left and slid the puck through Berniers legs to cut the Leafs lead to 2-1. Toronto regained its two-goal lead 3:39 into the third period. A mix-up at the New York blue-line by the Islanders defence gave the Leafs short a 2-on-0 break. Nikolai Kulemin was stopped by Poulin, but Raymond was able to backhand the rebound in for his eighth goal of the season. Clarkson put the game away at 12:52, snapping a shot top corner by Poulins glove hand. "That was a helluva shot," Van Riemsdyk said. "Hes been contributing for us in a lot of different ways out there and its nice to see him get rewarded with a goal. Im sure hes pretty happy about that, too." Nielsen cut the lead to 4-2 at 15:14, but Kessel snapped home his second of the game -- 12th of the season -- less than two minutes later on a 2-on-1 break with Van Riemsdyk to make it 5-2. Notes: Nazem Kadri sat out the third and final game of his three-game suspension...Announced attendance was 19,446. ' ' '