Lorenzo captures Spanish pole

From motogp.com

An exciting MotoGP qualifying session at the Gran Premio bwin.com de España on Saturday concluded with Motegi race winner and series leader Jorge Lorenzo on pole in Jerez.

The man of the moment in MotoGP, Lorenzo delighted the home crowd at the Jerez de la Frontera circuit in beautiful conditions as he repeated his 2008 pole for this race.

In stark contrast to the appalling weather at Motegi a week ago which saw qualifying cancelled, the growing Spanish crowd at the Andalusian track were bathed in some typical Iberian sunshine.

Lorenzo and his big Spanish rival Dani Pedrosa did battle for pole position during the 45-minute session, with the Fiat Yamaha rider eventually emerging on top with a 1:38.933 hot lap on the 18th of his 21 turns of the track.

“I’m absolutely happy with today’s result; starting a weekend with pole position is always a great way to begin but, as I always say, the most important thing is the victory,” said the 21-year-old Lorenzo. “We hope to do the same as today, which is to have fun and do the best that we can. It’s definitely important for the fans, because in Spain there is a division (in fan preferences) between Pedrosa and me. If we are fighting for the win then the race will be very interesting.”

Saturday morning’s fastest rider, Pedrosa again demonstrated his improving form and fitness on his Repsol Honda RC212V machine, lapping just 0.051 behind his young compatriot.

“I’m happy with the front row, because we really didn’t have a good day in practice yesterday," Pedrosa said. "There are still a few things to work on, but I am confident of a great race.”

Ducati Marlboro’s Casey Stoner, who won the BMW M Award at Jerez in March’s Official MotoGP Test, was around half a second behind Lorenzo with his best effort putting him third on the grid at one of his least favoured tracks.

Friday’s top man, World Champion Valentino Rossi could not match his championship rivals and after a modest Saturday morning free practice outing the Italian qualified off the front row for the first time this year in fourth place.

A good effort from Randy de Puniet saw him as the top satellite equipped qualifier in fifth place for the LCR Honda team, while the second line of the grid was rounded off by Rizla Suzuki’s Loris Capirossi.

The third row, meanwhile, features Colin Edwards (Monster Yamaha Tech 3), Andrea Dovizioso (Repsol Honda) and Toni Elias (San Carlo Honda Gresini), who will all be in the hunt for good points on Sunday.

Chris Vermeulen (Rizla Suzuki) was 10th fastest, with Sete Gibernau (Grupo Francisco Hernando) 12th and 2006 World Champion Nicky Hayden (Ducati Marlboro) down in 16th.

San Carlo Honda Gresini’s Alex de Angelis crashed at the end of the session and qualified in 15th place, but was not reported to be injured.

Qualifying Results
1. Jorge LORENZO (SPA) Fiat Yamaha Team Yamaha 1:38.933 (275.721 km/h)
2. Dani PEDROSA (SPA) Repsol Honda Team Honda 1:38.984
3. Casey STONER (AUS) Ducati Marlboro Team Ducati 1:39.415
4. Valentino ROSSI (ITA) Fiat Yamaha Team Yamaha 1:39.642
5. Randy DE PUNIET (FRA) LCR Honda MotoGP Honda 1:39.806
6. Loris CAPIROSSI (ITA) Rizla Suzuki MotoGP Suzuki 1:39.862
7. Colin EDWARDS (USA) Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha 1:39.926
8. Andrea DOVIZIOSO (ITA) Repsol Honda Team Honda 1:39.966
9. Toni ELIAS (SPA) San Carlo Honda Gresini Honda 1:40.112
10. Chris VERMEULEN (AUS) Rizla Suzuki MotoGP Suzuki 1:40.185
11. Marco MELANDRI (ITA) Hayate Racing Team Kawasaki 1:40.381
12. Sete GIBERNAU (SPA) Grupo Francisco Hernando Ducati 1:40.440
13. Yuki TAKAHASHI (JPN) Scot Racing Team MotoGP Honda 1:40.599
14. James TOSELAND (GBR) Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha 1:40.670
15. Alex DE ANGELIS (RSM) San Carlo Honda Gresini Honda 1:40.796
16. Nicky HAYDEN (USA) Ducati Marlboro Team Ducati 1:40.953
17. Mika KALLIO (FIN) Pramac Racing Ducati 1:41.238
18. Niccolo CANEPA (ITA) Pramac Racing Ducati 1:41.253