| QUALIFYING 1 REPORT | 19/06/2010 | | First pole for Lorenzo in eventfull Qualifying session | | |  | Jorge Lorenzo broke his 2010 pole duck in Great Britain today with a strong showing at Silverstone, having qualified second for the three previous races. The sole Fiat Yamaha Team rider, whose team-mate Valentino Rossi is recovering from a broken leg at home in Italy, beat Randy de Puniet and Dani Pedrosa to the pole spot, with both challengers crashing out in an action-packed final two minutes.
After a confident opening day yesterday, Lorenzo's rivals had caught up with him this morning and he was disappointed to find himself four-tenths down on Pedrosa in third. He was back on form this afternoon however, spending the first half of the session continuing to strengthen his understanding of the circuit before going into the lead with 20 minutes to go. He was edged off by de Puniet but, after coming in for a final set-up tweak, a fast flying lap with a superb final split propelled him back to the top of the standings where he stayed, as both his closest rivals ended their final laps in the gravel trap. Pedrosa's first pole of 2010 is his tenth in MotoGP and the 36th of his career. He will be doing all he can to extend his championship lead when the British Grand Prix gets underway at Silverstone tomorrow afternoon. |
| Jorge Lorenzo - 1st, 2'03.308, Laps:26
"I am so happy about this first pole of the season, but I'm even happier about the fact that I felt so good on my M1 this afternoon. It is really important to be on the front row for tomorrow because this gives us the best chance of another podium. Today we did 18 consecutive laps with the hard tyre and then another eight with the soft, which is a good sign, but the track was quite cold today and it took time for the tyres to reach the right temperature, so we have to wait and see how the weather is for our final choice. I feel comfortable and I'm really looking forward to tomorrow, although I hopeit isn't going to rain. Thanks to all of my team for doing a great job today." |
| Wilco Zeelenberg - Team Manager Jorge Lorenzo
"I've said before that it's sometimes better not to be on pole because then there's less pressure, but today we are on pole and we're really happy about it! Jorge worked very hard in the first 13 or 14 laps, pushing hard to learn the track and understand the limits, and this paid off for him. De Puniet and Pedrosa were fast but they both crashed, but Jorge was fast and finished safely. There are of course no points for pole and we have to see what tomorrow brings but it's nice to have a rider who is fit and doing fast lap times and a bike that's consistent. We're hoping for another good race tomorrow." |
|  | Spies equals best qualifying result at cool Silverstone
Ben Spies equalled his best qualifying result of the 2010 MotoGP world championship at a blustery and cool Silverstone circuit this afternoon. The Texan will start the first British MotoGP race to be staged at the iconic Silverstone track since 1986 from seventh position after a dramatic conclusion to today's qualifying session.
Spies posted a best time of 2.04.477 on his Monster Yamaha Tech 3 YZR-M1 machine to miss claiming a deserved second row start for the first time in his career by just 0.083s after he made a brilliant recovery from a heavy crash in this morning's final free practice session. Spies aggravate d the left ankle injury he picked up in a crash at the Le Mans last month when he lost control at the fast Farm Curve left-hander.
But the crash did little to dent the 25-year-old's confidence and at one stage it looked like his hard work and dogged determination would pay off as he occupied a top six place on the timesheets in the decisive final stages. But looking to improve his time on his final flying lap, Spies lost precious time when Randy de Puniet suffered a high-speed crash right in front of him at Farm Curve. Spies' last lap though was still his fastest and he will head the third row of the grid in front of Marco Melandri and Marco Simoncelli.
Fellow American Colin Edwards had a difficult qualifying session, the 36-year-old unable to find a set-up that allowed him to push at his normal pace. Edwards will start from 10th on the grid having clocked a best t ime of 2.05.035 to finish just over half-a-second away from the top six.
Ben Spies - 7th, 2.04.477, laps:22
"Qualifying wasn't too bad but I feel like it should have been a better outcome than what it was. I'm riding really hard and I was pretty close to being on the second row but I'd like the lap times to be coming a little bit easier. On the speed charts we're down a bit and that is making it difficult and if I don't get a good start it will make it hard to pass people. But I'm happy with my riding and the set-up of the bike and the lap times are consistent. I certainly tried as hard as I could and on the last lap I might have picked up another tenth to get on the second row but de Puniet crashed in front of me and that definitely cost me a small bit of time. My ankle is not too bad and shouldn't be a problem in the race. I was actually going to come into the pits because th ere had been a few crashes and I was only doing 70 per cent of my normal speed when I got caught out. It can happen but I'll be ready to give my maximum effort in the race." |
| Colin Edwards - 10th, 2.05.035, Laps:21
"That was really hard work and I just can't ride the bike to the level I know I can. I'm just not comfortable and to ride as hard as I had to just for tenth, I'm not happy. There are guys that I beat easily last year that I'm struggling to match at the moment and it certainly isn't through a lack of trying. It is hard not to get frustrated but I am doing my absolute best to improve and get some more speed out of the bike. But we're struggling for engine speed and I can't get a decent setting with the chassis. Tenth is not a position I'm happy to be in but I'll give it my all in the race tomorrow because everybody at Monster Yamaha Tech 3 is working hard to improve the situation." |
| | 2010 MotoGP Great Britain - Silverstone 19/06/2010 | | Pos. | Rider | Manu. | Nat. | Total Time | | 1 | Jorge Lorenzo | Yamaha | ESP | 2'03.308 | | 2 | Randy De Puniet | Honda | FRA | 2'03.434 | | 3 | Daniel Pedrosa | Honda | ESP | 2'03.586 | | 4 | Andrea Dovizioso | Honda | ITA | 2'03.995 | | 5 | Nicky Hayden | Ducati | USA | 2'04.332 | | 6 | Casey Stoner | Ducati | AUS | 2'04.394 | | 7 | Ben Spies | Yamaha | USA | 2'04.477 | | 8 | Marco Melandri | Honda | ITA | 2'04.555 | | 9 | Marco Simoncelli | Honda | ITA | 2'04.868 | | 10 | Colin Edwards | Yamaha | USA | 2'05.035 | | 11 | Hector Barbera | Ducati | ESP | 2'05.354 | | 12 | Hiroshi Aoyama | Honda | JPN | 2'05.712 | | 13 | Aleix Espargaro | Ducati | ESP | 2'05.748 | | 14 | Loris Capirossi | Suzuki | ITA | 2'05.821 | | 15 | Alvaro Bautista | Suzuki | ESP | 2'06.607 |
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