Moto2: Lorenzo takes dominant pole position
Jorge Lorenzo took a dominant pole position in qualifying for tomorrow's 250cc race at Phillip Island
Lorenzo improved on his Friday best 19 minutes into the session, before going another four tenths faster in the last two minutes of the session. Remarkably, despite every rider improving their times today, Lorenzo's Friday time would have secured him pole position.
Hector Barbera set second fastest time with just under 15 minutes remaining in the session, unable to improve as the minutes wound down but no-one except Lorenzo went faster.
The battle for third on the grid was a good one. Marco Simoncelli moved into third with a minute left in the session, but he will start fifth after Alvaro Bautista went 0.034 seconds faster, Alex de Angelis just 0.004 seconds slower than Bautista to take the final place on the front row.
While Lorenzo took a comfortable pole, his closest championship rival didn't have such a good day, Andrea Dovizioso qualifying seventh and never looking like challenging for the front of the grid.
The session was interrupted by a red flag after 24 minutes when Roberto Locatelli highsided exiting Doohan Corner, and was taken to the trackside medical centre for checks.
Imre Toth also fell at Doohan Corner in the final minute of the session, and looked injured, but eventually walked away.
Pos Rider Make Time 1. Jorge Lorenzo Aprilia 1:32.884 2. Hector Barbera Aprilia 1:33.770 + 0.886 3. Alvaro Bautista Aprilia 1:33.820 + 0.936 4. Alex de Angelis Aprilia 1:33.824 + 0.940 5. Marco Simoncelli Gilera 1:33.854 + 0.970 6. Hiroshi Aoyama KTM 1:33.932 + 1.048 7. Andrea Dovizioso Honda 1:34.153 + 1.269 8. Thomas Luthi Aprilia 1:34.185 + 1.301 9. Julian Simon Honda 1:34.299 + 1.415 10. Shuhei Aoyama Honda 1:34.412 + 1.528 11. Mika Kallio KTM 1:34.527 + 1.643 12. Yuki Takahashi Honda 1:34.990 + 2.106 13. R. Locatelli Gilera 1:35.372 + 2.488 14. Aleix Espargaro Aprilia 1:35.788 + 2.904 15. Jules Cluzel Aprilia 1:35.860 + 2.976 16. Fabrizio Lai Aprilia 1:35.903 + 3.019 17. Dirk Heidolf Aprilia 1:36.238 + 3.354 18. Imre Toth Aprilia 1:36.463 + 3.579 19. Alex Baldolini Aprilia 1:36.512 + 3.628 20. Efrén Vazquez Aprilia 1:36.842 + 3.958 21. Karel Abraham Aprilia 1:37.076 + 4.192 22. Taro Sekiguchi Aprilia 1:37.106 + 4.222 23. R. Wilairot Honda 1:37.376 + 4.492 24. Eugene Laverty Honda 1:37.476 + 4.592 25. Federico Sandi Aprilia 1:37.623 + 4.739 26. Chow Ho Wan Aprilia 1:38.981 + 6.097
Be part of the Autosport community
Join the conversationShare Or Save This Story
The weekly reality check that has kept MotoGP hype off of Acosta so far in 2024
F2 veteran Ghiotto to make IndyCar debut with Dale Coyne Racing at Barber
History of the F1 points system with proposed structure for 2025
WRC looking to add F1-style team radio to TV broadcasts
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