MotoGP

Lorenzo Hails “Perfect” Pole Lap In Qatar

2 Mins read
Jorge Lorenzo - Photo Credit: Yamaha Factory Racing

Jorge Lorenzo - Photo Credit: Yamaha Factory Racing

 

Jorge Lorenzo didn't think there was any more he could've got out of his Yamaha YZR-M1 after taking a sensational pole position in Qatar. The Spaniard pipped Casey Stoner after a thrilling head-to head battle and admitted it took a perfect lap to beat the Honda.

Lorenzo expects Stoner to pose a tough test in the grand prix tomorrow and thinks whichever rider preserves his tyres the best will come out on top.

“I am really happy with tonight's result. I had to push more than 100% to make pole position but I pushed to the limit and managed to make a perfect lap. We still have to improve the power on the straight and our maximum speed but in the rest of the track the bike is working really well. Tomorrow will be a tough race and tyres will be very important I think. A big thank you to Yamaha and my team for giving me such a good bike!”

Team Manager Wilco Zeelenberg pointed out that qualifying was particularly tough for Yamaha last year and tough great pride in securing pole for the first race of 2012.

“A fantastic start to the season, last year we struggled many times to qualify well. Jorge delivered a great pole and was over two tenths quicker than Casey which is impressive. We have a good feeling and we're looking forward to tomorrow to see what we can do.”

Ben Spies will start just behind Lorenzo in fourth and it could've been better for the American who crashed on his final soft tyre run. Spies was looking to join his teammate on the front row and did everything to try and rescue the situation.

“We were on a good lap until the crash, I just lost the front. I've been complaining the last couple of days that the front end just didn't have the right feeling that I wanted. As I was trying to get away from the bike when I was sliding something got caught up and I went with it. I was looking at the front wheel for a while and thought about trying to get back on when I couldn't get away from it! We'll try to make the bike better now, I know if we can fix it we can be up front. The M1 is clearly going round the track fast and I feel good on it apart from that. We've got some good ideas to try in warm up so we'll see.”

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