Championship point leader and Motegi winner, Jorge Lorenzo, kept his MotoGP momentum rolling by scoring pole position for tomorrow’s GP at Jerez. The Mallorcan rider seized the top spot on the grid ahead of fellow Spaniard Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda) and Australian (Casey Stoner). Lorenzo’s Fiat Yamaha teammate and leading rival in the points, Valentino Rossi, will headline Row 2.
Jorge Lorenzo - Fiat Yamaha: “It’s amazing to have the pole position here again, in my home country. Riding at this track is extra special for a Spanish rider and I felt a great motivation today. Yesterday we had some problems and I was a bit worried but we have worked well in the team and today we managed to resolve everything so that I could ride my Yamaha just how I wanted to. I felt very comfortable and I hope that this will be the same for the race. We’re starting in the best possible position; I know it will be hard tomorrow because everyone is close but I feel confident that we can fight to be on the podium again, as at the last two races. I hope it’s a bit less windy tomorrow though!”
Lorenzo’s Jerez qualifying performance duplicates the pole result he claimed at the Spanish circuit during his impressive rookie campaign. Last year’s Jerez winner, Pedrosa, did his best to rob Lorenzo of the repeat, but after trading hot laps at the top, the RC212V rider will have to be content with the second spot. Displaying the two front-runners’ obvious speed, Stoner (who scored the BMW M award during the official IRTA Jerez test as the fastest rider) was almost a full second behind.
Row 2 may not be optimal, but the Doctor should have no trouble fighting for the win provided he gets a clean start. Joining Rossi on the second tier will be LCR Honda’s Randy de Puniet, with a solid fifth-fastest qualifying lap, and GP veteran Loris Capirossi aboard the Rizla Suzuki in the six spot.
Monster Tech 3 Yamaha’s Colin Edwards heads Row 3, almost a full second off Lorenzo’s pace. The Texas Tornado has scored so-so results this year, primarily due to poor opening laps. If he gets off the blocks and up to speed quick, the American should get back to his consistent single-digit finishes. Andrea Dovizioso’s races are the inverse of Edwards, strong beginnings with a fade at the end. The Italian will be keen on improving his championship position (4th) with a podium finish from his third-row start. The final Row 3 rider, Gresini Honda’s Toni Elias, is notoriously unpredictable on his home Iberian Peninsula - the Spaniard usually riding to ruin or an unexpected finish near the top.
Rizla Suzuki’s Chris Vermeulen will try and climb up from Row 4, followed by the lone Kawasaki ZX-RR rider, Marco Melandri. Meanwhile, in a tough day for Ducatis, Sete Gibernau is the second-fastest Desmosedici in 12th, 1.5 seconds behind the leader.
Shooting themselves in the foot were riders James Toseland and Nicky Hayden. The British rider could only manage a Row 5 start, while the American and former champ continues to languish on the Ducati, a full two seconds down and stuck on the last row with the satellite Pramac Ducatis.
MotoGP Jerez Qualifying:
1. Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha) 1'38.933
Valentino Rossi: "At the moment I am not happy with the setting for the race and we need to work hard to understand the situation and try to improve it because we must be stronger tomorrow. Now we will make a long meeting and try to find some solution to try for the warm-up tomorrow."
2. Dani Pedrosa (Honda) 1'38.984 +0.051
3. Casey Stoner (Ducati) 1'39.415 +0.482
4. Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) 1'39.642 +0.709
5. Randy de Puniet (Honda) 1'39.806 +0.873
6. Loris Capirossi (Suzuki) 1'39.862 +0.929
7. Colin Edwards (Yamaha) 1'39.926 +0.993
8. Andrea Dovizioso (Honda) 1'39.966 +1.033
9. Toni Elias (Honda) 1'40.112 +1.179
10. Chris Vermeulen (Suzuki) 1'40.185 +1.252
11. Marco Melandri (Kawasaki) 1'40.381 +1.448
12. Sete Gibernau (Ducati) 1'40.440 +1.507
13. Yuki Takahashi (Honda) 1'40.599 +1.666
14. James Tosleand (Yamaha) 1'40.670 +1.737
15. Alex de Angelis (Honda) 1'40.796 +1.863
16. Nicky Hayden (Ducati) 1'40.953 +2.02
17. Mika Kallio (Ducati) 1'41.238 +2.305
18. Niccolo Canepa (Ducati) 1'41.253 +2.32
