Indianapolis GP: Yamaha qualifying report

ANOTHER FRONT ROW FOR LORENZO AS ROSSI HAS A DIFFICULT DAY

Jorge Lorenzo took his eleventh straight front row of the season in Indianapolis today to extend his spotless 2010 qualifying record, but it was a difficult day for his Fiat Yamaha team-mate Valentino Rossi as the World Champion slid out in the closing minutes of the session and will start from seventh.

Another hot day in Indiana brought about tricky conditions on the bumpy asphalt this afternoon, with surface temperatures in excess of 50 degrees during the session. Despite the hindrance Lorenzo looked in fine fettle and as the minutes ticked down he abandoned race set-up to concentrate on qualifying times, being rewarded soon after with provisional pole. However Tech 3 Yamaha rider Ben Spies had other ideas today and the Texan edged Lorenzo into second by two tenths. The Championship Leader will be sandwiched between two Americans when the lights go out tomorrow after Nicky Hayden qualified third.

Rossi suffered a torrid day on track, unable to find a comfortable set-up and hitting the gravel in this morning's free practice session, in which he finished ninth. Some major set-up changes before qualifying left him and the team hopeful of improvement this afternoon and his race pace was considerably better, although he still lacked some grip. Inside the final minutes and with a softer Bridgestone tyre fitted he was ready to push for a fast time but he lost the front when he hit a bump on the track and slid out for the second time today, with not enough time left in the session to go out again on his second bike. The Italian was relieved to discover he was not further down than seventh and he is looking to try to charge through the field tomorrow when the lights go out at 1500 local time.

Jorge Lorenzo
Position: 2nd Time: 1'40.325 Laps: 28

"This was a really difficult session because it was so hot and the track was very slippery and bumpy, it was hard to know what to expect! Luckily we managed a good lap and I'm happy with second place, Ben's lap was amazing so well done to him. A good start will be really important tomorrow because there are many fast riders behind and I think it will be a tough battle for everyone. Our setting is good and we are happy with the choice for the tyre so we will try our best and see what we can do here in Indy."

Valentino Rossi
Position: 7th Time: 1'41.005 Laps: 23

"We worked hard today to try to recover the feeling we've lost and we have made some improvement. Unfortunately I crashed at the worst point in the session, with the soft tyre in and doing some fast laps but with not enough time left to try again. It could have been worse because I thought I would end up much further back than seventh, so we can be happy for this. This track is very bumpy and I really think something needs to be done to some parts of it to improve it. I don't know when the last time I crashed twice on one day is but for sure it was many years ago, back in the 90s perhaps! Luckily I am okay, nothing is hurt and this is the most important thing. I think tomorrow is going to be a very interesting day because me, Pedrosa and Stoner are all behind the front row which is unusual. It could be fun!"

Wilco Zeelenberg
Team Manager

"The conditions were really bad today with the heat and the grip levels so it was easy for the riders to be caught out. Luckily Jorge kept his head and we have a good result, as well as a good feeling with both our bikes. We know which Bridgestone tyre we're going to use and we are starting from the front row so we're ready for a fight. Well done to Ben Spies for this pole position, he did an amazing lap at his home race."

Davide Brivio
Team Manager

"We are not having the best weekend but we made some improvements today and our race pace is not too bad. Unfortunately Valentino crashed at the end of qualifying and there wasn't time for him to go out on the second bike, but considering this then the third row isn't too bad and luckily he hasn't hurt himself in any way. We have some work to do tonight and we will focus on tomorrow, anything can happen and we're looking forward to it."

-source: yamaha