Photo by Gold & Goose
All day long other riders were chasing Jorge Lorenzo’s qualifying times, but in the end it was only Lorenzo himself who was able to better his own qualifying laps. The Movistar Yamaha rider dominated MotoGP qualifying Saturday for the Grand Prix of Spain at Jerez, clocking a 1:37.910 on his factory Yamaha YZR M1. The time established a new motorcycle track record at Jerez, beating the time of 1:38.120 set by Marc Marquez last year.
It marked the first pole for Lorenzo since Misano last year.
Lorenzo will share row one with Repsol Honda’s Marc Marquez and Ducati ace Andrea Iannone, making three manufacturers on the front row at Jerez.
Lorenzo put it all on the line on his final run, sounding like he was even surprised by the time he was able to set in the hot conditions.
“These conditions are hard for the physical condition,” Lorenzo said. “To be able to make a 37.9 is impressive in these conditions, no? I didn’t think I’d be able to do it. I knew I had at least the front row, so in my third try I tried maximum strong on braking and more leaning, more leaning and I didn’t crash! So I made this time for which I’m very satisfied.”
Marquez crashed earlier in Free Practice 4, an easy lowside, and he was quick to protect his injured left hand while sliding into a gravel trap by cupping it inside his right hand.
Lorenzo set the pace early with a 1:38.497 over Pol Espargaro and Marquez. With just over five minutes to go Lorenzo improved upon his own time with a 1:38.243.
Iannone jumped to second with two-and-a-half minutes to go with a 1:38.468, but then seconds later it was Marquez shooting to second with a 1:38.300
Grand Prix of Spain MotoGP Qualifying from Jerez – May 2, 2015
1. Jorge Lorenzo ESP Movistar Yamaha MotoGP (YZR-M1) 1m 37.910s
2. Marc Marquez ESP Repsol Honda Team (RC213V) 1m 38.300s
3. Andrea Iannone ITA Ducati Team (Desmosedici GP15) 1m 38.468s
4. Pol Espargaro ESP Monster Yamaha Tech 3 (YZR-M1) 1m 38.539s
5. Valentino Rossi ITA Movistar Yamaha MotoGP (YZR-M1) 1m 38.632s
6. Aleix Espargaro ESP Team Suzuki Ecstar (GSX-RR) 1m 38.638s
7. Cal Crutchlow GBR CWM LCR Honda (RC213V) 1m 38.714s
8. Andrea Dovizioso ITA Ducati Team (Desmosedici GP15) 1m 38.823s
9. Yonny Hernandez COL Pramac Racing (Desmosedici GP14.2) 1m 39.464s
10. Bradley Smith GBR Monster Yamaha Tech 3 (YZR-M1) 1m 39.491s
11. Danilo Petrucci ITA Pramac Racing (Desmosedici GP14.1) 1m 39.789s
12. Scott Redding GBR Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS (RC213V) 1m 39.825s
13. Hector Barbera ESP Avintia Racing (Desmosedici GP14 Open) 1m 39.569s
14. Maverick Viñales ESP Team Suzuki Ecstar (GSX-RR)* 1m 39.603s
15. Alvaro Bautista ESP Factory Aprilia Gresini (RS-GP) 1m 39.612s
16. Hiroshi Aoyama JPN Repsol Honda Team (RC213V) 1m 39.866s
17. Eugene Laverty IRL Aspar MotoGP Team (RC213V-RS)* 1m 39.974s
18. Nicky Hayden USA Aspar MotoGP Team (RC213V-RS) 1m 40.025s
19. Stefan Bradl GER Athina Forward Racing (Forward Yamaha) 1m 40.166s
20. Karel Abraham CZE Cardion AB Motoracing (RC213V-RS) 1m 40.177s
21. Loris Baz FRA Athina Forward Racing (Forward Yamaha)* 1m 40.280s
22. Jack Miller AUS CWM LCR Honda (RC213V-RS)* 1m 40.365s
23. Mike Di Meglio FRA Avintia Racing (Desmosedici GP14 Open) 1m 40.817s
24. Alex De Angelis RSM Octo IodaRacing (ART) 1m 41.108s
25. Marco Melandri ITA Factory Aprilia Gresini (RS-GP) 1m 41.273s
