Lorenzo: Recording Breaking Pole at Sepang

2012 Sepang Qualifying Results

Knowing there’s a mathematical chance that he may not capture the 2012 MotoGP title, Jorge Lorenzo was in top form Saturday during qualifying for the Malaysian Grand Prix at Sepang.

The Yamaha Factory Racing rider posted a 2:00.33 at Sepang, the lap time becoming a new record pole. Joining Lorenzo on the front row is the rider who trails Lorenzo by 28 points with three rounds remaining – Repsol Honda’s Dani Pedrosa – and Monster Tech 3 Yamaha’s Andrea Dovizioso.

Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha Factory Racing YZR-M1 MotoGP) says: “We made a very good lap at the end of the session with the new qualifying’ tire. In the middle of the practice we struggled a little bit because we had a bit of chattering and the rear tire wasn’t working as well as it had been in the morning session. We need to still work a little on our pace as it’s not extremely good yet but we have some options for tomorrow. Let’s see what happens, it’s going to be a long race in difficult conditions.”

Heading up the second row is Pedrosa’s teammate, Casey Stoner. The reigning MotoGP champ, who returned last week at Motegi after a three-race hiatus due to injury, appeared to struggle with bike setup. But regardless, he qualified 0.477 of a second behind Lorenzo.

Joining Stoner on the second row will be Monster Tech 3 Yamaha’s Cal Crutchlow, and Yamaha Factory Racing’s Ben Spies. The Texan was on consistent form throughout the session, yet could not quite match the speed of the Tech 3 satellite outfit.

Pramac Racing Team’s Héctor Barberá set the seventh fastest time to occupy the front of the third row, after putting in a phenomenal performance on his Desmosedici. Eighth went to LCR Honda MotoGP’s Stefan Bradl, who will be disappointed he is not higher up the grid after showing good form in the previous rounds. Completing row three is Ducati Team’s Nicky Hayden in ninth, with the American doing well to recover from a spill this morning.

The final top-ten spot went to San Carlo Honda Gresini’s Álvaro Bautista, after a disappointing session for the Spaniard and his team, where he crashed on his final run. Ducati’s Valentino Rossi, who crashed in the morning practice, looked somewhat out of sorts finishing down in 11th, yet did well to save a big wobble early on. The CRT grid battle was won by Power Electronics Aspar’s Aleix Espargaró, who qualified in 12th just behind Rossi. Avintia Blusens’ Yonny Hernandez did not take part in qualifying and will not participate in Sunday’s race due to the dislocating his shoulder during Friday’s practice session.

2012 Sepang MotoGP Qualifying Results: