Lorenzo on pole at Catalunya from Stoner and De Puniet

Jorge Lorenzo took an impressive third straight pole at his home track of Montmeló this afternoon, Fiat Yamaha’s championship leader storming to his 12th MotoGP pole with an impressive lap that was 0.364 seconds faster than Casey Stoner in second. His temporary team-mate Wataru Yoshikawa made an impressive improvement of more than two seconds, as he continues to gain a deeper understanding of Valentino Rossi’s YZR-M1.

23-year-old Lorenzo was fastest once again in morning practice but spent most of the qualifying session a little further down the standings, as he concentrated on perfecting his race set-up and gathering as much information as possible about the two available Bridgestone tyre compounds. With just under ten minutes to go he leapt up the leader board to take pole, surrendering it briefly to Stoner before improving again on both of his next two laps to ensure himself a hat-trick of pole positions from the last three races.

Having learnt the track yesterday, Yoshikawa was able to spend a little more time today working on the set-up of his M1, finishing 17th. He made a significant improvement and is hopeful of gathering some useful information and improving further still during tomorrow’s race.

With more soaring temperatures today, tomorrow’s 25-lap race looks like being a scorching affair when the lights go out at 1400 CET.

Jorge Lorenzo – Position: 1st Time: 1’42.046Laps: 29
“I’m really happy with this third pole position, it seems we’re doing a very good job and it’s very special to get it at my home round. It was a hard session but finally I was able to do some quick laps at the end with the soft tyre. It is so hot here and I think it’s easy to say that tomorrow will be the hardest race so far this season. I will have to concentrate extra hard in this weather and also make sure that my physical condition is the best it can be. The tyres are going to be very important and we still have to make a final choice; before the practice we thought we had chosen but we’re not so sure now so we will have to make our final decision tomorrow after warm-up.”

Wataru Yoshikawa – Position: 17th Time: 1’45.759 Laps: 20
“I think I did a bit better on this second day here in Barcelona, and now that I understood the track more I was able to work on some small setting details and make some adjustments. I think that I can improve even more tomorrow, even though the race will be very hard. I will do my best to stay in touch and use the time to gather as much information as possible, which can help Yamaha in future development.”

Wilco Zeelenberg – Team Manager
“It’s our third pole in a row and we’re really happy about this. Jorge was once again very mature today, not getting distracted with an early fight for times but concentrating on finding the best set-up and managing to improve his race-pace before putting in some fast laps at the end. We still need to decide about the tyres because at the moment our choice keeps changing, especially on the rear. They’re both good but we will have to wait for tomorrow to make the final decision.”

Davide Brivio – Team Manager
“Wataru improved his lap time a lot today. It’s very difficult for him here; it’s a new track, it’s very hot and he’s been away from racing for a long time, so he’s not used to pushing hard in a short time. He has made a big effort and is getting quicker, so tomorrow we will see what happens. We know he will try his very best.”

Spies and Edwards prepared for tough battle in Spanish sauna

Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team riders Ben Spies and Colin Edwards are gearing themselves up for potentially the hardest race of the 2010 MotoGP world championship campaign at the Catalunya circuit tomorrow.

Today’s qualifying session at the 4.727km circuit near Barcelona took place in sweltering heat, with the American duo preparing to start from fifth and 11th on the grid for the 25-lap race.

Scorching hot conditions at the fast and technical circuit are likely to be repeated tomorrow, with Spies and Edwards putting in tremendous effort all weekend to get their YZR-M1 machines set-up to cope with the extreme weather.

Spies will start from fifth on the grid, the Texan disappointed he couldn’t improve on his best time of 1.42.710 having encountered a slower rider while pushing hard on his last soft compound Bridgestone tyre.

The 25-year-old though remains confident of extending his outstanding form in his first full MotoGP season after completing an endurance run of 20-laps this afternoon.

The long run, five laps short of full race distance, gave Spies a wealth of information on Bridgestone’s hard tyre in the extreme conditions often only experienced at the Sepang circuit in Malaysia.

Air tempera ture peaked at 35 degrees and track temperature a sizzling 53 degrees, but Spies was able to lap consistently in the low 1.43s bracket in full race trim.

He missed equalling his best premier class qualifying result of fourth by just 0.118s, but is confident he will be a strong contender for a third successive top four finish.

Edwards will start from the fourth row having set a best time of 1.43.059. Edwards called on all his vast experience to try and improve turning performance on his YZR-M1 machine while also fine-tuning suspension settings to gain maximum tyre endurance in the intense heat.

His hard work though was only rewarded with 11th, Edwards missing a top six grid position by less than 0.3s in another closely fought and exciting session.

Ben Spies – Position: 5th Time: 1’42.710 Laps: 30
“We did close to a full race simulation at the beginning just to see how it was, check how the bike is going to be in the heat and when the grip drops off. The first ten laps won’t decide the race here and that’s why I wanted to do the distance run. I was only going to do ten laps but I ended up staying out and doing 20 and we got some good information. I was pretty happy with the performance of the bike and physically I felt great. I tried to put in a couple of quick laps at the end on the soft tyre and I rode really hard to get myself up the grid. I’m pretty upset because Espargaro blocked me. He saw me coming and didn’t even move and I was lucky because that was already on my third lap on the last soft tyre I had available. I had to do my fastest lap on the fourth lap on the tyre and I didn’t think I’d get as high as fifth and was worried I’d be a lot further down. So considering that, I’m pretty happy with how it ended. It will be a tough race but I’ll be giving it my all to continue the momentum I gained with good results at Silverstone and Assen.”

Colin Edwards – Position: 11th Time: 1’43.059 Laps: 26
“Nobody wants to be down in 11th, least of all me, but I know I am riding better than ever and that is all I can do with the package we have got. It is really tough to go any faster than I am and it is not through a lack of trying on my part and my crew at Monster Yamaha Tech 3. Obviously it is unbelievably hot out there and we’ve spent a lot of time concentrating on getting the bike to work good at the end of the race when everybody is go ing to be chasing grip. If I race with the hard tyre I can probably be fighting for tenth and if I go with the soft tyre then at least I might be able to get in a good rhythm early on and see where we end up. But it is going to be tough and I’ll sit down with my crew and Bridgestone tonight and see what they say about tyre choice for the race. I’ll be giving it my all as usual but it is a little bit frustrating at the moment. I am so close to the top six on the times but I can’t physically ride the bike any harder than I am to get those last couple of tenths I need to be higher up.”

—  Ducati Report

Casey Stoner and Nicky Hayden qualified second and eleventh respectively for the Grand Prix of Catalunya on another sizzling day in Barcelona, where track temperatures reached 60ºC. The grueling conditions put the Ducati Marlboro Team riders to the test and they both struggled to find the required grip levels on race tyres as they experimented with a variety of settings in the first part of the session.

In the final few minutes, when they fitted the softer tyres, they both lowered their lap times with Stoner rising to second place and Hayden eleventh but just two tenths off seventh.

CASEY STONER (Ducati Marlboro Team) 2nd (1’42.410)
“This afternoon’s qualifying practice was the only session we have really struggled in this weekend because everything went well in free practice. We struggled to improve the rear grip and so far we haven’t found enough of it. We are fast in the corners and especially on entry but we can’t get the tyre to work properly on exit – we don’t have grip and it is sliding around. We tried something with the set-up on one of the bikes but I didn’t like it so we went back a step. We’ll try a couple of new things in the warm-up but other than that I’m satisfied with what we have for the race.”

NICKY HAYDEN – (Ducati Marlboro Team) 11th (1’43.068)
“We have made a few steps forward this morning in the cooler conditions but in the afternoon we really struggled. We’re having the same problems as yesterday – to get the grip we need we have to load the rear too much and vice versa. We tried some little changes with the spring and a few other things without finding a good balance and at the moment it’s going to be a demanding race. Starting from the fourth row doesn’t help – we have a lot of work to do but hopefully we can find something in the warm-up.”

—  HRC

Honda privateer Randy de Puniet (LCR Honda RC212V) was top of the order for 45 of the 60 minutes in Saturday’s sweltering qualifying session at the Circuit of Catalunya. But in the last ten minutes Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha) sped to the pole position and Casey Stoner (Ducati) slotted into second. Still, it was three front row starts in a row for the Frenchman, the best stretch of his career, and it guaranteed a Honda would be on the front row of every grand prix this season.

The hyper-fit Frenchman seemed to thrive in the 35C heat, sliding the rear wheel of his Honda RC212V off the long corners of the 4.727k track north of Barcelona. De Puniet moved to the top in the sixth minute, then lowered the benchmark three more times. It wasn’t until the 51st minute that Lorenzo went slightly faster, with Stoner turning his fast lap less than four minutes from the end of the hour. And though de Puniet qualified third, he finished the session with more laps in the 1:42’s than anyone else, proving that his race pace will be strong for tomorrow’s seventh round of the MotoGP World Championship.

Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda RC212V) qualified just off the front row, only .080s behind de Puniet, in his home race after a small mistake in the final section of the track. The Pedrosa family roots are in Sabadell, about 20k from the track, and the Spaniard had plenty of hometown support, including a number of family members. One of only two riders to win 125cc, 250cc, and MotoGP races in Catalunya, Pedrosa is hopeful of repeating his win here from 2008. Last season he arrived home in less than peak physical condition and wasn’t able to give his fans the race they were hoping for.

With similar temperatures expected for Sunday’s race, Pedrosa, and many others, spent the session evaluating which of the Bridgestone rear tires would work best for race distance.

Andrea Dovizioso (Repsol Honda RC212V) finished the session at the end of the second row in sixth place. The Italian spent much of the hour in the top three, by setting his fastest time on the 11th of his 30 total laps. But he wasn’t able to improve on his lap of 1m, 35.105s and found himself slowly slipping down the order. Still, starting from the second row puts him in perfect position to protect his third place in the MotoGP World Championship.

Dovizioso spent the end of the hour on the harder rear tire, while collecting data which he hopes will help him in the race. That he finished on the second row with the harder option bodes well for Sunday.

Marco Simoncelli (San Carlo Honda Gresini RC212V) ended a string of four races in a row of improved qualifying spots, but not by much. The MotoGP rookie qualified ninth fastest, one off his career best, and only .129 secs. off the second row. He might have improved his position, but he ran out of time before he could fit a second softer rear tire. Simoncelli had the use of a new frame and forks today and, once he gets them dialed in, he’s confident he can race closer to the front.

Marco Melandri (San Carlo Honda Gresini RC212V) rode valiantly in considerable pain to the 14th fastest time. Melandri separated his shoulder during practice last week in Assen and wasn’t able to race. A week of intense physiotherapy has allowed him to ride, but his movement was limited and it was a feat just to finish the hour. The intense heat will do him no favors in Sunday’s race. Unable to battle for the win, Melandri will look to pick up as many points as possible.

Kousuke Akiyoshi (Interwetten Honda MotoGP
RC212V) won the qualifying battle of the Japanese test riders. Akiyoshi, the Honda test rider racing in place of the injured Hiroshi Aoyama, got the better of fellow test rider, Wataru Yoshikawa (Yamaha), who replaced the injured Valentino Rossi. Akiyoshi’s target is to beat his colleague in every session and he was satisfied after having accomplished it today.

The Moto2 qualifying session was as hectic as always, which was something of a surprise. Earlier in the weekend, the Moto2 field had been called into a meeting with race direction to discuss aggressive riding in qualifying. Judging from the reaction of the riders, it seemed to have little effect.

As always, it was crowded at the top with 15 riders on the first second and the next 24 on the next second. The best of them was Andrea Iannone (Fimmco Speed Up, Speed Up) for the third time in a row. Iannone translated his previous two poles, in Mugello and Assen, into race wins and was hoping for more of the same this weekend. His pole time of 1m, 47.493s was an impressive .267s faster than the second best.

That honor went to Yuki Takahashi (Tech 3 Racing, Tech3), the Japanese rider who achieved a career best second in qualifying. For qualifying Takahashi had the benefit of a new Tech 3 frame, which the team built overnight. From his very first laps he was confident that he could have his best result, which he did, and he expects that confidence to carry over into the race.

Thomas Luthi (Interwetten Moriwaki Moto2, Moriwaki) rode with a broken collarbone to the third fastest time. The injury, which was suffered last week at Assen, wasn’t revealed until he had an operation to correct it during the week. The injury wasn’t a problem in qualifying, where he exceeded expectations. The bigger problem was slower riders, which he said were on the ideal line when he was trying for his fast lap.

Championship leader Toni Elias (Gresini Racing Moto2, Moriwaki) qualified with the fourth fastest time in his home race. Elias hails from nearby Manresa and he has the support of family and friends as he seeks his third win in of the season. After disappointing results in Mugello and Silverstone, he righted the ship and finished a fighting second in Assen. That gave him a 24 point championship lead after six races.

Rookie Marcel Schrötter (Interwetten Honda 125 Team) had a difficult Saturday at Montmelo. He missed most of the morning session when an engine failed, sending him to the ground. The young Bavarian found it difficult to regain his confidence in the afternoon and qualified 23rd.

HONDA MotoGP RIDER QUOTES

Randy de Puniet, LCR Honda RC212V: 2nd – 1m, 42.512s “I was a bit worried about the track temperature and the edge-grip but from the beginning of this afternoon session on race trim I was one of the fastest out there. Then we could work on race set up playing around with different mappings and electronic and after that I moved on soft tyres lapping immediately in 42.6. I really wanted to get this pole position but Casey and Jorge have been very fast today. I am very satisfied about this third consecutive front row and want to thank my guys for their excellent work. Tomorrow for the race it’s a different story and we will have to see how the tyres will drop but we have been working on this since Friday so I am pretty confident. I think this could be the best race of the season for me.”

Dani Pedrosa, Repsol Honda RC212V: 4th – 1m, 42.592s “The second row is not perfect but anyway, the position is not a big deal and to be fourth is ok with the lap times so close here. Today we’ve been trying the tyre options to check which will be the best ones for the race. It will be a tough race tomorrow because of the heat, and also because of the level of our rivals. Also managing the tyre performance so that we can lap consistently at 1m 43s will be critical. We need to work a little more on the chassis set-up because this morning I felt better than this afternoon. Anyway, we are better than we were at the last race in Assen in terms of qualifying performance, and we had a strong race there. I’d like to be on the front row and I think it was possible but on my penultimate lap I made a small mistake and this cost me the chance. T4 is still my weak point in the lap – the last hard braking point in particular. We will try to find something in the warm-up to fix this. Obviously I want to have a good race in front of all the people who will come to support me and we’ll certainly be going for it.”

Andrea Dovizioso, Repsol Honda RC212V: 6th – 1m, 42.866s “I’m satisfied with the race pace and I think we are ready for tomorrow. The second row is not the best position to start but being on the front two rows is the important thing. Also, we were using the hard Bridgestone tyre at the end of the session so this qualifying position doesn’t truly reflect our potential. For the race there are many riders with a similar pace and we will have to see how the tyre performance goes tomorrow in these hot conditions and manage our race well. Today we started the session with the soft tyres to see how they affected the pace and rhythm and I think we will use the hard compound tomorrow because it’s really too hot for the soft ones. We need to adjust the electronic controls because the bike is sliding quite a lot – due to the characteristics of this track and also because of the heat. I’m looking forward to the race tomorrow. I really like this track and the atmosphere is always fantastic here.”

Marco Simoncelli, San Carlo Honda Gresini RC212V: 9th – 1m, 42.994s “I am quite happy because I am convinced that this new chassis and forks are a step in the right direction. The third row is okay, although maybe we could have done better so we’ll try to improve our position in the race. I was struggling a little until we put the soft tyre on – I was running well this morning in the cooler conditions but the temperature was much hotter in the afternoon and I couldn’t maintain that pace. I felt better as soon as we put the soft one on so it was a shame we ran out of time to try a second one because I think I could have taken another step forward. Now we have to decide which tyre to use tomorrow.”

Marco Melandri, San Carlo Honda Gresini RC212V: 13th – 1m, 43.621s “Tomorrow will be a tough race considering how much I struggled yesterday compared to today. I was struggling for breath but I think this race for me is more like a training exercise and if I can stay on the bike for the whole distance it will give me a bit of confidence. The heat doesn’t help but once we get into a rhythm I think we can make it to the end.”

Kousuke Akiyoshi, Interwetten Honda MotoGP RC212V: 16th – 1m, 45.577s “We tried three different set up in qualifying today and I had more grip straight away, maybe a bit too much. The lap times could have been a bit better and I am not so satisfied with that, but I think the direction we went today was right.”

—  Suzuki Report

Rizla Suzuki racers Loris Capirossi and Alvaro Bautista continued with the promise shown yesterday to produce the team’s best qualifying session of the season so far at Catalunya today.

Capirossi (P7, 1’42.903, 26 laps) and Bautista (P9, 1’43.025, 28 laps) were both less than a second from the pole position time set by Jorge Lorenzo and were within 0.5 of-a-second of a front row start. Capirossi worked tirelessly in the blistering Catalonian heat as he managed a total of 56 laps around the 4,727m circuit during today’s two sessions. He made very few alterations to his machine and is sure he will be able to race competitively in tomorrow’s 25-lap race.

Bautista went from strength to strength at his home Grand Prix today. He continually improved on his lap-times and with less than 10 minutes to go was in the top-four during the qualifying session. Showing no ill effects from yesterday’s crash, Bautista is confident that he will perform well in front of his home fans and give the Rizla Suzuki team a result to smile about tomorrow.

Today’s practice was held in scorching conditions again with the track temperatures rising to 53ºC. Spaniard Lorenzo took his third successive pole position as he attempts to win his third race in a row and extend his championship lead.

Tomorrow’s race is the seventh round of the MotoGP World Championship and the main event will be set for the off at 14.00hrs local time (12.00hrs GMT).

Loris Capirossi: “Overall the weekend has been not too bad and we have been working quite hard all day today. In this morning’s session we only stopped once in the hour and we managed to understand many things on the bike. We only changed one thing on the bike today and the team has done a great job to set the GSV-R up for here. I feel good with the weekend so far, but we are still missing a little something, especially in turns 9, 12 and 13. I am struggling a little bit in the fastest points, but it is enjoyable to ride the bike and I think that tomorrow we can have a good race.”

Álvaro Bautista: “I am happy because I have improved on my time and I am lucky that my left arm is ok – it’s not perfect, but at least I am able to ride the bike like I want to. This morning we improved the bike and I was happy with the set-up. This afternoon I tried to do a long run with the front tyre, but something wasn’t right with the feeling so I had to change it and that resolved things. I tried to follow Lorenzo and I got a couple of good laps, this put me in fourth position for a while – which was good because it was the best I have been in MotoGP. At the finish of the session I made a mistake on my last lap and lost some time, if I hadn’t I might have been higher up the grid. I am happy though because this is my best qualifying position and now I want to make a good start tomorrow so I can fight with other riders for the front positions. I really want to have a good race here at my home Grand Prix.”

Paul Denning – Team Manager:
“Congratulations to all the team – and both riders – on a fine effort so far this weekend in Catalunya. It is particularly pleasing to see Álvaro back and showing the kind of form that we know he is capable of. For both of the guys to be less than a second off pole – and half-of-a-second off the front row – is a massive step from where we have been recently. It’s going to be very difficult for all the bikes and riders in this heat tomorrow, but Loris and Álvaro are up for the challenge and whilst we’re very realistic about the steps we’ve taken and the expectations for tomorrow, we all feel positive that the guys have the capability to put on a good show.”

—  Bridgestone Report

Bridgestone slick compounds available: Front: Medium, Hard. Rear: Hard, Extra Hard (asymmetric)
Jorge Lorenzo set his third pole position in as many weekends today, obtaining the most from his hard front and softer rear Bridgestone slicks as the track temperature rose to 56 degrees Celsius, the hottest of the weekend so far. The hour-long qualifying session came to a frantic conclusion as Fiat Yamaha’s Lorenzo dipped under the existing lap record to secure pole with this penultimate lap, edging out Ducati Team’s Casey Stoner and long-time session leader Randy de Puniet of the LCR Honda MotoGP squad.

Just 0.5seconds separated third to tenth positions. Almost every rider recorded their best lap using Bridgestone’s hard compound front slick tyre and the softer option rear, which provided better edge grip that benefitted laptimes particularly round the long and fast right-handers. The harder option rear slick is likely to be favoured for tomorrow’s race however because of its added durability in these hot and tough conditions. Already this weekend the tyres have had to cope with the highest track and ambient temperatures of the season, and Catalunya is one of the most demanding circuits of the year so a good bike setup that uses the tyres effectively and good tyre management by the riders will play key roles in determining the outcome of tomorrow’s 25 lap race. Those who have optimised bike, rider and tyre packages will be strong tomorrow. With the track temperature high, excess sliding will generate even higher tyre temperatures which will have a greater affect upon tyre performance.

Tohru Ubukata – Manager, Bridgestone Motorcycle Tyre Development Department
“Today the conditions were almost the same as they were here last year and we have the same tyre specs, so there were no surprises and I am happy with tyre performance. Many riders will favour the harder asymmetric rear tyre for the race tomorrow, but I believe that the softer asymmetric rear is also a realistic option. Ben completed a long and consistent run of 20 laps on the softer rear today so I am confident of its race distance durability.

“I think tomorrow we will see a good comparison in the race between the two compound options. Riders who want better initial grip to get quickly into the rhythm of the race can choose the softer rear slick, whereas those who choose the harder option will have better consistency towards the end of the race.”

Having won twice this season from his two previous Moto2 pole position starts, Andrea Iannone will go for a third victory of 2010 from top spot on the grid on Sunday. The Italian’s time of 1’47.493 on his penultimate lap of the qualifying session meant he ended the hour 0.267s clear on the timesheet.

The closest rider to him was Tech 3 Moto2’s Yuki Takahashi as the Japanese took his best qualification of the season so far in second, with Thomas Lüthi (Interwetten Moriwaki Moto2) the third and final rider under the 1’48” mark as he remained strong in spite of his injured collarbone. Championship leader Toni Elías (Gresini Racing Moto2) will complete the front row after setting the fourth best time of the session.

Second row positions were secured by Jules Cluzel (Forward Racing) and Carmelo Morales, who is riding as substitute for the injured Axel Pons on the Tenerife 40 Pons team this weekend. Technomag-CIP rider Shoya Tomizawa – currently second in the Championship – will also be on row two despite a crash late in the session, with Ratthapark Wilairot (Thai Honda PTT Singha-SAG) completing the top eight.

Kenny Noyes (Jack&Jones by Antonio Banderas) and Roberto Rolfo (Italtrans STR) took top ten times, and British rider Scott Redding (Marc VDS Racing Team) was 14th.

125cc

Marc Márquez took pole position for the 125cc race in Barcelona – his third in a row – thanks to a qualifying lap of 1’50.543 on Saturday afternoon, as he turned his dominance in the two free practice sessions into a qualifying result. The young Spaniard was 0.266s faster than rival Pol Espargaró (Tuenti Racing), who secured second place on the grid for Sunday’s race.

British rider Bradley Smith was third as he showed no signs of any problems from a crash at the end of the morning practice session, and was a further 0.21s down on Espargaró. His Bancaja Aspar team-mate and current Championship leader Nico Terol completed the front row.

Sandro Cortese (Avant Mitsubishi Ajo), Tomoyoshi Koyama (Racing Team Germany), Esteve Rabat (Blusens-STX) and Efrén Vázquez (Tuenti Racing) completed the top eight and took places on the second row.

1. TBC

1. TBC