Reigning World Champion Jorge Lorenzo delivered a stunning performance this afternoon in qualifying to take second on the grid for tomorrow’s Grand Prix of Japan at Motegi. After struggling in the previous sessions for braking stability and maximum lean grip, Lorenzo’s crew made key set up changes which transformed the Mallorcan’s YZR-M1 for the final session. The final minutes of the session saw him smash the pole record of the Motegi circuit with 1’45.523, only to have first snatched back in the last seconds by rival Casey Stoner.
Fellow Yamaha Factory Racing rider Ben Spies experienced another exhausting day of riding as he battles to recover from a serious bout of food poisoning caught before travelling to Japan. Despite his reduced fitness and stamina level the American put in a huge effort in both morning practice and qualifying to take fifth on the grid and a second row start for the race.
Jorge Lorenzo
Position 2nd – Time 1.45.523 – Laps 25
“We tried something different this afternoon and our lap times were unbelievable, we almost got pole! The most important thing is the first row because there are riders like Casey who find it easy to escape so I want to be right there. We have improved today but Motegi is still a tough track for Yamaha riders. If the other riders do a perfect race it is almost impossible to win, but anything can happen. Now I can say I am ready for the battle and we will put on a good show for all the Japanese fans who have come to see us race!”
Ben Spies
Position 5th – Time 1.46.042 – Laps 25
“I’ve had a lot of support from the guys at Clinica to get me back towards 100% fitness. I’m just glad now to be on the bike, a couple of days ago I didn’t think I was going to be able to ride. I’m really happy to have got into the middle of the second row today and I hope things get even better for tomorrow, we’ll see how it goes. Yesterday I was pretty weak on the bike, this morning I felt a bit stronger and this afternoon I felt ok with energy levels, I was just fighting a lot of stomach cramps. I’m doing the best I can for my crew and the paddock and all the fans who are here to watch us.”
Wilco Zeelenberg – Yamaha Factory Racing Team Manager
“We made big steps from the first three practices, Jorge is able to stop the bike properly now so that’s a big improvement. Maximum lean angle grip has also improved so he can now stop the bike and turn and accelerate. We are quite happy; I think we have something to fight with tomorrow which is important. I have to thank the team who worked really hard to make the step forward with the bike.”
Massimo Meregalli – Yamaha Factory Racing Team Director
“This afternoon we saw some excellent qualifying laps from Jorge, his race pace is also quite fast and consistent. For sure it is going to be a tough race but we are up there. Ben fortunately is feeling better and better, he was able to complete both sessions today. Starting from fifth on the grid is good under the circumstances; we know he did his best. Hopefully tomorrow he’ll feel even better and will put up a good fight. 24 laps will be quite intensive so he needs to be as fit as possible for it.”
Crutchlow close to third row in Japan
Cal Crutchlow fought off a heavy cold to finish just over 0.1s away from claiming a starting position on the third row of the grid for tomorrow’s Japanese MotoGP race at the end of a closely contested qualifying session at the Twin Ring Motegi circuit.
The British rider will start the 15th round of the 2011 World Championship from 12th on the grid after yet another encouraging performance on board the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 YZR-M1 machine.
Crutchlow’s best time of 1.46.818 was almost 0.3s quicker than the 2010 pole position time and his pace was less than 0.4s away from Valentino Rossi in seventh position. Today’s result was reward for Crutchlow’s determination after he was struck by a nasty he ad cold overnight, which left the 25-year-old with a severe sore throat.
Crutchlow is hoping a good night’s rest will help him return to 100 per cent as he looks to continue his fine recent run of form in tomorrow’s 24-lap race. He is seeking a third successive top 10 finish to strengthen his bid for the coveted Rookie of the Year title.
Today’s qualifying session, which took place in much cooler conditions compared to practice yesterday, didn’t go according to plan for experienced team-mate Colin Edwards.
The 37-year-old had high hopes of a strong performance after claiming a season best fifth place at the Twin Ring Motegi last year. Edwards qualified fifth in 2010 but despite lapping 0.3s faster this afternoon, his best time of 1.47.165 could only secure him 14th on the grid for Yamaha’s all-important home race.
Edwards suffered an early setback w hen he crashed with only a quarter of the 60-minute session completed. Edwards ran off the track at Turn 3 while pushing hard to improve his pace on his eighth lap. He ran into the gravel at high speed and despite his best efforts he was unable to keep his Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team machine upright.
He quickly adjusted to a different front-end geometry setting on his spare YZR-M1 machine to finish just over 0.3s behind Crutchlow.
Cal Crutchlow
Position 12th – Time 1.46.818 – Laps 25
“I’m a bit disappointed to be back in 12th when you look how close I am to the third row. But I can’t be too upset because I feel well below my physical best today. All last night I was coughing and sneezing and I’ve been drinking about eight litres of water today and I still feel dehydrated. My throat feels like I’ve swallowed gravel but I still managed to go out there and lap faster than last year’s pole time. I can’t really ask for much more than that on a circuit I’ve never even seen before in my life. I might have been a bit further up the grid but on my last soft tyre I nearly high-sided coming out of the first corner. It was a big moment because I struggled to get heat into the tyre out of the pits. I still got in one more lap on that final tyre and managed to set my best time, so now I’m looking forward to the race and hoping I can have another good battle like I did at the Motorland Aragon. That was a lot of fun but also helped me learn a lot, so I’ll be looking to be in a fight for the top 10.”
Colin Edwards
Position 14th – Time 1.47.165 – Laps 22
“I had high hopes coming to Japan because last year I got my best grid position and my best result of the Championship at the Twin Ring Motegi. But it just hasn’t worked out at all so far this weekend and I’m just not quick enough. I’m faster than I qualified last year but still nine places further back down the grid, so that shows how much the competition has stepped up this season. The early crash didn’t help the session run smoothly and I haven’t made a mistake as bad as that in a long time. I just completely missed my braking marker and that was all because I was pushing too hard to get more out of the bike. Looking at the lap times it is obvious that our bike doesn’t turn or accelerate as good as the rest and that means you have to ride on the ragged edge a lot. The strange part is that the bike feels fine. It is not doing anything crazy but I can’t get it to go round the track any faster. The target will be to fight for the top 10 tomorrow, but a repeat of fifth like last year unfortunately doesn’t look like it’s a realistic aim.”
2011 MotoGP Japan
Twin Ring Motegi 01/10/2011
1 Casey Stoner Honda AUS 1’45.267
2 Jorge Lorenzo Yamaha ESP 1’45.523
3 Andrea Dovizioso Honda ITA 1’45.791
4 Daniel Pedrosa Honda ESP 1’45.966
5 Ben Spies Yamaha USA 1’46.042
6 Marco Simoncelli Honda ITA 1’46.211
7 Valentino Rossi Ducati ITA 1’46.467
8 Alvaro Bautista Suzuki ESP 1’46.586
9 Hector Barbera Ducati ESP 1’46.694
10 Nicky Hayden Ducati USA 1’46.763
11 Hiroshi Aoyama Honda JPN 1’46.811
12 Cal Crutchlow Yamaha GBR 1’46.818
13 Randy De Puniet Ducati FRA 1’46.917
14 Colin Edwards Yamaha USA 1’47.165
15 Karel Abraham Ducati CZE 1’47.922
Circuit Length:
4801
Temp:
22
Weather:
Dry
Lap Record:
1’47.968
(Loris Capirossi, 1/1/2005)
Fastest Lap Ever:
1’45.267
(Casey Stoner, 10/2/2011)
Last Years Winner:
Casey Stoner
