Yamaha Factory rider Ben Spies takes second as Jorge Lorenzo manages third spot for Indy GP – MotoGP
Yamaha Factory Racing rider Ben Spies secured second position on the grid behind Casey Stoner for Sunday’s Red Bull Indianapolis Grand Prix.
Meanwhile Jorge Lorenzo claimed third seat on the grid behind his American teammate.
Ben Spies said, “It was good today, we didn’t have a fast lap in the end but we got on the front row. We did over 30 laps on a set of tyres and went quite quick at the end, still able to do 39s which is good.”
During the last couple of laps, Spies tried hard to catch the time chart leader Stoner. While running hard, he ruined his tank spacer that holds him on the seat which hampered his performance.
However, it was not displeasing being not able to catch Stoner because he was far ahead from his teammate Lorenzo on third. Though it was not a pleasant qualifying session but the race will be demanding in a different way. The tyres will be slippery after
few initial laps and Spies’ M1 is working well on worn out tyres.
The defending world champion was not feeling well to score a good place for the race start. The Spaniard came third behind his teammate Spies. Lorenzo struggled through all the free practice sessions but could not get the right setup. Later in the qualifier
practice session, he managed some changes and improved his lap times to score a front row start.
Jorge Lorenzo said, “Qualifying was much better than the other three practices so far this weekend. I improved a lot and had a lot more confidence with the front, we changed one bike completely which worked. We are much more confident for tomorrow now.”
Like other riders, Lorenzo also expressed that he will prefer to be closer to Stoner as he claimed unmatchable times. However, it is better to be seven tenths apart than over a second of time gap.
The race day is expected to be very tough for all the riders as the free practice sessions have ended. The left shoulder of the tyre starts to chip off from the fourth lap which will be a serious issue under race pressure. Losing grip can change lap times
and eventually race results. Let’s see how the race unfolds on Sunday.
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