JORGE LORENZO EDGES CLOSER TO ANTON MANG’S POLE POSITION
RECORD
As expected, the Japanese threat proved ferocious during
the first 250cc qualifying session of the Japanese Grand Prix
at Motegi, but Jorge Lorenzo held off the challenge of the
home riders with mastery. The Mallorcan FORTUNA APRILIA rider
claimed provisional pole which, if he confirms it tomorrow,
will be his tenth of the season, equalling the mark of German
Anton Mang who set the record in the 1981 season. Lorenzo
edged out Hiroshi Aoyama (KTM) by 118 milliseconds and was
joined on the provisional front row by two other Japanese
riders, Shuhei Aoyama and Yukio Takahashi. Italian Andrea
Doviszioso, second in the world championship and Lorenzo’s
closest rival, was sixth, some 0.993 seconds behind the Spaniard.
Hector Barbera was less fortunate and competitive, ending
the first day of qualifying in ninth position, more than a
second and a half behind his team-mate. The Valencian rider
had problems with his rear suspension and will have to work
with his team to try and find a solution and climb up the
grid on Saturday.
JORGE LORENZO, 1st – 1.52.132.
“We have done a good job and in the afternoon session
managed to improve our time from the morning by over two seconds.
This is a circuit where the Japanese riders go very fast and
you have to be very aware of that. We have a good set-up,
but we can still improve the brakes a bit. This GP is very
important for us. My plan is to keep working hard in the second
session and to maintain pole as it will be important to get
a good start in the race. After that we’ll see how things
develop over the first few laps and then try to push on. Motegi
is a different circuit with its own style and everything that
is out of the ordinary, I like. We have a very competitive
bike and I am happy with the work the team has done.”
HECTOR BARBERÁ, 9th – 1.53.884.
“It was a difficult day. I did not find a set-up that
allowed me to feel comfortable and every time that I opened
the gas the bike was moving around all over the place. That
has made me lose my confidence at a circuit that I should
go well at because I like it and won here in the 125s. The
main problem is with the back end and we must find a solution
to become competitive. As soon as we made a change we seemed
to take a step backwards and have not solved anything yet.”
|
