Lorenzo: Pole unexpected

The Spaniard lay 0.3s behind Casey Stoner's Ducati as he began his final flying lap with just over a minute of the session remaining, but stunned onlookers as he took his Yamaha to a fifth straight pole by just under 0.2s.

Afterwards he said that he believed Stoner's time had been untouchable and that his own pace had been a surprise.

"I saw Casey was so quick, and I really didn't think I'd get it," said Lorenzo. "My first lap [on that set of tyres] was a 1m21.2s, so the next lap I decided to really push and I got it [in 1m20.9s]."

Lorenzo attached little importance to his achievement at Laguna Seca, which made him the first Yamaha rider to take five poles in a row in grand prix racing's premier class since Max Biaggi on a YZR 500 in 2001.

"It's impressive for my team, but it's really not important," he added. "Of course it's a bit better for the race because the less positions you lose at the start the less you have to make up again later."