Lorenzo claims fourth consecutive Laguna Seca pole.
The Championship leader was straight into the top spot at the beginning of the qualifying practice and was only challenged by rival Casey Stoner towards the end of the session. Lorenzo responded in the last seconds with an incredible lap, coming from a slow first split to an unbeatable last taking pole 0.074 seconds clear. The time of 120.554 stands as a new lap record for the circuit.
Ben Spies continued to show the consistent fast pace in evidence from the first practice yesterday, moving quickly up to the top five early in the session. The Texan was provisionally on the front row for some time before dropping just outside it to fourth. A big high side at turn three threatened to bring an end to his qualifying however he made it back and out again on his second bike to complete the heat. He starts on the second row in fourth, 0.54 seconds from pole.
Jorge Lorenzo
"I knew Casey and Dani were going to try and take pole but I really wanted it here in America so I tried my best for Yamaha. I pushed to the limit, especially in the last corner, I was at full lean and opened the throttle really soon. In my first two tries for a perfect lap there was a lot of traffic so I had to wait for the right moment. The important thing is tomorrow, pole position is nice but anyway the race is what counts."
Ben Spies
"Today was ok, we obviously had a crash which was unfortunate as I think we could have got on the front row. I was feeling really good I just maybe didnt let the right side of the tyre heat up to quite the right temperature and had a pretty big high side. Anyway we got back out and were able to do the same times as before the crash. I need to get some x-rays to check my heel as I took a big hit on it in the crash."
1. Jorge Lorenzo Yamaha 1m20.554s2. Casey Stoner Honda 1m20.628s + 0.074s3. Dani Pedrosa Honda 1m20.906s + 0.352s4. Ben Spies Yamaha 1m21.094s + 0.540s5. Cal Crutchlow Tech 3 Yamaha 1m21.268s + 0.714s6. Andrea Dovizioso Tech 3 Yamaha 1m21.539s + 0.985s7. Alvaro Bautista Gresini Honda 1m21.732s + 1.178s8. Nicky Hayden Ducati 1m21.734s + 1.180s9. Stefan Bradl LCR Honda 1m21.753s + 1.199s10. Valentino Rossi Ducati 1m22.544s + 1.990s11. Randy de Puniet Aspar Aprilia 1m22.886s + 2.332s12. Aleix Espargaro Aspar Aprilia 1m23.075s + 2.521s13. Colin Edwards Forward Suter-BMW 1m23.699s + 3.145s14. Karel Abraham Cardion Ducati 1m23.704s + 3.150s15. Yonny Hernandez Avintia FTR-Kawasaki 1m23.769s + 3.215s16. Michele Pirro Gresini FTR-Honda 1m23.877s + 3.323s17. Toni Elias Pramac Ducati 1m23.898s + 3.344s18. Mattia Pasini Speed Master Aprilia 1m24.017s + 3.463s19. Danilo Petrucci Ioda-Aprilia 1m24.227s + 3.673s20. Ivan Silva Avintia Inmotec-Kawasaki 1m24.560s + 4.006s21. James Ellison Paul Bird Aprilia 1m24.715s + 4.161s22. Steve Rapp Attack-Kawasaki 1m26.887s + 6.333s
