MotoGP – Estoril QP1 – Jorge Lorenzo achieves his third consecutive pole

Jorge Lorenzo made it three out of three!! Today he achieved his third consecutive pole position in Estoril after achieving those in Losail and Jerez. The Majorcan from Yamaha on his debut in MotoGP therefore continues to amaze with his ease of adaptation to the premier class of the world championship. The Fiat Yamaha Team rider managed to get down to a time of 1'35"715 (new track record), edging his compatriot and winner of the Spanish GP Dani Pedrosa by 233 thousandths and 484 thousandths by Valentino Rossi, the first rider on Bridgestone tires . Rossi then closes the front row after very positive tests with the knowledge that the Japanese tires give their best in the race.

Behind Rossi is the 2006 champion Nicky Hayden, the Team Honda Repsol rider precedes the two Yamahas of Team Tech3 (fresh from contract renewal with Yamaha) of Colin Edwards and the increasingly positive James Toseland making his debut in MotoGP after being was SBK world champion. Great performance by Andrea Dovizioso, the Forlì rider from Team Jir Scot set the seventh fastest time ahead of Randy de Puniet's Team LCR Honda and Casey Stoner's Ducati. So let's talk about the Australian who is ninth, 1"538 from Lorenzo's pole, an eternity when thinking back to last year's races and also to Losail's debut. Stoner has some problems with his Desmosedici GP8 which don't seem easily solvable but the gaps made to his teammate Marco Melandri play in his favor as he is seventeenth, 3″ 400 from the top!! In short, without Stoner Ducati would really be in trouble!! In tomorrow's race the Australian will aim to take home as many points as possible and in case of rain he could also become a major protagonist again.

Behind Stoner we find the Kawasaki of John Hopkins, the Honda of Team San Carlo Gresini of Shinya Nakano, the Suzuki of Loris Capirossi (who crashed without physical consequences at the end of the session) and that of the Australian Vermeulen. Toni Elias is on the upswing (if we can call it that), the Spaniard is in fact fourteenth ahead of Anthony West's Kawasaki, Alex de Angelis' Honda and Melandri and Guintoli's Ducatis.