Jorge Lorenzo will look to snare his first career MotoGP title from the coveted pole position, the Fiat Yamaha rider topping the charts in Sepang qualifying.
Jorge Lorenzo will start the most important Grand Prix of his career from the coveted pole position, as the Fiat Yamaha ace topped qualifying at Sepang. Lorenzo will charge toward his first career
MotoGP title from the front row alongside Ducati's Nicky Hayden and Repsol Honda's Andrea Dovizioso.
Lorenzo took top honors during the closing laps. The Mallorcan had led much of the hour-long session before Hayden tallied a surprising result with five minutes to go. Bolting onto the provisional pole before Lorenzo stole it back, Hayden's unexpected lap gives the American a reversal of fortune from a lackluster beginning to his Sepang weekend. Dovizioso, who spent much of the session running a quiet second, held onto the final Row 1 spot. The Italian will look for consecutive podiums, having placed second last round at Motegi.
Leading Row 2 will be Tech 3 rider Ben Spies. The American was the final rider to dip under the 2:02 mark and may have managed a front-row spot but had his line not been ruined on a hot lap by his own teammate, Colin Edwards, who would finish seventh. Taking a respective fifth and sixth were Casey Stoner and Valentino Rossi. The usual top-four finishers were in their customary positions throughout qualifying until the upstart Americans bumped them down to their eventual second-row positions.
Finally some good news for The Kentucky Kid, as Hayden vaults into the front row with a second-place qualifying effort.
Ben Spies also suprised in qualifying, with the American jumping up to lead Row 2 at Sepang.
Lorenzo awaits his moment on Sunday - Sepang
Edwards begins Row 3, the Texan running as high as fifth during the session. The Tech 3 rider will be slotted next to the Rizla Suzuki duo of Alvaro Bautista and Loris Capirossi. The two Suzuki riders were the final competitors to mark within a second of Lorenzo's pace.
WSB-bound Marco Melandri rounded out the top 10, followed by Gresini Honda teammate Marco Simoncelli and Ducati satellite rider Aleix Esparago.
Randy de Puniet struggled to a 13th placing aboard the LCR Honda, with fellow satellite Honda man Hiroshi Aoyama 14th and Aspar Ducati's Hector Barbera 15th.
Pramac Ducati's Mika Kallio languished more than 2.5 seconds adrift of Lorenzo, the slowest rider on the GP grid.
2010 MotoGP Sepang Qualifying
1.Jorge Lorenzo 2'01.537
2.Nicky Hayden 2'01.637
3.Andrea Dovizioso 2'01.829
4.Ben Spies 2'01.993
5.Casey Stoner 2'02.023
6.Valentino Rossi 2'02.030
7.Colin Edwards 2'02.097
8.Alvaro Bautista 2'02.394
9.Loris Capirossi 2'02.522
10.Marco Melandri 2'02.624
11.Marco Simoncelli 2'02.690
12.Aleix Espargaro 2'02.723
13.Randy de Puniet 2'02.775
14.Hiroshi Aoyama 2'02.778
15.Hector Barbera 2'02.928
16.Mika Kallio 2'04.167
Team PR Rider Quotes:
Jorge Lorenzo: "I really wanted to fight for the pole position today, because I know the race tomorrow is going to be tough and it will be difficult to battle for the victory. We were strong throughout the session and in the end we did a great lap; I am so happy to be back on pole. Now the moment is arriving, it's such an important day for my career and I'm excited for tomorrow. We are starting in the best shape and we just have to see what happens. For now we will try to stay calm and focused!"
Nicky Hayden: “This is a bit of a surprise, I didn't expect to be on the front row today. We only missed pole by one tenth but don't anybody feel sorry for us, we're pretty happy! The lap itself was obviously a good one, I don't think I could have got any more out of myself or the bike, but overall we've done a good job today. We were struggling yesterday but we went back to a setting that worked for us in the test and even though I didn't get the lap time this morning I told the guys not to make too many changes to the bike because I felt comfortable and knew I could improve purely through riding. Once again my thanks go to the team because everybody knows it's tough on the riders in this heat but it's tough for them too and they're doing a great job.”
Quiet consistency. Andrea Dovizioso keeps the Repsol Honda up with the front-running aliens.
“It’s always important to be on the front row – and this was actually more satisfying than the pole position in Japan because the conditions were so extreme today. The level of riders and bikes in MotoGP is so high and so the front row also means we have done a really good job so far this weekend. We have moved things on from where we were in Japan and improved our electronics set-up again – we’ve found a good direction, which is really positive. I want to say thank you to my team and to HRC for working hard to achieve this. It’s going to be a tough race because it’s so hot here, but I’m looking forward to it. For tomorrow it’s difficult to understand how the race will pan out – we’ll have to study the lap times from today to get a feeling for our rivals’ performance; qualifying doesn’t always give you the real picture of what everyone’s race pace will be. In terms of tyre choice, I think it will be the hard option for us.”
Ben Spies: "I'm happy to be so close to the front row and it gives me a lot of encouragement for the race. From fourth on the grid it means another good start will put me in contention for a strong race. I did a race simulation this morning so at least I know how the bike is working in race set-up and I'm happy with it. I intentionally did the longer run in lower heat condition s just to see how I felt. It was still pretty brutal but I felt pretty good and it set me up for a good qualifying. This afternoon was the first time I really used the soft tyre. Everything went pretty good and I put together one decent lap time and then I had good lap going when I made a mistake at the final corner. I caught Colin and he was actually trying give me a tow down the back straight to help me out, but I was a little further back than he thought and by the time I got to him we were hitting the brakes and I missed my brake marker and ran wide. That lap would have put me on the front row for sure but I'm confident that if we raced right now I'd be in the top five and that's what I'm looking for."
Casey Stoner: “I'm a little disappointed with the way qualifying went today. We made a little progress with the race setting on the harder tire. We didn't get a lot of laps in but we are happy with the work we did on the bike and feel reasonably confident. When I went to use the softer compound to set a qualifying lap on we lost feeling completely. There was no traction on the rear yet it was still pushing the front at the same time. We couldn't do the lap time we
It's hot down Sepang way. The Doctor stays hydrated.
wanted or even deserved but we know our pace is faster than a couple of the guys in front of us on the grid so we'll see if we can get past them in the race.”
Valentino Rossi: "With the hard tire we're not so bad, even if we're lacking some grip and the bike is moving a bit, so it's not so easy to control. However with the softer tire we suffered a lot more because the movement became bigger and I couldn't use the extra grip. This means I am only on the second row. Tomorrow's race will be very hard, maybe the hardest of the season because the temperature is unbelievable and starting from the second row will make it even harder, but we will do our best and hope to make a good start."
