Jorge Lorenzo just misses out on pole, lines up 2nd on Jerez grid

Movistar Yamaha MotoGP rider Jorge Lorenzo kept the pressure on in qualifying this afternoon for tomorrow‘s Gran Premio de España, taking second on the grid.

Movistar Yamaha MotoGP‘s local hero Lorenzo finished at the top of the standings for three of the four practice sessions and had his eye fixed on the front row of the grid for the race. He was the first man to leave pit lane at the start of the qualifying two heat.

He immediately dropped into the 1‘39s with a 1‘39.405 lap and took the lead, but was pushed back to second place as he headed into the pits for his first of two stops.

He returned to the track with more than nine minutes remaining, but quickly came back into the box after experiencing tyre issues and switched back to his first bike to make his final dash for pole.

His next lap was a superb 1‘38.858s for provisional first place and it remained unchallenged, until Rossi took over at the front in the final minute with a margin of just over one tenth of a second.

Tomorrow the Movistar Yamaha MotoGP team-mates will be on track for the fourth race of the season at 14:00 (GMT+2) local track time.

JORGE LORENZO
Second place is not bad. Obviously I wanted the pole position, but it was a pity that I had problems with the second tyre. It was chattering on the straight and in the corners it had no grip so I cancelled the lap as not to crash and also because it wasn‘t worth it, the lap was slow anyway. With the third tyre it was OK and I made a good lap time, a 1‘38.8s, not enough for pole position but enough to be on the first row and that‘s important. I think, after Free Practice 4, that we‘ve got a great pace; a fast pace in the beginning and later a constant pace, so let‘s hope to repeat this tomorrow in the race.

Source: Yamaha Racing