First pole of the season for Lorenzo

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.”

Source: Yamaha Racing