GERMAN GRAND PRIX
Second qualifying practice / SEVENTH POLE OF THE
SEASON FOR JORGE LORENZO IN GERMANY, HECTOR BARBERA TAKES
THIRD
Jorge Lorenzo claimed a seventh 250 pole of the season, his
third in a row, at the German GP on Saturday. A time of 1'25.073
ensured he was the quickest rider in the class and also set
a new lap record at the Sachsenring circuit - beating the
previous mark of Yukio Takahashi. Team-mate Hector Barbera
finished the day in third and will join Lorenzo on the front
row for Sunday's race. Having taken provisional pole, Lorenzo
defended his advantage and then posted his new record mark
with his last lap of the session. Barbera, still bothered
slightly by pain in his right hand, had to settle for third
having been unable to beat his time from Friday. The two FORTUNA
APRILIA riders will now be looking to claim a seventh win
from ten races for the team on Sunday, while Lorenzo will
be hoping to take an outright lead in the championship.
JORGE LORENZO, 1st (1.25.073)
"I am quite content, although yesterday I felt more
comfortable on the bike. I lost a large chunk of the session
because I hit traffic and also I did not want to give any
help to my rivals. I found myself in a group with a lot of
the better riders and I decided to lose a lap rather than
gift pole to anyone else. After that I was able to push hard
and managed to improve my time from yesterday, although I
still have two riders within a tenth of a second of me and
I am sure it will be a difficult race. I feel strong and I
hope to continue my good run from previous races. I prefer
not to look where my rivals are, I will try to make a good
start then set a strong pace and try to win from there."
HECTOR BARBERA, 3rd (1.25.160)
"After three sessions and these high temperatures I
noticed the pain in my hand. It's quite tiring and painful,
but I don't think it will be a big problem to maintain the
race pace. The temperatures have risen and it was a lot harder
to lap than yesterday. I didn't improve my time, but I am
calm because I found a good rhythm and am convinced I can
stay with the lead group. Looking at the timesheets it looks
like it will be a group race, so it will be important to get
awa well and then maintain the pace."
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