Ben Spies, Jorge Lorenzo qualify at second and fifth places for Gran Premio d’Italia – MotoGP news
Yamaha Factory Racing riders Ben Spies and Jorge Lorenzo managed to get second and fifth places respectively for the upcoming Gran Premio d’Italia TIM.
The eighth MotoGP event at Mugello will complete half of the 2011 season.
The qualifying practice session was interrupted by a 20-minute downpour. As the rain started, all the riders were called back to their respective garages which almost halted the session
Spies said, “Everybody only got about ten laps in this afternoon, we only used one set of tyres so we have plenty for tomorrow. We’re pretty confident we know which rubber we want to use after the qualifying session. I wish we could have had the whole hour
in the dry but there you go, it was the same for everyone.”
The American rider is positive to improve the bike settings for the race day. Assen GP winner, Spies is looking forward to score a podium position once again for his Yamaha Factory team. As his qualifying position is behind the pole sitter, Casey Stoner,
it can prove to be a tough challenge for the Aussie who has the most wins yet in the 2011 MotoGP season.
Jorge Lorenzo said, “I've been riding pretty well this morning. The bike has been working well but at the end in qualifying I couldn't improve. It is very complicated riding in wet conditions and the pole has been for the rider who took more risks.”
Lorenzo was a little disappointed with his fifth position. After a big loss to his championship points, he aims to keep his pace in the top riders and a front row start is always a big help.
The team garage for Lorenzo is concentrating to do a good job for Mugello. As in the previous two events, Silverstone and Assen, Lorenzo crashed and slipped out of podium. He had a ‘did not finish’ status at Silverstone and a disappointing sixth place finish
at Assen. He will resume his fight for podium in his home event for the Yamaha Factory team. Let’s see how he fares on Sunday.
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