FIM MotoGP World Championship Silverstone, England June 19, 2010 Qualifying Results (all on Bridgestone tires): 1. Jorge LORENZO, Spain (Yamaha), 2:03.308 2. Randy DE PUNIET, France (Honda), 2:03.434, crash 3. Dani PEDROSA, Spain (Honda), 2:03.586, crash 4. Andrea DOVIZIOSO, Italy (Honda), 2:03.995 5. Nicky HAYDEN, USA (Ducati), 2:04.332 6. Casey STONER, Australia (Ducati), 2:04.394 7. Ben SPIES, USA (Yamaha), 2:04.477 8. Marco MELANDRI, Italy (Honda), 2:04.555 9. Marco SIMONCELLI, Italy (Honda), 2:04.868 10. Colin EDWARDS, USA (Yamaha), 2:05.035 11. Hector BARBERA, Spain (Ducati), 2:05.354 12. Hiroshi AOYAMA, Japan (Honda), 2:05.712 13. Aleix ESPARGARO, Spain (Ducati), 2:05.748 14. Loris CAPIROSSI, Italy (Suzuki), 2:05.821 15. Alvaro BAUTISTA, Spain (Suzuki), 2:06.607 16. Mika KALLIO, Finland (Ducati), 2:06.980 More, from a press release issued by Bridgestone: Lorenzo seals Silverstone pole on Bridgestone’s softer slicks Round 5: Great Britain GP Qualifying Silverstone, Saturday 19 June 2010 Bridgestone slick compounds available: Front: Medium, Hard. Rear: Medium, Hard (asymmetric) Fiat Yamaha’s Jorge Lorenzo used a medium compound front Bridgestone slick and a medium rear to secure pole position for tomorrow’s inaugural MotoGP event at Silverstone. The ambient temperature was lower today than during Friday’s free practice session, but the benefit to the riders of extra track time after a further two hours of running today meant that the pole time was 2.6seconds faster than yesterday’s best, also set by Lorenzo. The Spaniard’s pole lap was set with an average speed of 172km/h, making the new Silverstone circuit the third fastest on the calendar, just behind Mugello and Phillip Island. This speed makes it tough for Bridgestone’s tyres as corner speeds are generally high generating high lateral loads in the shoulders of the tyres and the long and fast straights mean high pressure and heat for their centre sections. Randy de Puniet was second fastest for the LCR Honda MotoGP team, followed by Repsol Honda’s Dani Pedrosa in third. Every rider on the grid favoured the softer option front slick, and all set their fastest laps on the softer option rear asymmetric slick tyre too. Tohru Ubukata Manager, Bridgestone Motorcycle Tyre Development Department “Today the softer option slicks were clearly favoured by riders with the low temperature. Ambient temperature can affect tyre warm-up performance, and the softer slicks are able to reach their optimum temperature faster in these conditions but some riders like Jorge, Dani and Andrea used the hard rear tyre for part of the session and performance was still acceptable. The conditions are cold here, but this is what we predicted for this grand prix when selecting tyre compounds. “The track was cleaner today and the riders and teams are benefitting from more track time with every day and this is why the times are faster. Every rider favoured the softer option front tyre today, because it gives better warm-up performance in these cold conditions and there are no heavy braking points so a stiffer tyre is not necessary for increased stability. I expect the softer front to be favoured for tomorrow as weather conditions are forecast to be similar, but we have seen both the medium and hard rear compounds performing well so far this weekend so rear tyre choices for the race will be more mixed.” Top ten from qualifying (Saturday 13:55 14:55 GMT+1) Pos Rider Team Fastest lap Gap Compounds Front, Rear 1 Jorge Lorenzo Fiat Yamaha Team 2m03.308s Medium, Medium 2 Randy de Puniet LCR Honda MotoGP 2m03.434s +0.126s Medium, Medium 3 Dani Pedrosa Repsol Honda Team 2m03.586s +0.278s Medium, Medium 4 Andrea Dovizioso Repsol Honda Team 2m03.995s +0.687s Medium, Medium 5 Nicky Hayden Ducati Team 2m04.332s +1.024s Medium, Medium 6 Casey Stoner Ducati Team 2m04.394s +1.086s Medium, Medium 7 Ben Spies Monster Yamaha Tech3 2m04.477s +1.169s Medium, Medium 8 Marco Melandri San Carlo Honda Gresini 2m04.555s +1.247s Medium, Medium 9 Marco Simoncelli San Carlo Honda Gresini 2m04.868s +1.560s Medium, Medium 10 Colin Edwards Monster Yamaha Tech3 2m05.035s +1.727s Medium, Medium Weather: Dry. Ambient 15°C; Track 26-25°C ( Bridgestone measurement) More, from a press release issued by Fiat Yamaha: FIRST POLE OF SEASON FOR LORENZO IN EVENTFUL SILVERSTONE QUALIFYING Jorge Lorenzo broke his 2010 pole duck in Great Britain today with a strong showing at Silverstone, having qualified second for the three previous races. The sole Fiat Yamaha Team rider, whose team-mate Valentino Rossi is recovering from a broken leg at home in Italy, beat Randy de Puniet and Dani Pedrosa to the pole spot, with both challengers crashing out in an action-packed final two minutes. After a confident opening day yesterday, Lorenzo’s rivals had caught up with him this morning and he was disappointed to find himself four-tenths down on Pedrosa in third. He was back on form this afternoon however, spending the first half of the session continuing to strengthen his understanding of the circuit before going into the lead with 20 minutes to go. He was edged off by de Puniet but, after coming in for a final set-up tweak, a fast flying lap with a superb final split propelled him back to the top of the standings where he stayed, as both his closest rivals ended their final laps in the gravel trap. Lorenzo’s first pole of 2010 is his tenth in MotoGP and the 36th of his career. He will be doing all he can to extend his championship lead when the British Grand Prix gets underway at Silverstone tomorrow afternoon. Jorge Lorenzo Position: 1st Time: 2’03.308 Laps: 26 “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. It is really important to be on the front row for tomorrow because this gives us the best chance of another podium. Today we did 18 consecutive laps with the hard tyre and then another eight with the soft, which is a good sign, but the track was quite cold today and it took time for the tyres to reach the right temperature, so we have to wait and see how the weather is for our final choice. I feel comfortable and I’m really looking forward to tomorrow, although I hopeit isn’t going to rain. Thanks to all of my team for doing a great job today.” Wilco Zeelenberg Team Manager “I’ve said before that it’s sometimes better not to be on pole because then there’s less pressure, but today we are on pole and we’re really happy about it! Jorge worked very hard in the first 13 or 14 laps, pushing hard to learn the track and understand the limits, and this paid off for him. De Puniet and Pedrosa were fast but they both crashed, but Jorge was fast and finished safely. There are of course no points for pole and we have to see what tomorrow brings but it’s nice to have a rider who is fit and doing fast lap times and a bike that’s consistent. We’re hoping for another good race tomorrow.” More, from a press release issued by Monster Yamaha Tech 3: Spies equals best qualifying result at cool Silverstone Ben Spies equalled his best qualifying result of the 2010 MotoGP world championship at a blustery and cool Silverstone circuit this afternoon. The Texan will start the first British MotoGP race to be staged at the iconic Silverstone track since 1986 from seventh position after a dramatic conclusion to today’s qualifying session. Spies posted a best time of 2.04.477 on his Monster Yamaha Tech 3 YZR-M1 machine to miss claiming a deserved second row start for the first time in his career by just 0.083s after he made a brilliant recovery from a heavy crash in this morning’s final free practice session. Spies aggravate d the left ankle injury he picked up in a crash at the Le Mans last month when he lost control at the fast Farm Curve left-hander. But the crash did little to dent the 25-year-old’s confidence and at one stage it looked like his hard work and dogged determination would pay off as he occupied a top six place on the timesheets in the decisive final stages. But looking to improve his time on his final flying lap, Spies lost precious time when Randy de Puniet suffered a high-speed crash right in front of him at Farm Curve. Spies’ last lap though was still his fastest and he will head the third row of the grid in front of Marco Melandri and Marco Simoncelli. Fellow American Colin Edwards had a difficult qualifying session, the 36-year-old unable to find a set-up that allowed him to push at his normal pace. Edwards will start from 10th on the grid having clocked a best t ime of 2.05.035 to finish just over half-a-second away from the top six. Ben Spies 7th 2.04.477 22 laps “Qualifying wasn’t too bad but I feel like it should have been a better outcome than what it was. I’m riding really hard and I was pretty close to being on the second row but I’d like the lap times to be coming a little bit easier. On the speed charts we’re down a bit and that is making it difficult and if I don’t get a good start it will make it hard to pass people. But I’m happy with my riding and the set-up of the bike and the lap times are consistent. I certainly tried as hard as I could and on the last lap I might have picked up another tenth to get on the second row but de Puniet crashed in front of me and that definitely cost me a small bit of time. My ankle is not too bad and shouldn’t be a problem in the race. I was actually going to come into the pits because there had been a few crashes and I was only doing 70 per cent of my normal speed when I got caught out. It can happen but I’ll be ready to give my maximum effort in the race.” Colin Edwards 10th 2.05.035 21 laps “That was really hard work and I just can’t ride the bike to the level I know I can. I’m just not comfortable and to ride as hard as I had to just for tenth, I’m not happy. There are guys that I beat easily last year that I’m struggling to match at the moment and it certainly isn’t through a lack of trying. It is hard not to get frustrated but I am doing my absolute best to improve and get some more speed out of the bike. But we’re struggling for engine speed and I can’t get a decent setting with the chassis. Tenth is not a position I’m happy to be in but I’ll give it my all in the race tomorrow because everybody at Monster Yamaha Tech 3 is working hard to improve the situation.” More, from a press release issued by Pramac Racing Team: DISAPPOINTING QUALIFYING FOR THE PRAMAC RACING TEAM IN SILVERSTONE Negative day for the Pramac Racing Team. The riders, Aleix Espargarò and Mika Kallio, have respectively concluded the qualifying session valid for the starting grid of the British Grand Prix in thirteenth and sixteenth position. The Catalan rider had concluded the last free practice of the morning in tenth position and was expecting much more from this afternoon one hour qualifying session. Mika Kallio has made it to lower this morning best lap time by a second, but it wasn’t enough to reach a better position in the classification. Both riders will have therefore to sensibly improve to conquer a positive result in tomorrow’s race that will start at 1pm local time. Fabiano Sterlacchini – Pramac Racing Technical Director “The climatic conditions haven’t helped us today. This doesn’t have to be an excuse, but unluckily today’s low temperatures didn’t allow us to find the right balance of our bikes. Both riders didn’t have the right confidence with the rear part of the bike and as result they weren’t competitive. Tomorrow it should be a bit warmer and this should give us a hand. We will intensively work this evening to check the data obtained today to help our riders in tomorrow’s race making them feel more at ease on this track.” Aleix Espargarò – Pramac Racing rider – 13th best lap time in 2’05.748 “Too cold and unluckily I wasn’t able to use in the best way the last part of this afternoon session. This is shortly what happened today. There isn’t much more to say: I am disappointed. I was expecting at least to be in the top ten. I like the track a lot and I hope that tomorrow I will make it to start well in the Grand Prix to reach the group of the fastest riders. I don’t want to disappoint my Team.” Mika Kallio – Pramac Racing Team rider – 16th best lap time in 2’06.980 “Since yesterday I didn’t manage to find the right feeling with the bike. When I try to follow other riders, I lose too much space in every part of the circuit. This makes us understand that the situation, even for tomorrow’s race, isn’t the best. My Team and I will surely not give up and we will try to work at the best during tomorrow’s warm up to climb the classification during the race. We will give all we have!” More, from a press release issued by Rizla Suzuki: Rizla Suzuki suffered a tough qualifying session during its home Grand Prix at Silverstone in England today as a lack of grip in the cool temperatures left both riders with a mountain to climb on race-day. Loris Capirossi (P14. 2’05.821, 23 laps) and Álvaro Bautista (P15. 2’06.607, 21 laps) will start side-by-side on the fifth row of the grip after failing to get the grip they both wanted from their Suzuki GSV-Rs to produce competitive qualifying laps. They both suffered with similar issues and will have a tough task ahead of them in tomorrow’s 20-lap race to get up amongst the front-runners at the start of race. A strong cooling wind that blew around the 5,902m Silverstone circuit kept air temperatures down to 16ºC and track temperatures at a lowly 27ºC. World Championship leader Jorge Lorenzo set the fastest time of the day and will start tomorrow’s race from pole position. The first motorcycle Grand Prix to be held at Silverstone since 1986 gets underway at 13.00hrs (12.00hrs GMT) on Sunday afternoon with both Capirossi and Bautista hoping for an increase in the temperatures and the sun to shine through to give them an opportunity of being competitive in front of the team’s home crowd. Loris Capirossi: “We improved a bit today compared to yesterday, but still we don’t have the grip we want and we are really struggling. When we try to get a bit more entry grip it feels like we are going to lose the front and overall it feels like a game and we have to try and play the best we can to work it out. We know we are quite limited in the cold conditions and that is a similar thing to last year. We have never resolved this fully, but we do keep trying and the whole team is making the maximum effort to sort this out. It is a bit stressful for us all, especially because it is the home Grand Prix for us and we want to get the best result we can.” Álvaro Bautista: “We have had some problems with the cold conditions, especially this morning as it was almost impossible to ride the bike because both tyres were going away in the corners and I just couldn’t control the bike. This afternoon we changed the bike a lot and put some more weight on the rear tyre to try and get more warmth in it, it was better – but still not enough. I still feel that when I enter the corner I can’t go in too fast as I don’t have enough grip. We will try something else in warm-up tomorrow to get the best setting for the race and we hope that the sun comes out and the conditions will warm up because if it is cold it will be very difficult to ride.” Paul Denning Team Manager: “We have improved a little bit during qualifying but ultimately the result is as bad as it looks on paper. Some changes to the chassis and swing-arm that Suzuki made over the winter were designed to improve our rear grip in cooler conditions, but we haven’t ridden all year in the same temperatures as we have experienced here at Silverstone. Unfortunately the step in rear grip is nowhere near what we need to help the guys to be competitive. The riders can control the bike on the corner exits, but a lack of rear grip into the corner is something that really spoils confidence and makes it difficult to get a good rhythm. The team is working hard to solve this situation, but we need something fundamental from the factory to improve the problem we are experiencing here.” More, from a press release issued by Repsol Honda: PEDROSA ON THE FRONT ROW AT SILVERSTONE, DOVIZIOSO TAKES FOURTH The Repsol Hondas of Dani Pedrosa and Andrea Dovizioso will start tomorrow’s British Grand Prix from third and fourth on the grid after two eventful practice and qualifying sessions for the factory Honda squad today. Pedrosa was fastest overall by 0.3s in the morning practice period as lap times tumbled at the Silverstone circuit, which is hosting the Road Racing World Championship for the first time since 1986. The 24-year-old Spaniard was also quick in the afternoon and looked in with a chance of taking his second pole position in succession, but he fell as his RC212V hit bumps on his final quick lap and he suffered bruising to both knees during the fall. Pedrosa was taken for a check-up at the circuit’s medical centre where x-rays revealed no further damage. His qualifying lap time of 2m 03.586s – exactly four seconds faster than his lap time from yesterday – was good enough to secure the final place on the front row of the grid, a position which Pedrosa hopes to convert into a second victory of the season to follow up on his win in Mugello two weeks ago. Pedrosa has not been off the front row of the grid since the opening race of 2010 at Qatar. Dovizioso was also fast today and produced clearly his best qualifying performance of the season so far. He will start tomorrow’s 20-lap race from the front of the second row with the aim of getting away with the frontrunners. Dovizioso also took a tumble today – falling as he braked into Vale corner – but the Italian was unhurt and was immediately up to speed again on his RC212V. With a few adjustments to the settings on his machine, Dovizioso – who won last year’s British Grand Prix – hopes gain the crucial tenths of a second per lap that will allow him to challenge for the win tomorrow. Jorge Lorenzo took his first pole position of the season today, and was followed by Randy de Puniet on the LCR Honda who took second on the grid. Tomorrow’s race begins at 13.00hrs (GMT + 1 hour). DANI PEDROSA 3rd 2m 03.586s +0.278s “Today we were quite fast in both sessions and we have a good machine setting, so I think we have the potential for a strong race. We still need to decide which of the Bridgestone tyre options we’ll use because tomorrow it looks like it may be warmer than today. I crashed when I was on my last qualifying lap as I braked going into a left hander. 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 ok for tomorrow. The lap times were getting faster in each session and I think I’m still learning the track – every time you go out you learn more about the line, the braking points and the corners where the bumps are – and that’s normal on a new track. We’re on the front row which is always important for a good getaway, so tomorrow I hope we can have another good performance.” ANDREA DOVIZIOSO 4th 2m 03.995s +0.687s “I’m happy with qualifying in fourth place and starting from the front of the second row. I wanted to be a little bit closer in terms of lap times and we still need to improve the pace for tomorrow so that we can fight for first place, but I’m satisfied with the result today. This morning I crashed, fortunately without hurting myself, and I was able to get straight back on my second bike and be back on the pace immediately. Because of this crash we couldn’t do so much comparison work between the two chassis we had available, and so during qualifying I only used the new one, which seems to work well. The track layout is really fascinating – I like it a lot – but the main issue remains the bumps. We’re quietly confident for tomorrow and I’m definitely looking for another podium finish – at least.” TOSHIYUKI YAMAJI – REPSOL HONDA TEAM MANAGER “We are actually looking in good shape for the race here at Silverstone tomorrow and I think Dani and Andrea have a chance to fight for the win tomorrow. Considering that both riders fell at quite high speed today, this is fortunate for us and I’m happy that neither rider was hurt badly. The conditions today were cold and this, combined with the bumpy surface, means that finding the optimum machine set-up is a challenge, and we still have some areas to work on this evening. But I think we can use the warm-up to good effect and the Repsol Honda Team is determined to get a result to match the last race in Italy.” More, from a press release issued by Marlboro Ducati: SECOND ROW STARTS FOR HAYDEN AND STONER AT SILVERSTONE Ducati Marlboro Team riders Nicky Hayden and Casey Stoner will both start the British Grand Prix from the second row of the grid tomorrow after setting the fifth and sixth fastest times respectively in this afternoon’s qualifying practice. The pair worked hard on the set-up of their Desmosedici GP10 machines throughout the hour-long session but were unable to make all the progress they had hoped for. The American and the Australian are both reasonably confident, however, that there is still time overnight and during tomorrow’s morning warm-up to make a few changes to their machines ahead of the race. NICKY HAYDEN (Ducati Marlboro Team) 5th (2’04.332) “We made a step forward today. Yesterday I knew that we weren’t as far off as we seemed and even though we didn’t quite have the right feeling for the conditions a few small changes have helped make us faster. Said that, my race pace isn’t great there are a couple of sections where I’m losing quite a lot of time and if we want to have a good race we need to find another few tenths. It will be an interesting race tomorrow because it is one thing to ride on your own at a new circuit and another thing altogether to mix it up in a group. We’ll find out exactly where we are when the lights go out tomorrow.” CASEY STONER (Ducati Marlboro Team) 6th (2’04.394) “My race pace is fairly decent but the truth is we haven’t improved as much as we would like. The biggest problem we’re having at the moment is keeping the heat in the tyres and that brings on a bunch of other issues. The temperature drops off with every lap that goes by and as a result so does the grip. We also tried to make the bike more stable over the bumps but we lost a bit of handling and rear grip. We’re doing our best to solve the problems and luckily still have the warm-up to try a few more things. Either way I think the race can be much better for us than qualifying.” More, from a press release issued by Honda: British Grand Prix, Silverstone MotoGP and Moto2 qualifying June 19 2010 Weather: cool and windy Track temperature: 27 degrees Ambient Temperature: 16 degrees DE PUNIET & PEDROSA ON FRONT ROW DESPITE TUMBLES Honda privateer Randy de Puniet (LCR Honda RC212V) put in a heroic performance during this afternoon’s British Grand Prix qualifying session, holding pole position until the final moments of the hour-long outing. The Frenchman, who slid off at speed at the very end, ended up second quickest, just 0.126 seconds shy of World Championship leader Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha). Conditions were cool and windy, with warmer weather expected for tomorrow’s racing. Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda RC212V) led the early stages of qualifying and was in the thick of the battle for pole until he slid off on his last lap. The Spaniard, currently second in the championship, qualified third, 0.152 seconds behind de Puniet. Andrea Dovizioso (Repsol Honda RC212V) will head up the second row for tomorrow’s British Grand Prix after going fourth fastest, four tenths off Pedrosa. Silverstone’s return to the motorcycle Grand Prix calendar after an absence of 24 years has been greeted with approval by most riders who all seem to agree to love the high-speed venue, laid out over an old World War Two airfield. So far they only have one complaint the old section of the track is extremely bumpy so the circuit will be resurfaced for 2011. De Puniet was in stunning form, his RC212V dancing across the bumps as he rode to his first front-row start since 2007. Second fastest after the first two free practice sessions he was on the pace from the start of qualifying, moving into first place with 15 minutes to go, just a fraction ahead of Lorenzo and Pedrosa. Unfazed by his tumble at the high-speed Farm left-hander, de Puniet announced that the crash would ensure he will start tomorrow’s race in a quieter frame of mind! After heading free practice, Pedrosa looked strong throughout qualifying and looked like he might repeat his dominant pole/win/lap record at Mugello two weeks ago. However, while pushing hard to better his times he lost the front at the Brooklands left-hander. It should have been an innocuous low-side crash, but his left leg was run over by the bike as he slid across the tarmac. Pedrosa was taken to the Clinica Mobile but despite some pain and discomfort in both legs he is okay to race. Dovizioso had his work cut out after tumbling this morning’s session. He was unhurt in the crash, but damaged one of his machines and lost a small amount of track time, which isn’t what a rider wants at a new circuit. Nevertheless the Italian rallied strongly this afternoon to head row two. Team-mates Marco Melandri (San Carlo Honda Gresini RC212V) and Marco Simoncelli (San Carlo Honda Gresini RC212V) qualified in team formation, with Melandri eighth and rookie Simoncelli a brave ninth following a nasty highside in this morning’s session. Hiroshi Aoyama (Interwetten Honda MotoGP RC212V) was unable to repeat the excellent tenth place he achieved in Mugello qualifying but he did continue his MotoGP learning process while riding to the 12th best time of the afternoon. The cool conditions have made life difficult for the Japanese star who is struggling to get a good feeling in the cool conditions and is so far unable to choose between the two rear tyre compounds available. Moto2 underlined its reputation for unpredictability once again today, with former 600 World Superstock Champion and 1000 Superstock star Claudio Corti (Forward Racing, Suter) scoring his first pole position in the new Honda-powered World Championship. Meanwhile points leader and double race winner Toni Elias (Gresini Racing Moto2, Moriwaki) struggled badly, qualifying only 18th fastest. Qatar winner Shoya Tomizawa (Technomag-CIP, Suter) also had an off day, crashing at speed this morning and qualifying 11th. Italian Corti whose only Moto2 points-scoring position so far is 15th at Le Mans rode impressively this afternoon to claim pole by a significant 0.413 second advantage over team-mate Jules Cluzel (Forward Racing, Suter). Qatar podium man Cluzel has a straightforward aim for tomorrow to finish and score some points following his race crashes at Le Mans and Mugello. Stefan Bradl (Viessmann Kiefer Racing, Suter) is back on the front row for the first time since Qatar, where his qualifying performance was spoiled when a rival took him out on the first lap of the race. Two weeks after struggling to ninth at Mugello, reigning 125 World Champion Julian Simon (Mapfre Aspar Team, Suter) took the final place on the front row and will be aiming to repeat his rousing ride to a podium finish at Le Mans Former Colombian Supermotard Champion Yonny Hernandez (Blusens-STX, BQR) heads the second row after qualifying fifth, his sideways style working well on the bumpy Silverstone surface. Rookie Marcel Schrötter (Interwetten Honda 125 Team) qualified 20th for the 125 Grand Prix after slicing two seconds off his free practice times. The 17-year-old German is feeling confident for the race, knowing full well that he will need an excellent start if he’s to score more points tomorrow. Tomorrow’s race schedule is different from the usual Continental programme due to the British time difference. For the first time the Moto2 race will start the day at 11.15 (local time), followed by MotoGP at 13.00 and 125s at 14.30. HONDA MotoGP RIDER QUOTES Randy de Puniet, LCR Honda RC212V: 2nd 2m 03.308s “I am very happy because this is my first front row start since Assen 2007. I am really enjoying myself on this track and I thought it was possible to take the pole position today when I stripped half a second off Lorenzo’s top time, but in the last lap he took pole back and I also experienced a fall. I have cut my right thumb in the crash but it was not necessary to stitch it up. For sure this crash was helpful to me as I understood I must remain calm during the race! The overall package is working well and I am riding faster and faster lap by lap but we still have to adjust something especially in the engine mapping and traction control but we will work on it tonight. Honestly, I do not want to dream about the podium but we have got a good potential to race in the front tomorrow.” Dani Pedrosa, Repsol Honda RC212V: 3rd 2m 03.586s “Today we were quite fast in both sessions and we have a good machine setting, so I think we have the potential for a strong race. We still need to decide which of the Bridgestone tyre options we’ll use because tomorrow it looks like it may be warmer than today. I crashed when I was on my last qualifying lap as I braked going into a left hander, 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 ok for tomorrow. The lap times were getting faster in each session and I think I’m still learning the track – every time you go out you learn more about the line, the braking points and the corners where the bumps are – and that’s normal on a new track. We’re on the front row which is always important for a good getaway, so tomorrow I hope we can have another good performance.” Andrea Dovizioso, Repsol Honda RC212V: 4th 2m 03.995s “I’m happy with qualifying in fourth place and starting from the front of the second row. I wanted to be a little bit closer in terms of lap times and we still need to improve the pace for tomorrow so that we can fight for first place, but I’m satisfied with the result today. This morning I crashed, fortunately without hurting myself, and I was able to get straight back on my second bike and be back on the pace immediately. Because of this crash we couldn’t do so much comparison work between the two chassis we had available, and so during qualifying I only used the new one, which seems to work well. The track layout is really fascinating I like it a lot but the main issue remains the bumps. We’re quietly confident for tomorrow and I’m definitely looking for another podium finish at least.” Marco Melandri, San Carlo Honda Gresini RC212V: 8th 2m 04.55s “This is a very different circuit, there is so much to learn. But we have worked well so far and I think we can have a good race. The biggest problem is the bumps, but they are the same for everyone, so it’s just a part of the set-up we have to work on. I don’t know if I can fight for fourth place like I did at Mugello, but whatever, we will try our best.” Marco Simoncelli (San Carlo Honda Gresini RC212V: 9th 2m 04.868s “I am pretty sore after my crash this morning, but I must just focus on the work ahead. I really like this track it is fast and you have to be aggressive, which suits my style. The bike is coming along, but we would be in better shape if I hadn’t fallen this morning and lost some important track time. We will try and get a good start in the race and not make any first-lap mistakes.” Hiroshi Aoyama (Interwetten Honda MotoGP RC212V: 12th 2m 05.712s “My feeling for the bike is getting better and we could improve since the morning session. The direction in which we are going is good, but we still have a lot of work to do to get where I want to be. The choice of the tyre is very important here for the race and at the moment we are still not sure which tyre will be the right one.” MOTO2 RIDER QUOTES Claudio Corti, Forward Racing, Suter: pole position 2m 09.624s “I keep thinking that this is a dream maybe I will wake up now! I like this track and I remember some of it from when I raced in the Superstock Championship here, but the track has changed a lot since then, so I only know a few of the corners. Anyway, I’m fast and my race pace is good. It will be a tough race, like they always are in Moto2. This is a difficult championship because we all have the same engine spec, so it is very tough to find any advantage.” Jules Cluzel, Forward Racing, Suter: 2nd 2m 10.037s “I’m very happy with this performance, especially because we come here after crashing out of the last two races in France and Italy. The team has worked well here, but we have more work to do to make the bike easier to ride over race distance. The big thing is that I need to finish here I don’t need to get another podium, I just need to score some points.” Stefan Bradl, Viessmann Kiefer Racing, Suter: 3rd 2m 10.413s “This has been a difficult track for me, it’s not easy to learn. Yesterday afternoon and this morning weren’t easy sessions, but finally we found something in the bike setting for qualifying and I was able to improve a lot, so I have to say thank you to my mechanics for their great work. I am looking forward to the race.” Julian Simon, Mapfre Aspar Team, Suter: 4th 2m 10.419s “I’m very happy. Yesterday’s first session was wet which was a problem considering that this is a new circuit for all of us. Then this morning didn’t go well for me either, but finally in qualifying I was able to push much harder and finally I was able to make the front row. My mechanics pushed very hard to give me a good setting, so I was able to run a good pace, and I am sure I can ride a good race tomorrow.” HONDA 125 RIDER QUOTES Marcel Schrötter, Interwetten Honda 125 Team: 20th, 2m 19.299s “I am quite satisfied with the result, but I know I could do better. I am in the top 20 and that is okay in my opinion, as there is not much difference in lap times until the guys around 13th position. I can achieve more from here tomorrow in the race. I don’t really know why it is, but I get faster always at the end of the sessions. I really have to work on that in the future.” More, from a press release issued by Dorna Communications: Jorge Lorenzo secured his first pole position of the 2010 campaign at the AirAsia British Grand Prix after an exciting qualifying practice at Silverstone. The World Championship leader battled with Randy de Puniet through the latter stages of a cold afternoon session, finally edging the Frenchman out with a best time of 2’03.308. De Puniet had stunned the rest of the field with 15 minutes to go when he stripped half a second off Lorenzo’s top time, and the LCR Honda man looked on course for his first-ever premier-class pole when he again improved on that. However, his 2’03.434 was eventually the second fastest time as Lorenzo took pole back, and the Frenchman was left to be satisfied with his first front row start since Assen 2007. In trying to reclaim pole, De Puniet also experienced a crash right at the end of the session as he pushed hard, injuring his right thumb in the process with a deep cut. Completing the front row will be Repsol Honda’s Dani Pedrosa who was 0.152s further back. The Spaniard set his fastest lap on his penultimate lap of the circuit, before also crashing out at Brooklands corner, which saw him stretchered off the side of the track. X-rays at the medical centre confirmed that Pedrosa had only suffered bruising to his left and right knees after the bike ran over his legs, and luckily he will be able to take his position on the starting grid on Sunday. Leading the second row will be another Repsol Honda rider Andrea Dovizioso, who was four-tenths of a second off his team-mate’s pace and the final rider to get within a second of Lorenzo (+0.687s). Ducati duo Nicky Hayden and Casey Stoner had just 0.062s between them as they took fifth and sixth spots on the grid respectively. The top ten in the session was completed by Ben Spies (Monster Yamaha Tech3), San Carlo Honda Gresini pair Marco Melandri and Marco Simoncelli, and Spies’ team-mate Colin Edwards. Sunday’s MotoGP race will start at 1pm local time. Moto2 The Forward Racing team were celebrating a qualification one-two in Moto2 as Claudio Corti and Jules Cluzel took the top spots for Sunday’s Moto2 race at Silverstone. Corti’s first World Championship pole in just his fifth race was secured with a best lap of 2’09.624, making him the first rider under to go under 2’10″ this weekend. Cluzel was 0.413s off his team-mate’s pace as the Frenchman achieved his third successive front row grid position this season. Stefan Bradl (Viessmann Kiefer Racing) 0.376s further back and Julián Simón (Mapfre Aspar) were separated by just six-thousandths of a second as they completed an all Suter front row. Yonny Hernández’s impressive weekend continued as the Blusens-STX rider set the fifth best time, and another rider who has stood out is Xavier Simeon. Riding as a replacement on the Holiday Gym G22 team the Belgian qualified with the sixth best time. Alex Baldolini (Caretta Technology Race Dept) and Arne Tode (Racing Team Germany) also put in strong displays to take second-row slots. British rider Scott Redding (Marc VDS Racing Team) will be on the third row having placed 12th, one place behind Shoya Tomizawa (Technomag-CIP) who is currently second in the World Championship standings. Leader Toni Elías (Gresini Racing Moto2) was 18th in the session. 125cc Marc Márquez will start the 125cc race from pole position on Sunday after topping qualifying at Silverstone, a best time of 2’14.667 on his final lap of the 40-minute session securing him his third pole of the 2010 campaign. The late effort from Márquez pushed him in front of home rider Bradley Smith (Bancaja Aspar), who had become the first 125cc rider of the weekend to go under 2’15″ with his 2’14.966 on his penultimate lap. That placed the Brit second, 0.146s ahead of Pol Espargaró (Tuenti Racing), with Championship leader Nico Terol (Bancaja Aspar) nine-tenths off Márquez’s pace as he completed the front row. Johann Zarco (WTR San Marino Team), Esteve Rabat (Blusens-STX), Tomoyoshi Koyama (Racing Team Germany) and British rider Danny Webb (Andalucia Cajasol) will all start from the second row as they placed fifth to eighth in the session.