Lorenzo Clinches First Pole Position in Close Qatar Qualifying

Movistar Yamaha MotoGP rider Jorge Lorenzo continued his strong form today during the Qualifying 2 session, returning to the top of the time sheets again under the floodlights of the Losail International Circuit. He secured the 62nd pole position of his career with a 1'54.543s lap, making him the new leader in the all time pole position classification. His teammate Valentino Rossi, on the other hand, left it to the last lap to make his move, securing fifth on the grid for tomorrow's Commercial Bank Grand Prix of Qatar.

"It's not bad to have this record for most pole positions on the first weekend of the championship. Today it has been quite difficult to keep calm and try not to crash, because sometimes you have a good feeling with one rear tyre and you put in another and you have a different feeling. This is what happened on my second try, I almost crashed on the first lap, but luckily on my first try, my first lap was enough to keep the pole position. I expected to be a little bit faster and that everyone would come closer to the 1'54.0s, but finally this 1'54.5s was enough to be on pole."

An incredibly close first QP of the 2016 season saw Marc Marquez qualify on the front row with the field’s second best lap time at 1m54.634.

Results

Pos.

Rider

Num

Nation

Team

Constructor

Time/Gap

1

Lorenzo Jorge

99

SPA

Movistar Yamaha MotoGP

Yamaha

1'54.543

2

Marquez Marc

93

SPA

Repsol Honda Team

Honda

1'54.634

3

Vinales Maverick

25

SPA

Team Suzuki Ecstar

Suzuki

1'54.638

4

Iannone Andrea

29

ITA

Ducati Team

Ducati

1'54.693

5

Rossi Valentino

46

ITA

Movistar Yamaha MotoGP

Yamaha

1'54.815

6

Dovizioso Andrea

4

ITA

Ducati Team

Ducati

1'54.963

7

Pedrosa Dani

26

SPA

Repsol Honda Team

Honda

1'55.078

8

Barbera Hector

8

SPA

Avintia Racing

Ducati

1'55.165

9

Espargaro Pol

44

SPA

Monster Yamaha Tech 3

Yamaha

1'55.302

10

Crutchlow Cal

35

GBR

LCR Honda

Honda

1'55.352

11

Smith Bradley

38

GBR

Monster Yamaha Tech 3

Yamaha

1'55.414

12

Redding Scott

45

GBR

Octo Pramac Racing

Ducati

1'55.508

13

Hernandez Yonny

68

COL

Aspar MotoGP Team

Ducati

1'56.157

14

Laverty Eugene

50

IRE

Aspar MotoGP Team

Ducati

1'56.186

15

Espargaro Aleix

41

SPA

Team Suzuki Ecstar

Suzuki

1'56.238

16

Baz Loris

76

FRA

Avintia Racing

Ducati

1'56.375

17

Bautista Alvaro

19

SPA

Aprilia Racing Team Gresini

Aprilia

1'56.595

18

Miller Jack

43

AUS

Marc VDS Racing Team

Honda

1'56.620

19

Rabat Tito

53

SPA

Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS

Honda

1'57.108

20

Bradl Stefan

6

GER

Aprilia Racing Team Gresini

Aprilia

1'57.216