Fiat Yamaha Team's Jorge Lorenzo (Photo: Yamaha Racing) ยป More Photos
PROGRAMMING NOTE: MotoGP Qualifying from Laguna Seca will air on SPEED on Saturday, July 4 at 10:00pm ET.
Fast and flamboyant MotoGP super sophomore Jorge Lorenzo is at it again this weekend at Laguna Seca, quickly getting comfortable his now usual placing right at or near the top of the leaderboards. It took a last-gasp effort from all-timer Valentino Rossi to displace his Fiat Yamaha teammate from claiming top honors yesterday, and this morning Lorenzo responded by topping the charts in the Saturday free session. The Spaniard is once again proving that he is not only blisteringly quick, but consistently so.
That's been the story of the 2009 season as Lorenzo is shaping up to be legitimate title contender in just his second season, quickly maturing beyond his up-and-down tendencies as a talented-yet-flawed rookie in '08.
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Lorenzo's rapid ascension is certain to have ruffled more than a few feathers at the top of the MotoGP hierarchy. The trio of superstars widely tipped as "The Big Three" entering the season -- Rossi, 2007 World Champion Casey Stoner, and MotoGP champion-in-waiting Dani Pedrosa, all have their own reasons to feel threatened by Lorenzo's stellar form.
Consider Rossi's case: Frequently regarded as the greatest motorcycle racer in history, the Italian has never faced such pressure from a rival without having easy access to excuses to escape into should things go wrong. While dominant throughout the majority of his 125-250-500-990-800 title-winning career, in the rare occasions he has been bested, there's always been a legion of supporters loudly insisting that Rossi was only defeated due to being saddled with inferior machinery or tires.
