Jorge Lorenzo secures front row start for British GP at Silverstone

Movistar Yamaha MotoGP rider Jorge Lorenzo claimed third place on the grid for tomorrow’s British Grand Prix at Silverstone this afternoon following a tense qualifying session that saw teammate Valentino Rossi take sixth on the second row.

Lorenzo was clearly eager to start the session as the first rider to line up at the pit line exit for the overcast 15-minute session. His first hot lap was a 2’01.798 followed by a 2’01.771 that was good for provisional second place. With six and half minutes left Lorenzo then returned to the pits for a fresh rear tyre.

Returning quickly to the track, the Spaniard dropped a time of 2’01.175 to secure provisional pole position until his rivals’ last minute hot laps pushed him to third at the end.

Jorge Lorenzo – 3rd | 2’01.175 | 7 Laps
“I’m very satisfied and very proud of my lap time. I pushed to the limit and I improved six tenths of a second on the last lap compared to my first try. The soft tyre on the front is much better for our bike. I would like to use it tomorrow, but it will be a long race, so we have to improve the bike a little bit more during the warm-up to be more comfortable with the harder tyres. This year the engine and the clutch are different. I don’t have the same feeling, making it difficult to make similar starts to last year. Starting from third place of the grid is not the best position, because you are too much on the inside for the first corner, but it is still better to be on the first row than to be on the second. It’s a good position. Let’s try to improve the bike for tomorrow and try to stay with the front group during the race.”

Source: Yamaha MotoGP