Lorenzo hails "very special" lap record at Jerez
Jorge Lorenzo has hailed his record breaking pole position lap at Jerez as one of the most special in his MotoGP career.
Photo by: Yamaha MotoGP
Despite a slow start to the season, the factory Yamaha rider was relishing the challenge of tackling the Jerez circuit in front of his home fans, and he didn't disappoint.
Dominant from the very first practice session, no one could match Lorenzo's pace over the entire weekend, with his nearest qualifying challenger Marc Marquez going four tenths slower.
Setting the new pole position record is unbelievable.
Jorge Lorenzo
"Setting the new pole position record is unbelievable," he said. "I rode many impressive lap times in my career, but this one is very special.
"I haven't had the perfect start to the season, but now I have confidence on the bike again. There have been no big issues with the tyres like in Argentina, I feel great physically and the bike is working well.
"The Yamaha is a better bike this year, I just needed to find my confidence to demonstrate it."
Lorenzo fast to silence his critics
While Yamaha teammate Valentino Rossi leads the championship, Lorenzo has come under fire following his sluggish start to this year's campaign, leading to speculation he may leave the team.
But the team poured cold water over such suggestions on Friday by confirming that Lorenzo would indeed see out his current contract, which runs until the end of 2016.
"There wasn't any pressure with the contract," the Spaniard said. "It's in a bad period that you need to feel the team's support the most, and I had the full support of the team."
Lorenzo also added that observers had been too quick to write him off, saying: "A lot of people said that I had a crisis and I was down, it was one of my worst moments.
"But just two days later I rode this impressive lap time. That shows that in racing you can‘t say things like 'this guy is down, he‘s finished' because the next day he‘s going to be at the front."
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