MotoGP leader, Jorge Lorenzo got his first pole position of the season in yesterday’s qualifying in Jerez.
Displaying that he’s already learned everything about Bridgestone tires, the Spaniard set a blazing lap of 1m 38.
933s, with Dani Pedrosa second just 0,051s from Lorenzo.
Casey Stoner was 3rd but almost 5 tenths from the leader and Valentino Rossi in difficulty, was more than 7 tenths of second from his teammate Lorenzo.
Many riders complained about the wind that was disturbing their runs.
Jorge Lorenzo (Fiat Yamaha) 1st“It’s amazing to have the pole position here again, in my home country.
Riding at this track is extra special for a Spanish rider and I felt a great motivation today.
Yesterday we had some problems and I was a bit worried but we have worked well in the team and today we managed to resolve everything so that I could ride my Yamaha just how I wanted to.
I felt very comfortable and I hope that this will be the same for the race.
We’re starting in the best possible position; I know it will be hard tomorrow because everyone is close but I feel confident that we can fight to be on the podium again, as at the last two races.
I hope it’s a bit less windy tomorrow though!” Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda) 2ndI’m happy because we’ve improved a lot from yesterday and we’re starting from the front row.
This is always important – but especially at my home race,” said Pedrosa, who had been just tenth fastest on Friday, but put an RC212V in P1 for the first time this year in Saturday morning practice.
It was very windy this afternoon which made it quite difficult to ride with a consistent line and keep the rhythm on the bike, but still, my pace was good and I’ll go into the race with a lot of confidence.
We still have some work to do to improve our set-up for the race but I’m happy with how we’ve progressed so far this weekend.
Tomorrow is the important day though.
There will be a lot of fans out there supporting me and the team and I really hope I can get a good result for them.
If I get a start like I did at Motegi then that will help!”Casey Stoner (Malboro Ducati) 3rd“Our bike has never really worked well here in the past but we worked hard during the test and over the past two days to come up with a package that is at least competitive.
This morning it felt really good and even though we weren’t top of the time sheets I felt confident.
Unfortunately the wind tends to unsettle our bike and it was pretty hairy out there this afternoon – it certainly didn’t help me feel more confident with the bike after the front end issues we had yesterday! I set myself the target of a position on the second row so to get on the front row is an unexpected bonus and it will be really helpful for tomorrow.
Until the last couple of years I’d always found it hard to do well in my home race but the Spanish and Italian guys always seem to find an extra gear on their own turf.
The support for Dani and Jorge is fantastic, they are both riding well and they’ll definitely be competitive tomorrow.
It should be great fun!” Valentino Rossi (Fiat Yamaha) 4th“I’m a bit unhappy because we had a few problems and it actually hasn’t been such a good day, it was also very windy which made it more difficult.
Yesterday we were very fast from the start and we hoped to keep going like this today but we have lost some feeling and now I can’t ride and push how I want to.
At the moment I am not happy with the setting for the race and we need to work hard to understand the situation and try to improve it because we must be stronger tomorrow.
Now we will make a long meeting and try to find some solution to try for the warm-up tomorrow.
”Randy DePuniet (LCR Honda) 5th“The practices started very well for us yesterday.
Immediately I had a good feeling with the bike and we have been improving things during the weekend so far.
I know our set-up is almost perfect because I’m just behind the factory riders on the grid.
I have also been fast on race tyres so I am very confident for tomorrow.
I expect a very good race and to start on the second row at this track is very important.
If I can finish around seventh, eighth or ninth I will be happy because my target from the beginning of the year has been to consistently finish in the top ten in the first three or four races.
”Loris Capirossi (Rizla Suzuki) 6th“Even though we were second yesterday and we were sixth this afternoon, it has been a much better day for us today.
We did a great job this morning on the bike’s setting and we improved a lot.
We tried three different settings and found the best one to preserve the life in the tyre – this is a good step for us.
The condition this afternoon was very difficult because it was so windy; this is the third race where we have not had perfect conditions.
The sun was beautiful, but the wind was very strong and it made it difficult out there.
Overall I am happy with where we are and we are ready for the race.
We will be on the second row for the third time this year, but we were so close to being on the front row.
I will be fighting hard right from the start and try to understand how the tyres will behave and make them last the distance!”Colin Edwards (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) 7th“I was really happy with the bike this morning.
I was able to run a fast and consistent pace that only the top three were able to better.
But we changed a couple of things on the bike for qualifying and it was the wrong direction unfortunately.
Those changes probably cost me a place on the second row.
I kept tucking the front and that has never happened before on Bridgestone.
I’ve not had the front move on me once since I first tried Bridgestone back in November.
The front tyre is magic but for some reason I wasn’t comfortable this afternoon.
We’ll just revert back to the set-up we had this morning for the race because I had no issues at all really.
I’m still confident for the race.
It is going to be hot and tyre endurance will be crucial as always.
I did nine laps on the hard compound and it was spinning but it always does that.
It’s just how you manage it from that point and I think the setting we had this morning and yesterday will be fine.
”Andrea Dovizioso (Repsol Honda) 8th“It has been a tricky session for everybody because it was really windy and this meant we couldn’t confirm some set-up improvements that we were testing.
This morning we made some adjustments that gave us some positive feedback, and we wanted to keep working on them, but we couldn’t test properly this afternoon because of the strong wind.
Still, we improved our race pace which is very important, it’s just a pity that we will start from the third row.
I think I could have been on the second row but during my fast lap I had a moment and lost the front in T4.
Tomorrow morning we will work on further improving the feeling of mid-corner stability at the front.
For the race I’ll have to make a good start because we cannot afford to lose contact with the guys in front.
”Toni Elias (San Carlo Honda Gresini) 9th “I think tomorrow could be a good race for me and I’m really looking forward to it.
We’ve improved, not as much as we’d like yet but at least this small step allows me to dream of getting involved in the fight with a faster group or riders, closer to the front.
I got a bad start to the races in Qatar and Japan so we’ve worked on that today because I think it could be the key to a good result tomorrow.
I’m going to have to ride on the limit if I want to make up positions like I have done in past races here but the closer you are to the limit the higher the risk of a mistake, which would be expensive.
Hopefully I won’t make any because I really want a good result here – for myself, for the team and especially for the fans because they give us so much here and it would be nice to be able to pay them back somehow.
”Chris Vermeulen (Rizla Suzuki) 10th“It was not the position we wanted so I am a bit disappointed with that.
We made some good steps with the bike and I am now a lot more comfortable on it.
It has given me confidence to push a bit more and my speed was definitely up in that session, but we still need to make another step to get totally competitive.
In this morning’s session I concentrated on using a race-tyre and doing a lot of laps to give us an idea of what it would be like at the end of the race.
Tomorrow it will be important to get a good start and move up through the field in the first couple of laps and try to do whatever I can.
Hopefully with a good race we can get a top-five position, which is going to be tough from the fourth row, but it’s certainly our target!”Sete Gibernau (Grupo Francisco Hernando) 12thThe final position isn’t great but as far as preparing for the race is concerned we’ve taken a big step forward.
We got a bit lost this morning but found our way in the afternoon and that should give us the opportunity to improve in the race warm-up.
We made a good step forward with getting the bike to turn and we found some more traction too, which were the two areas we were lacking the most, so I’m hopeful for a good race.
Yuki Takahashi (Scot Racing) 13th“I’m quite happy.
Good weather all the two days – great.
It was windy, but wind is not as much of a problem as rain is.
This morning I found a good setting, and we modified it just slightly in the afternoon.
There was not enough time to do a long run, but I did my best lap running alone, and this means that that is a realistic pace.
” James Toseland (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) 14th“It has been a frustrating day.
We have been working a lot on the bike and when we cure one problem we create another.
That session was almost like a test than a qualifying session and it is frustrating because I feel like I can definitely run the pace around the top six.
I’m just trying to find a compromise between good braking stability and acceleration exiting corners.
We seem to improve in one area but then sacrifice something in another area.
My pace wasn’t too bad on the hard compound race tyre, so if I can get a good start and get away with the pack in front I’m sure I can have a good race and be in there fighting.
”Alex DeAngelis (San Carlo Honda Gresini) 15th “I’m disappointed with the crash and with the grid position.
I just didn’t feel confident from the start of the session this afternoon after having made decent progress this morning and we need to study the telemetry to understand why.
I’m struggling on the softer tyre and I’m actually in better shape in race trim.
I was coming through one of the fast corners towards the end of the lap when I was hit by a huge gust of wind.
I tried to lean the bike over more to counter it but the front folded and I went down.
It was quite a heavy fall and I’m not feeling too great right now.
I also took a blow to my leg but it’s nothing a painkiller can’t solve.
”Nicky Hayden (Malboro Ducati) 16th“This morning certainly went a lot better, I thought we’d found a good way forward with the bike but this afternoon I had a very different feeling.
The wind certainly didn’t help things but that is the same for everybody.
It was very unstable in the fast corners and just not holding the line.
We tried our best to fix it but things just didn’t go nearly as smooth as we’d like and we’ve ended up with a difficult grid position.
We’ll see what we can do about it tonight.
We’ll make a few small adjustments to the bike, make a few tweaks to the set-up here and there and see how it goes in warm-up.
The only thing is that it’s quite cool here in the morning compared to the afternoon and, like today, the feeling with the bike changes a lot without touching a thing.
It’s going to be tough but we’ll keep working hard and hopefully be in shape to put on a good show for these incredible fans tomorrow afternoon.
”Mika Kallio (Pramac Racing) 17th “Many things didn’t go in the right direction today.
We have modified the bike many times without any luck.
The only thing to do in this moment is analyze the data to understand in which direction we have to go.
Today’s track condition was different compare to last March, but for sure we didn’t expect to be so far behind.
Tomorrow it will be for us another comeback race.
”Niccolò Canepa (Pramac Racing) 18th “It went a bit better today even if with the race tyres I still need some more confidence.
We have anyway got closer to the other riders and this for sure it will give us morale for tomorrow’s race.
My learning period is going well and with patience we improve practice after practice.
I want to thank my Team member for the great work they are doing for me.
Qualifying Results and Times:1.
Jorge LORENZO (Yamaha), 1:38.
9332.
Dani PEDROSA (Honda), 1:38.
9843.
Casey STONER (Ducati), 1:39.
4154.
Valentino ROSSI (Yamaha), 1:39.
6425.
Randy DE PUNIET (Honda), 1:39.
8066.
Loris CAPIROSSI (Suzuki), 1:39.
8627.
Colin EDWARDS (Yamaha), 1:39.
9268.
Andrea DOVIZIOSO (Honda), 1:39.
9669.
Toni ELIAS (Honda), 1:40.
11210.
Chris VERMEULEN (Suzuki), 1:40.
18511.
Marco MELANDRI (Kawasaki), 1:40.
38112.
Sete GIBERNAU (Ducati), 1:40.
44013.
Yuki TAKAHASHI (Honda), 1:40.
59914.
James TOSELAND (Yamaha), 1:40.
67015.
Alex DE ANGELIS (Honda), 1:40.
79616.
Nicky HAYDEN (Ducati), 1:40.
95317.
Mika KALLIO (Ducati), 1:41.
23818.
Niccolo CANEPA (Ducati), 1:41.
253