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MotoGP
MOTOGP: Lorenzo Wins USGP Pole Shootout
Jorge Lorenzo walked away from MotoGP QP with pole position and the new absolute motorcycle lap record at Laguna Seca.
Yamaha Factory Racing's Jorge Lorenzo (Photo: Evan Williams)
PROGRAMMING NOTE: The Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix from Laguna Seca will air on SPEED on Sunday, July 29th at 6:00pm ET. Qualifying will air on SPEED on Saturday, July 28 at 11:00pm ET. #MotoGPonSPEED
Laguna Seca's pole record of 1:20.700 had stood since 2008 -- ancient by MotoGP standards. That mark, established by Casey Stoner on a Ducati Desmosedici, was finally erased on Saturday as Stoner and his chief rival, Jorge Lorenzo, took turns raising the bar and lowering their times.
Lorenzo was out front early and was the first to (fractionally) lap under the old mark. Australian Stoner responded in defense of his record by cutting a 1:20.628 with three minutes to go, leapfrogging both his Repsol Honda teammate, Dani Pedrosa, and leader Lorenzo to move into the top spot in the session's waning moments.
However, Spaniard Lorenzo pulled an answer out of his hat. The Yamaha ace blazed to a 1:20.554 on his very final lap, ticking off zero red helmets through the segments until notching up the only one that truly matters -- the one at the checkered flag.
Lorenzo said, "This morning we had some things to try that we couldn't because the weather was foggy and we only had about ten minutes. This afternoon the weather was perfect so we could try the hard and soft tires --it will be difficult to choose. I made an almost perfect lap at the end. We have pole position and good pace for tomorrow."
Asked about his chances for tomorrow's victory, Stoner said, "To be honest, it depends on the temperature. We worked pretty much this whole weekend on hard tire -- trying hard to improve -- and we still need to find a few tenths. But if it's cooler we've got the pace with the soft tire. In qualifying with the soft tire I never got one clean lap. It's more than frustrating to be honest. I know our potential was a lot higher, but the race is tomorrow. We'll see how it goes."
Friday leader Pedrosa held onto third and with it the final spot on the front row despite setting his best time on lap 6 (1:20.906)of his 32 circulations.
Pedrosa said, "I was working all the session on the set up of the bike. We lost this morning's practice so it was quite a busy session. I'm feeling confident anyway and hope to get a good start and have a good race."
Laguna Seca's pole record of 1:20.700 had stood since 2008 -- ancient by MotoGP standards. That mark, established by Casey Stoner on a Ducati Desmosedici, was finally erased on Saturday as Stoner and his chief rival, Jorge Lorenzo, took turns raising the bar and lowering their times.
Lorenzo was out front early and was the first to (fractionally) lap under the old mark. Australian Stoner responded in defense of his record by cutting a 1:20.628 with three minutes to go, leapfrogging both his Repsol Honda teammate, Dani Pedrosa, and leader Lorenzo to move into the top spot in the session's waning moments.
However, Spaniard Lorenzo pulled an answer out of his hat. The Yamaha ace blazed to a 1:20.554 on his very final lap, ticking off zero red helmets through the segments until notching up the only one that truly matters -- the one at the checkered flag.
Lorenzo said, "This morning we had some things to try that we couldn't because the weather was foggy and we only had about ten minutes. This afternoon the weather was perfect so we could try the hard and soft tires --it will be difficult to choose. I made an almost perfect lap at the end. We have pole position and good pace for tomorrow."
Asked about his chances for tomorrow's victory, Stoner said, "To be honest, it depends on the temperature. We worked pretty much this whole weekend on hard tire -- trying hard to improve -- and we still need to find a few tenths. But if it's cooler we've got the pace with the soft tire. In qualifying with the soft tire I never got one clean lap. It's more than frustrating to be honest. I know our potential was a lot higher, but the race is tomorrow. We'll see how it goes."
Friday leader Pedrosa held onto third and with it the final spot on the front row despite setting his best time on lap 6 (1:20.906)of his 32 circulations.
Pedrosa said, "I was working all the session on the set up of the bike. We lost this morning's practice so it was quite a busy session. I'm feeling confident anyway and hope to get a good start and have a good race."
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