Moto2: Lorenzo fastest in first qualifying
Defending champion and current points leader Jorge Lorenzo led a Spanish one-two in first qualifying for the 250cc race at Catalunya
Lorenzo is joined on the provisional front row by countryman Hector Barbera and Andrea Dovizioso, with Mugello winner Alvaro Bautista in fourth.
Pole changed hands repeatedly between several riders during the hotly-contested 45 minutes.
Alex de Angelis set an early benchmark but was between by first Dovizioso, then Bautista before snatching pole back again.
Lorenzo was next to usurp de Angelis, and he improved his initial provisional pole time by 0.04 seconds to set a 1:46.741 after the session's halfway point.
De Angelis then responded with a 1:46.594 - sufficient to beat the 1:46.591 that Lorenzo set at virtually the same moment.
But on Lorenzo's next run he produced a 1:45.913 lap, putting himself six-tenths clear of the field at that stage.
His rivals eventually caught up, with Barbera ending the session exactly a tenth shy of Lorenzo's time, as he usurped Dovizioso from his briefly held second place.
Behind Bautista and de Angelis, Mika Kallio fell to sixth having earlier held third position. Shohei Aoyama, Thomas Luthi, Marco Simoncelli and Hiroshi Aoyama completed the top ten.
Julian Simon was able to walk away after coming off his Repsol Honda at Turn 5 and being caught under the bike as it slid into the gravel. He ended the session 12th fastest.
Pos Rider Bike Time 1. Jorge Lorenzo Aprilia 1:45.913 2. Hector Barbera Aprilia 1:46.013 + 0.100 3. Andrea Dovizioso Honda 1:46.201 + 0.288 4. Alvaro Bautista Aprilia 1:46.436 + 0.523 5. Alex de Angelis Aprilia 1:46.448 + 0.535 6. Mika Kallio KTM 1:46.629 + 0.716 7. Shuhei Aoyama Honda 1:47.057 + 1.144 8. Thomas Luthi Aprilia 1:47.227 + 1.314 9. Marco Simoncelli Gilera 1:47.339 + 1.426 10. Hiroshi Aoyama KTM 1:47.508 + 1.595 11. Alex Debon Aprilia 1:47.625 + 1.712 12. Julian Simon Honda 1:47.697 + 1.784 13. Yuki Takahashi Honda 1:47.890 + 1.977 14. Aleix Espargaro Aprilia 1:48.094 + 2.181 15. Dirk Heidolf Aprilia 1:48.504 + 2.591 16. Alex Baldolini Aprilia 1:48.792 + 2.879 17. Karel Abraham Aprilia 1:48.925 + 3.012 18. Anthony West Aprilia 1:48.967 + 3.054 19. Taro Sekiguchi Aprilia 1:48.969 + 3.056 20. Fabrizio Lai Aprilia 1:49.184 + 3.271 21. R.Wilairot Honda 1:49.304 + 3.391 22. Jules Cluzel Aprilia 1:49.347 + 3.434 23. R.Locatelli Gilera 1:49.438 + 3.525 24. Imre Toth Aprilia 1:49.729 + 3.816 25. Arturo Tizon Aprilia 1:49.928 + 4.015 26. Eugene Laverty Honda 1:50.155 + 4.242 27. S.Barragan Honda 1:54.667 + 8.754
Be part of the Autosport community
Join the conversationShare Or Save This Story
Hamilton accepts blame for incident with Albon in F1 Brazilian GP
Ferrari drivers called to F1 stewards over Brazilian GP collision
Will Alonso's Indy failure end the age of versatility?
Porsche lodges appeal over da Costa's Misano Formula E disqualification
2024 MotoGP world championship standings after the Americas GP
What Aston Martin’s curfew burn told us about its F1 upgrade trajectory
Tank Slappers Podcast: MotoGP Americas GP review
Subscribe and access Autosport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
Top Comments