Lorenzo breaks the Laguna Seca record and takes pole

The Spanish Yamaha rider has secured his fifth pole by setting a new absolute record at the United States Grand Prix held at Laguna Seca. The Mallorcan set a lap time of 1:20.554, taking the record that Casey Stoner had held since the legendary race of 2008.

Behind him, the Australian seemed to have the first position until the last moment, but he did not count on Jorge’s response, who, despite failing to beat Casey’s time in any of the sectors, crossed the line ahead of him.

Dani Pedrosa finished third and could not remain the fastest as he had shown up to yesterday, when he was overtaken by Jorge and Stoner. Even so, he is a clear favourite for tomorrow’s race, as he has good pace and a great lap-to-lap consistency.

Behind the three riders who will occupy the front row of the grid tomorrow, Ben Spies, Cal Crutchlow and Andrea Dovizioso have lined up. The American suffered a heavy crash 15 minutes before the end of the session and, although he appeared shaken, he was able to return to the pits and go out again for the final minutes of qualifying.

Álvaro Bautista was 7th, ahead of Nicky, Bradl and Rossi. The first of the CRT riders was Randy de Puniet, who beat Aleix Espargaró by almost two tenths. Toni Elías, who is replacing the injured Héctor Barberá , was 17th, among the CRT machines, while Iván Silva was 20th. The wild-card Steve Rapp with Attack Performance did not achieve the 107% time relative to pole and, unless race direction decides otherwise, will not be on the starting grid tomorrow.

Statements from Jorge Lorenzo (1:20.554):

I knew Casey and Dani were going to try and I had to push to the limit if I wanted to get pole. It was important to get the first position here in the USA, but what matters is tomorrow’s race.

Statements from Casey Stoner (1:20.628):

I was in the fight, but I couldn’t put together a clean lap because there was always a CRT bike in my way. I’m very frustrated because I couldn’t try the setting I had prepared.

Statements from Dani Pedrosa (1:20.906):

We started by testing the tyres for tomorrow, and the hard one suits us well. I couldn’t improve my time from the start of the session. Everything went well and we are happy for tomorrow.

Statements from Randy de Puniet (1st CRT):

I’m happy because yesterday I had problems and couldn’t ride. We have problems with the gearbox, but I’m pleased with the lap-to-lap consistency and I hope to be able to put in a great race tomorrow.

Photos | motogp.com