Lorenzo crashes but takes pole

From motogp.com

Further medical checks will be required on Sunday for poleman Jorge Lorenzo after a dramatic qualifying session at Laguna Seca, which ended with the Spaniard being stretchered away having set the pole position time - a 1:21.678 hot lap.

Fiat Yamaha’s former 250cc World Champion was unaffected by a lowside crash on the fourth corner with 20 minutes to go, jumping on his second M1 to grab pole for Sunday’s race, before a massive highside crash saw him taken away from trackside and straight to the medical centre.

Initial tests showed a partially dislocated right shoulder and a bruised right foot, but Lorenzo will not be passed fit to ride, or ruled out of action, until Sunday morning.

“We were really comfortable and competitive on this track, but when I had my last chance to do a quick lap time I found some slower riders on track and they wanted to follow me," Lorenzo said. "I decided to slow down for a while because I wanted to be alone but the rear tire was too cold for the speed I was doing. I went into the corner and I crashed.

“I’m disappointed for these two crashes but I am OK and I am optimistic that I will be able to ride tomorrow. Now the American doctors and the Clinica Mobile are working together to try to help me as best they can and make me more comfortable.”

Second fastest qualifier Valentino Rossi stood alone in parc fermé, having lapped 0.167 secs. behind Lorenzo, with third fastest rider Casey Stoner also crashing heavily in Turn 3 in the final minutes. Stoner appeared to be walking unaided, albeit unsteadily, after the session and is said to be OK to race.

Rossi was quick to wish his World Championship rivals Lorenzo and Stoner all the best on Saturday afternoon at Laguna Seca.

“Firstly I just hope that Casey and Jorge are fit and are able to race, because for sure it would be a great battle between us, as our pace on race tires is very similar,” the World Championship leader said. "I’m very happy with my second position. Actually today we did not have two perfect practices and we still have some problems to fix. At the end, especially in the last part of the track I am not strong enough so we have to work on Sunday to improve our setting. So I’m happy that we still managed to qualify second, not far from Lorenzo, considering our problem.”

Stoner is confident he will be able to ride Sunday although he is expecting a gruelling race, not least because of the physical exhaustion he has been suffering in recent weeks.

"To be honest the bike had given us a few warnings in a lot of places around the circuit today and I’m sure there were a lot of other guys in a similar situation," explained the 2007 World Champion. "The tire is quite hard on the right-hand side and needs a couple of laps to warm up properly.

"Unfortunately on the lap before the crash, in the most important corner for heating that side of the tire up I was held up by two riders having a disagreement and then I got stuck behind one of them into the next right-hander too. I was wary that the tire would be cooler than I needed it to be on the next lap so I went into Turn 3 a lot more carefully than normal, but as I closed the gas on the way into the corner the rear just came around. I tried to pick the bike up and go straight into the gravel but it didn’t want to and that was it – it threw me straight up in the air.

"It hurt when I landed but I thought I’d only winded myself - now it looks like I might have torn something in my groin, which is not the best thing to happen before the race. Anyway, we have a great bike for this track so we’ll see what we can do."

The second row for Sunday’s eighth MotoGP contest of 2009 will be an all Honda affair, with factory pair Dani Pedrosa and Andrea Dovizioso qualifying fourth and fifth respectively, in front of San Carlo Honda Gresini’s Toni Elías – all three less than half a second down on Lorenzo.

MotoGP’s American representatives Colin Edwards (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) and Nicky Hayden (Ducati) will be joined on row three by Chris Vermeulen (Rizla Suzuki), who like Hayden has a good record at Laguna.

The top 10 qualifiers list was completed by Vermeulen’s veteran teammate Loris Capirossi.

Qualifying Results
1. Jorge LORENZO (SPA) Fiat Yamaha Team Yamaha 1:21.678 (261.058 km/h)
2. Valentino ROSSI (ITA) Fiat Yamaha Team Yamaha +0.167
3. Casey STONER (AUS) Ducati Team Ducati +0.232
4. Dani PEDROSA (SPA) Repsol Honda Team Honda +0.435
5. Andrea DOVIZIOSO (ITA) Repsol Honda Team Honda +0.457
6. Toni ELIAS (SPA) San Carlo Honda Gresini Honda +0.468
7. Colin EDWARDS (USA) Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha +0.812
8. Nicky HAYDEN (USA) Ducati Team Ducati +0.862
9. Chris VERMEULEN (AUS) Rizla Suzuki MotoGP Suzuki +0.955
10. Loris CAPIROSSI (ITA) Rizla Suzuki MotoGP Suzuki +0.984
11. Marco MELANDRI (ITA) Hayate Racing Team Kawasaki +1.164
12. Alex DE ANGELIS (RSM) San Carlo Honda Gresini Honda +1.326
13. Sete GIBERNAU (SPA) Grupo Francisco Hernando Ducati +1.428
14. Randy DE PUNIET (FRA) LCR Honda MotoGP Honda +1.469
15. James TOSELAND (GBR) Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha +1.712
16. Niccolo CANEPA (ITA) Pramac Racing Ducati +2.234
17. Gabor TALMACSI (HUN) Scot Racing Team MotoGP Honda +2.850