Estoril washout gives Lorenzo pole

Added on Saturday, October 30th, 2010 by Carole Nash Editor | No Comments

The weather determined the MotoGP qualifying session at Estoril this afternoon, with a mass downpour causing the outing to be cancelled.

A rain soaked track meant nobody was able to take to the track, meaning the session was a wash out. With the outing declared as cancelled, the qualifying times for tomorrow’s penultimate race were forced to be decided by combining the free practice times for each rider.

Continuing his strong form as the newly crowned 2010 MotoGP World Champion, Jorge Lorenzo was awarded pole position, whilst Nicky Hayden and Valentino Rossi completed the front row of the grid. The young Spaniard equalled the record for the most successful Spanish qualifier, grasping his forty-second pole to match Jorge Martinez Aspar’s record.

The second row of the grid will be headed by Casey Stoner, with Ben Spies and Marco Melandri accompanying him. Andrea Dovizioso will start seventh tomorrow, kicking off the third row of the grid, whilst Randy De Puniet will start eighth just ahead of Colin Edwards. Marco Simoncelli will complete the top ten, with Aleix Espargaro narrowly missing out in eleventh place.

Once again returning to the series after sustaining injury, Dani Pedrosa will start his come back race from twelfth place, ahead of Loris Capirossi in thirteenth, having just signed a new deal with the Pramac Racing outfit for 2011.

The remaining four positions went the way of Alvaro Bautista, Hector Barbera, Hiroshi Aoyama, with Carlos Checa rounded out the field in seventeenth place.

Qualifying Positions, MotoGP, Estoril:

Pos Rider Nation Team Time

1 J.LORENZO SPA Fiat Yamaha Team YAMAHA 1’48.522

2 N.HAYDEN USA Ducati Team DUCATI 1’48.657

3 V.ROSSI ITA Fiat Yamaha Team YAMAHA 1’48.883

4 C.STONER AUS Ducati Team DUCATI 1’49.061

5 B.SPIES USA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 YAMAHA 1’49.721

6 M.MELANDRI ITA San Carlo Honda Gresini HONDA 1’49.784

7 A.DOVIZIOSO ITA Repsol Honda Team HONDA 1’50.007

8 R.DE PUNIET FRA LCR Honda MotoGP HONDA 1’50.043

9 C.EDWARDS USA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 YAMAHA 1’50.313

10 M.SIMONCELLI ITA San Carlo Honda Gresini HONDA 1’50.500