Lorenzo holds off de Puniet for British GP pole
Jorge Lorenzo landed the British GP pole for the fifth round on the MotoGP series calendar. It was the Spaniard's first pole this season and it did not come easy. Lorenzo had a fierce battle with Randy de Puniet in the closing minutes but was able ...
Jorge Lorenzo landed the British GP pole for the fifth round on the MotoGP series calendar. It was the Spaniard's first pole this season and it did not come easy. Lorenzo had a fierce battle with Randy de Puniet in the closing minutes but was able to lay down a 2:03.308 to end up on top by 0.126 seconds.
"I am so happy about this first pole of the season, but I'm even happier about the fact that I felt so good on my M1 this afternoon," said Lorenzo. "It is really important to be on the front row for tomorrow because this gives us the best chance of another podium."
LCR Honda rider's de Puniet was happy to end up in the middle of the front two, despite a crash on the final push. The Frenchman started his drive to the front in the final 15 minutes on the newly redesigned Silverstone circuit.
De Puniet's best time of 2:03.434 places him in the middle of the front row and he exclaimed with a smile, "It's my first time on the front row for three years and the first time with the LCR Honda team, so I'm delighted!"
The final rider on the front row is the one in chase mode for points to close the gap that Lorenzo has. Dani Pedrosa's best was a 2:03.586 on his Repsol Honda.
Pedrosa pushed perhaps too hard on his final circuit and it cost him bruising to his both of his knees. The Spaniard crashed at the 12 turn and was taken to the medical center. He will be able to start Sunday's race.
"I crashed when I was on my last qualifying lap as I was braking when going into a left hander," Pedrosa explained, I hit some bumps and then the front started to move a lot and then had a little slide. Maybe the bike went over me and at that moment it hurt, but afterwards the pain went away so I'm okay for tomorrow."
With Lorenzo's teammate Valentino Rossi out of the picture due to the Italian recovering from his accident in Italy, the main target for the MotoGP riders is Lorenzo. Today, the young rider held up well to all those who challenged him, but then again, he is the points leader!
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