Brno (Czech Republic), 15 Aug 2015: Movistar Yamaha MotoGP’s Jorge Lorenzo cut half a second from the previous Brno Circuit Best Lap record to claim pole position for the Czech Republic Grand Prix ahead of his main championship rivals Marc Marquez and Valentino Rossi.
Lorenzo had already beat the outright Brno lap record in Free Practice 3 this morning, but on a new set of slicks set went even quicker during Qualifying Practice 2, setting a time of 1’54.989 to beat Repsol Honda’s Marquez to pole by just 0.074 seconds. On the other factory Yamaha machine, Rossi clinched the final front row grid spot by setting a time of 1’55.353 on his final lap in QP2. All three riders that qualified on the front row at Brno used the medium compound rear slick for their fastest lap, yet while Lorenzo and Marquez used the medium compound front, Rossi set his time on the hard compound front slick. Overall, the top five riders set times under the previous Circuit Best Lap record for Brno; a 1’55.527 set by Marquez last year.
Quotes of top threeJorge Lorenzo of Movistar-Yamaha takes pole for the Czech Republic. Image by Bridgestone
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Lorenzo: I am really proud of my two lap times, because the first one was as impressive as the second but just not enough to make the pole position. In the end I had to improve the lap time by two or three tenths to keep an advantage over Marc. I didn‘t expect my time, but I didn’t expect those from Marc or even Valentino either, but everyone was pushing so much and they improved a lot. My pole position lap was very good, almost perfect, except maybe the last corner wasn‘t because I had a lot of wheel spin, but a perfect lap is impossible, so we have to be very satisfied. I am confident for tomorrow because I think we have a great base setting. We will see tomorrow what the weather is like, how our rivals are doing after some laps, but we are confident.”
Marc Marquez: “Today we can be very pleased with how the day went, yesterday we were far off Jorge and Valentino’s pace but today we are much closer. It’s a good sign, but we knew it would be difficult to beat them over a single lap because it seems that they use the new tyre very well. I set a very good lap, but Jorge’s was fantastic. In terms of race pace I think they are a little better than us, but there isn’t much in it, so in the morning warmup we will try to make a step. We will give one hundred percent in the race and try to keep as close as possible and stick with them to the end.”
Valentino Rossi: I think a first row start is going to be very important because Jorge and Marc will be very fast from the beginning and if you start from behind it will be impossible to stay with them, so I‘m very happy with this result, also because we worked very well with the team. Already this morning we found a good way to proceed, but this afternoon we improved the setting and were able to also have a good pace, and like I said it‘s very important to start from the front row, because it will be a very hard race.
Movistar Yamaha MotoGP release adds:
Jorge Lorenzo put maximum effort into this afternoon‘s qualifying session, delivering pole position for tomorrow‘s race at the flowing Automotodrom Brno.
Lorenzo wasn’t the only Yamaha rider on fire either as teammate Valentino Rossi put in a stunning ride to secure third, just 0.364 seconds from pole, for a first double front row qualifying result for the factory Yamaha team since Misano 2014.
After he displayed a dominant form in the third and fourth free practice session this morning, Lorenzo again confirmed he is a force to be reckoned with during the qualifying heat.
The Spaniard was the last rider to head out on track at the start of the 15 minute session to be assured of some clear space to crank out a hot lap and went to work immediately. His first flying lap delivered a 1‘55.238, smashing his own lap record and shooting him straight to provisional pole.
He hurried back into the pits for fresh rubber with seven and a half minutes remaining and was back on track in confident mood with a little under six minutes on the clock, ready to raise the level even further. He broke another record with his next flying lap, the first ever lap under the 1‘55 mark with a 1‘54.989. He had time for two more laps, but was unable to further improve upon his incredible lap time and will start tomorrow‘s race from a well-deserved pole position.
Teammate Rossi also gave a strong performance this afternoon. Having been quick in today‘s practice session the Italian made best use of the qualifying tyres in the quick fire heat. He left pit lane as one of the first riders, but headed straight back after scrubbing in his new front tyre.
He returned to the track with twelve minutes left of the session, his first lap of 1‘56.345 putting him in seventh place. He kept pushing as everyone else was changing tyres and posted a 1‘55.856 for fourth before arriving back at the box for another tyre with four minutes of the session left.
He rejoined the fight less than a minute later for a final attempt to improve his grid position as a last minute flurry of activity pushed him back to fifth. He gave his all on his final lap and delivered a brilliant 1‘55.353 for third position on the front row of the grid.
Czech Republic MotoGP QP2 times – Riders that qualified from QP1 shaded in gray
