Lorenzo optimistic for race despite gap to Honda armada

Today’s qualifying session at Le Mans for tomorrow’s Grand Prix of France was a tough session for Yamaha Factory Racing riders Jorge Lorenzo and Ben Spies. Despite the threat of rain this morning the sun did finally break out, allowing the riders to make the best possible use of the softer tyres on track.

Lorenzo made another step forward in set-up, going nearly a second faster than yesterday’s free practice. The Mallorcan spent the session hunting for further grip and less wheelie from his Yamaha YZR-M1 as he battled for third position. A front row start was looking possible before dropping to fifth at the end of the heat and a second row start for the race.

Jorge Lorenzo – Position 5th – Time 1.33.706 – Laps 30
“We start on the second row for tomorrow; we will try to keep our pace of 34.0 or 34.1 seconds. If we can do this then maybe we can fight for the podium. If other riders make some mistakes and are not fast enough and we are a little bit faster then it’s possible to fight for more. It’s our goal and this is what we are going to try for the race. I am optimistic though, I think we are not very far from Pedrosa or Dovizioso and if I can improve my riding and be a bit faster on the race and they struggle a little bit we can be with them.”

Wilco Zeelenberg – Yamaha Factory Racing Team Manager
“We are still running a bit behind. We improved our lap time in qualification but fifth position at the moment is the worst we have been in over a year. We need to find more grip on the track and less wheelie for Jorge. We will discuss now what to do and try for tomorrow, there are always possibilities.”

Source: Yamaha Racing