Lorenzo leaps to Sepang pole

Added on Saturday, October 9th, 2010 by Carole Nash Editor | No Comments

Jorge Lorenzo placed his hands that bit firmer on the 2010 MotoGP championship trophy, as he grasped pole position for tomorrow’s Malaysian adventure.

As the Spaniard stole top spot in the qualifying session, he was under threat from a charging Nicky Hayden, with the Ducati rider having to settle for second plave on the grid, despite very nearly taking pole himself. After a strong outing in Japan last weekend, Andrea Dovizioso continued his good form, completing the front row of the grid in third.

Behind, Ben Spies heads up the second row of the grid in fourth, with double winner from the last two rounds Casey Stoner alongside, whilst Valentino Rossi will be hoping for another strong outing after a podium finish last weekend.

Seventh place went the way of Colin Edwards, with Avaro Bautista in eighth. Meanwhile, the final two spots in the top ten are completed by Loris Capirossi and Marco Melandri.

After fracturing his collarbone in Japan just one week ago Lorenzo’s main title contender Dani Pedrosa is still out of action, whilst he recovers from his injury.

Qualifying Positions, MotoGP, Sepang:

Pos.	Rider	Nation	Team	Time
1	Jorge LORENZO	SPA	Fiat Yamaha Team	2’01.537
2	Nicky HAYDEN	USA	Ducati Team	2’01.637
3	Andrea DOVIZIOSO	ITA	Repsol Honda Team	2’01.829
4	Ben SPIES	USA	Monster Yamaha Tech 3	2’01.993
5	Casey STONER	AUS	Ducati Team	2’02.023
6	Valentino ROSSI	ITA	Fiat Yamaha Team	2’02.030
7	Colin EDWARDS	USA	Monster Yamaha Tech 3	2’02.097
8	Alvaro BAUTISTA	SPA	Rizla Suzuki MotoGP	2’02.394
9	Loris CAPIROSSI	ITA	Rizla Suzuki MotoGP	2’02.522
10	Marco MELANDRI	ITA	San Carlo Honda Gresini	2’02.624
11	Marco SIMONCELLI	ITA	San Carlo Honda Gresini	2’02.690
12	Aleix ESPARGARO	SPA	Pramac Racing Team	2’02.723
13	Randy DE PUNIET	FRA	LCR Honda MotoGP	2’02.775
14	Hiroshi AOYAMA	JPN	Interwetten Honda MotoGP	2’02.778
15	Hector BARBERA	SPA	Paginas Amarillas Aspar	2’02.928
16	Mika KALLIO	FIN	Pramac Racing Team	2’04.167