Lorenzo sprints to second in Mugello qualifying

Movistar Yamaha MotoGP‘s Jorge Lorenzo set a scorching pace at Mugello to score second position on the grid for tomorrow‘s Gran Premio d'Italia. Teammate Valentino Rossi also put in a solid performance in the close qualifying session, securing eighth.

Barberino del Mugello (Italy) - After showing a stunning pace in Free Practice 3, Movistar Yamaha MotoGP‘s Jorge Lorenzo continued his momentum at the Autodromo del Mugello when he secured second position on the grid for tomorrow‘s Gran Premio d'Italia. Teammate Valentino Rossi qualified eighth on the grid as the hot action in the close Q2 session left all twelve riders within a second.

Today has been a great day. We couldn‘t get the pole position, but second place is great.

Jorge Lorenzo

Lorenzo was the last rider to make his way out on the circuit for the start of the 15-minute qualifying heat, ensuring him some clear track space. He immediately put the hammer down on his first flying lap of 1‘46.808 to take provisional pole, before returning to the pits for fresh rubber.

With six minutes to go he was back on the track as an intense battle got underway for the front row. The four-time World Champion pushed hard to shave a little off his time on his second hot lap, but was pushed back to third due to a flurry of activity at the final stages of the session. However the Spaniard saved the best for last, dropping a 1'46.584 on his final lap to claim second on the grid, 0.095 from pole.

Similar to his teammate, local hero Rossi took his time to leave the pit lane as qualifying got underway, allowing the pack to depart before heading out. Riding with a special helmet that symbolizes how his home fans‘ support urges him on, he put in an 1‘47.187 on his second flying lap to slot into fifth place.

The Doctor quickly returned to the pits with less than seven minutes on the clock for a new rear tyre. Back on the track, his third flying lap resulted in a better time of 1‘46.976 to hold provisional sixth on the second row. He was pushed to ninth as the pace quickened, but the nine-time world champion fought back with a 1'46.923 lap, moving him into eighth place, 0.434s off today‘s fastest time.

Jorge Lorenzo: "We must be proud of our performance, because we improved the bike, which has been our goal for today. We had to improve our pace by half a second and maybe we didn‘t do that but we did shave off three-tenths. Today has been a great day. We couldn‘t get the pole position, but second place is great. The setting of our bike is quite good. We may be losing a little bit in speed on the straight, but on the rest of the track we are ok."

Valentino Rossi: "Just like previous races this season, here in Mugello the level, the speed and the lap times are a lot faster than last year. Marquez rode the lap time of the pole position last time and he‘s just in thirteenth place, so it‘s a big step forward. I improved a lot and my lap time was not so bad, but it wasn‘t enough. It looks like the extra soft tyre worked very well, so our competitors who could use this option where very strong. All the top riders were able to improve their pace a lot, so apart from my starting position on the third row, which is not fantastic, I‘m quite happy about today. We worked well on the bike and I improved my feeling and my pace. It will be a hard race, but we will see tomorrow."

Movistar Yamaha MotoGP