BRITISH GRAND PRIX
First qualifying practice / LORENZO ON COURSE FOR
SIXTH POLE OF THE YEARS AS BARBERÁ BOUNCES BACK WITH
THIRD
 The
Fortuna Aprilia team made a great start to the British GP
today, with Jorge Lorenzo provisionally taking his sixth pole
of the season at Donington Park whilst his team-mate Héctor
Barberá returned after missing two races. Lorenzo showed
the kind of dominant form that has seen him take two straight
victories as he set the fastest lap time in both the morning
free practice and afternoon qualifying sessions, with more
than half a second advantage. The Mallorcan is hoping for
more of the same tomorrow as he prepares another assault on
the championship advantage held by Andrea Dovizioso, which
now stands at 16 points. Barberá was the surprise package
of the day as he returned to action just two weeks after breaking
his radius. The Valencian missed the races at Catalunya and
Assen but he was back to around 90% of his physical best here
as he set the third fastest time behind his team-mate and
Alex de Angelis.
JORGE LORENZO, 1st - 1’32.115 (22 laps)
“We’ve still got plenty of room for improvement
because we are not as fast as we were last year here. I the
afternoon I set quicker times but I actually felt more comfortable
in the morning. Tomorrow we’ll try to adjust the set-up
but we are on the right road so we’ll try not to get
lost! My rivals are pushing hard and it will be a tough GP
but I think we can still drop half a second and be very competitive.
At the moment I am optimistic about the race but we still
have another day of work to go and we can’t relax yet.”
HECTOR BARBERA, 3rd – 1’32.846 (24 laps)
“I arrived at Donington Park feeling focused and ready
to make up for lost time. I want to say thanks to Aprilia
and the team for giving me the chance to ride here even though
they knew I wouldn’t be 100% fit. I’ve still got
problems with my arm but thanks to Doctor Mir and my personal
physiotherapist I have been able to ride at a good level.
>From now to the end of the season I’ll be riding
without any pressure and just looking to win races and finish
on the podium as many times as possible.”
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