MotoGP – Silverstone Qualifying : Lorenzo Secures His First Pole of the Season
In the absence of reigning World Champion Valentino Rossi, Jorge Lorenzo is marking his territory at the front with his first pole of the season. Qualifying has never become an identity of Jorge Lorenzo, however in the uncharted territory of Silverstone, he storms to pole ahead of Randy De Puniet.
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.
Jorge Lorenzo will bid to extend his 25-point lead from Dani Pedrosa in tomorrow’s race. Ducati in absence of Rossi must take the fight to Lorenzo at Silverstone if they want to mount a serious championship challenge this season. However with 5th and 6th overpowered by LCR Honda and Repsol Honda, they will have a mountain to climb.
De Puniet and Pedrosa threatened the top position for a moment, but on their final lap attempt both crashed out . Pedrosa was taken to the hospital after the trailing bike hit his right leg hard. He had to be stretchered off. This is unwanted news after Rossi’s incident few weeks ago.
Pedrosa was taken to hospital after the the crash on the final attempt at pole.
Lorenzo on his first pole of the season,
“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,” said the 23 year-old after securing the 10th premier class pole of his career. “It is really important to be on the front row for tomorrow because this gives us the best chance of another podium.”
313.3 km/h top speed was all Colin Edwards could muster on the straights.
323.9 km/h is the speed recorded by Dani’s Honda on the straight. Among the top runner, Lorenzo was the slowest registering 317.6 km/h. It seems to suggest that the Yamaha suffers a bit on the long straights. By analyzing Colin Edwards and Ben Spies data, it only affirms my believe for Yamaha M1′s lack of power as both riders are registering a relatively slow 313 km/h top speed.
Even though it’s only one race since Valentino Rossi’s accident, we have started to already miss him. The prospect of the greatest rider of all time up against a young apprentice, with both men have no boundaries predefined for victory, both using the same machine, have the same levels of support from the teams and all are set for the most thrilling seasons ever. Sadly it’s not to be, we are robbed by a divine intervention. Positively speaking, the stage is set earlier to prepare us for seasons in the future. A season without the MotoGP undisputed king, Valentino Rossi.
With that I end with the results below,
1. Jorge LORENZO SPA Fiat Yamaha Team 2’03.308
2. Randy DE PUNIET FRA LCR Honda MotoGP 2’03.434
3. Dani PEDROSA SPA Repsol Honda Team 2’03.586
4. Andrea DOVIZIOSO ITA Repsol Honda Team 2’03.995
5. Nicky HAYDEN USA Ducati Team 2’04.332
6. Casey STONER AUS Ducati Team 2’04.394
7. Ben SPIES USA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 2’04.477
8. Marco MELANDRI ITA San Carlo Honda Gresini 2’04.555
9. Marco SIMONCELLI ITA San Carlo Honda Gresini 2’04.868
10. Colin EDWARDS USA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 2’05.035
11. Hector BARBERA SPA Paginas Amarillas Aspar Ducati 2’05.354
12. Hiroshi AOYAMA JPN Interwetten Honda 2’05.712
13. Aleix ESPARGARO SPA Pramac Racing Team 2’05.748
14. Loris CAPIROSSI ITA Rizla Suzuki 2’05.821
15. Alvaro BAUTISTA SPA Rizla Suzuki 2’06.607
16. Mika KALLIO FIN Pramac Racing Team 2’06.980
Editorial : Mu’az Zakaria
Image Source : Yamaha, Ducati, Honda, motogp.com
