MotoGP Update: Jorge Lorenzo Reclaims His Superiority with a Pole Position in Malaysia
Jorge Lorenzo would be in an easy position to win his first MotoGP title on Sunday. The FIAT Yamaha driver is enjoying a healthy lead in the leaders table, while he only needs a ninth place finish to secure his title. He looks comfortable to do that as he got his sixth pole position in qualifiers on Saturday.
It has been four races since Lorenzo got his last victory in a grand prix. Last time, he was able to do it at Czech Republic Grand Prix, which also saw him make a new world record of finishing first ten races of the season in first two positions. However, since then he has not been able to reclaim the superiority he had been enjoying since the start of this season. Dani Pedrosa rallied to take the races at Indianapolis and San Marino, while Casey Stoner staged an impressive comeback with two back to back victories at Aragon and Japan.
These slip-ups allowed Pedrosa and Stoner to close their gaps on Lorenzo, but he still had a big gap because of his great run from the very beginning. Now, Lorenzo has a chance to wrap the season up with three races to go. For this purpose, he would only need to secure a ninth place finish in Malaysia, which seems to be an easy task for him, as he has finished all the races in top four. However, the Spaniard had different plans, as he wants to finish the season in style. Therefore, he battled hard with Nicky Hayden and Andrea Dovizioso to take the pole position in Sunday’s race. This means that he would be in a great position to secure a victory, as Stoner has failed to put up a decent challenge.
Nicky Hayden, the Ducati rider, was close to get his first pole position in last three years. He took the lead with a few minutes left on the clock, but his celebrations were short-lived. Lorenzo’s pace in his final lap was more than enough to give him one-tenth of a second lead over the Australian rider. However, the result was surprising one for Hayden, who would still be happy with his achievement. The former Champion has not had good results for a long time now, while he has a chance to convert his second place on the grid into a podium finish, at least.
The third place on the racing grid was secured by Andrea Dovizioso, who had a brilliant Qualifying session. Last time in Motegi, Japan, Dovizioso secured his first ever pole position in premier class. This time he was close to another one, but he was almost 0.3 seconds short of the eventual leader. However, Dovizioso has shown a lot of class during this season, while he would be hoping to finish it up with some more podium finishes in his bag.
The American rookie, Ben Spies, continued to inspire during Malaysian GP qualifying session. He secured a good fourth place, i.e. a second row start to the race. He finished ahead of the Australian rider, Casey Stoner, and the Doctor, Valentino Rossi. Rossi claimed that this would be the toughest race for him this season, as he seemed to struggle a little bit under hot conditions.
Colin Edwards, Alvaro Bautista, Loris Capirossi and Marco Melandri finished the top ten of Sunday’s race. There were no mishaps, except Hector Barbera, who fell towards the end of qualifying session. He would start the race from a 15th place on the grid.
In tomorrow’s race, all eyes would be upon Jorge Lorenzo, as he would take his first ever MotoGP title. The season for rest of the riders is almost over, but they would fight for second and third places. Nevertheless, the fans should look forward to a great race in Malaysia, with a lot excitement and energy.
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