Lorenzo takes MotoGP pole

From motogp.com

Jorge Lorenzo will start the Shell Advance Malaysian Motorcycle Grand Prix from pole position – his sixth of the season – after topping qualifying at Sepang on Saturday.

The Fiat Yamaha rider can secure the 2010 title with a finish of at least ninth place in Sunday’s race, and placed himself in prime position to do so with a best lap of 2:01.537. Using the new specification M1 engine for the first time since QP at Motegi he rode to his sixth pole of the campaign – his first since the Laguna Seca round at the end of July.

"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,” said Lorenzo. “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."

Lorenzo has not finished outside the top four in any of the 14 races so far this season, winning seven and finishing on the podium a further five times.

Nicky Hayden appeared close to securing his first pole in three years when he took the lead of the session towards the end, but the Ducati rider will not be disappointed with his second front-row start of the season after eventually losing out to Lorenzo by exactly one-tenth of a second.

“This is a bit of a surprise; I didn't expect to be on the front row today,” said Hayden. “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.”

Following up his first premier class pole last time out at Motegi, Andrea Dovizioso secured third position on the grid with another impressive qualifying display. The sole Repsol Honda representative this weekend was 0.292 secs. off Lorenzo’s marker by the conclusion of the hour-long session.

“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," Dovizioso said. "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 electronic 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 tire choice, I think it will be the hard option for us.”

Just missing out on a front-row start by a margin of 0.164 secs., and also the final rider under the 2:02 barrier in the session, Ben Spies took fourth spot having led with 10 minutes remaining.

Casey Stoner of the Ducati Team ended the session in fifth position, just seven-thousandths ahead of Valentino Rossi (Fiat Yamaha), who took the final slot on row two.

Completing the top 10 in the session were Colin Edwards (Monster Yamaha Tech 3), Rizla Suzuki duo Álvaro Bautista and Loris Capirossi, and Marco Melandri (San Carlo Honda Gresini).

Héctor Barberá (Paginas Amarillas Aspar) had a fall at the very end of the session and qualified in 15th.

The MotoGP race is scheduled to get underway at 4:00pm local time on Sunday.

Julián Simón (Mapfre Aspar), the only man who can still stop Toni Elías from claiming the Moto2 title, qualified in pole position at Sepang on Saturday with a best time of 2:08.562. The Spaniard was almost two-tenths faster than Alex de Angelis, who qualified in second place and had been quickest in both practice sessions.

It was Simón’s third pole of 2010 – his second in succession – as he continues his search for a first Moto2 win and following him and De Angelis onto the front row was Thomas Lüthi in third. For the Swiss rider of the Interwetten Moriwaki team it was a first front-row qualification since the Catalunya GP at the start of July.

Completing the front line of the starting grid is Elías, who is aiming to wrap up the inaugural Moto2 World Championship in Sunday’s race, an outcome which depends on Simón’s result as well.

Marc Márquez’s 10th 125cc World Championship pole position of the season was secured at Sepang on Saturday as the Red Bull Ajo Motorsport rider laid down a best lap of 2:13.398 during qualifying. The 17-year-old, who trails Championship leader Nico Terol by just six points going into the race, was 0.293 secs. faster than second placed Bradley Smith.

The British rider had looked to be on course for his third pole of the campaign as he led towards the climax of the session, but Márquez first posted a time just five-thousandths of a second better than that of the Bancaja Aspar man before improving to end up almost three-tenths clear.

Smith’s team-mate Terol was third at 0.706 secs. off Márquez’s time with Pol Espargaró (Tuenti Racing) completing a familiar-looking front row of the grid for Sunday’s race.

MotoGP Qualifying Results
1. Jorge LORENZO (SPA) Fiat Yamaha 2:01.537
2. Nicky HAYDEN (USA) Ducati 2:01.637
3. Andrea DOVIZIOSO (ITA) Repsol Honda 2:01.829
4. Ben SPIES (USA) Monster Tech 3 Yamaha 2:01.993
5. Casey STONER (AUS) Ducati 2:02.023
6. Valentino ROSSI (ITA) Fiat Yamaha 2:02.030
7. Colin EDWARDS (USA) Monster Tech 3 Yamaha 2:02.097
8. Alvaro BAUTISTA (SPA) Rizla Suzuki 2:02.394
9. Loris CAPIROSSI (ITA) Rizla Suzuki 2:02.522
10. Marco MELANDRI (ITA) San Carlo Gresini Honda 2:02.624
11. Marco SIMONCELLI (ITA) San Carlo Gresini Honda 2:02.690
12. Aleix ESPARGARO (SPA) Pramac Ducati 2:02.723
13. Randy DE PUNIET (FRA) LCR Honda 2:02.775
14. Hiroshi AOYAMA (JPN) Interwetten Honda 2:02.778
15. Hector BARBERA (SPA) Paginas Amarillas Aspar Ducati 2:02.928
16. Mika KALLIO (FIN) Pramac Ducati 2:04.167