Motorcycle News

SATURDAY 13 JUNE, 2009 |

MotoGP: Lorenzo fastest on home Catalunyan soil

by Motorsport.com | post a comment

There's no real surprise a Spanish rider snatched pole at the second of three planned MotoGP events in Spain this year. Jorge Lorenzo was able to trump teammate Valentino Rossi by just one hundredth of a second for the top spot in the final moments of qualifying. Casey Stoner will start on the outside of the front row, the Australian has traded fast times with the Yamaha pair all session.

Lorenzo and the rest of the riders had to deal with sweltering temperatures under a hot sun at Circuit de Catalunya, "The heat was incredible today and it's going to be very tough doing so many laps tomorrow without getting too tired!" said Lorenzo. "I'm so happy to be here on pole in front of my home fans at this track, which I really love. Tomorrow is going to be a very difficult race for everyone and I am expecting a very good fight with Valentino, who has a very strong pace. It looks like Stoner and Dovizioso will be there too so I hope it's an exciting race for the fans! I have a good rhythm here and I feel very comfortable on the bike so I am just going to stay focused and think about having a great race."

Rossi has had a good pace from the start of the weekend but all today it seemed he was busy trying to catch up to his younger teammate. The reigning champ was able to hold provisional pole until the final minutes when his teammate stepped up the ante. His answer to Lorenzo's best time fell just short before qualifying was ended.

"It's good to be back on the front row after three races off it," commented Rossi, "so we're happy about that. Of course I am sorry to miss the pole by such a tiny amount, but anyway we have an excellent pace and I am confident for tomorrow. We've been waiting for good weather for five races and now the temperature is maybe a little bit too much, but for sure it's better than rain for everyone!"

Stoner seemingly came out of nowhere after a less then stellar morning practice. The Aussie eventually sorted out the right setup to be able to pose a challenge to the Yamaha boys and Repsol Honda's Andrea Dovizioso. Stoner's teammate, Nicky Hayden very well might have been in the mix as well had a late session crash not kept him from setting his best lap.

Tomorrow Stoner looks to bring a fight to Lorenzo, "Nobody really knows what anybody is capable of in conditions like this because once the tyres start spinning it is going to be difficult for any of us to match the times we've been doing today. It is going to be a very interesting race and I think everybody is going to be sliding around a lot but the things we tried with the electronics this afternoon should help us in the later stages of the race. We'll see what we can do tomorrow but the idea is to dig in and work hard from the warm-up and hopefully we'll still be fighting at the end."

Dovizioso will head the second row with Toni Elias and Colin Edwards lining up alongside. Another Spainish favorite, Dani Pedrosa was looking fast in practice despite a sore hip but as the day worn on the pain returned just when he needed to be in full health. Pushing through the pain the Spaniard could only manage the third row in eighth.

"It's my home race and already the atmosphere and support is incredible, but of course this wasn't one of the best days of riding for me," said Pedrosa. "It's frustrating because this is one of my favourite circuits of the season and also one where I have had a lot of good results. However, we certainly aren't going to give up. It's a long season and although today didn't go too well, we'll come back tomorrow and see what we can do."

By David C. Schilke - Motorsport.com

News for Saturday 09 May, 2009