Lorenzo: “Interesting to see how the rear tyre drops off”

A new pole record for Jorge Lorenzo as he takes pole at the Gran Premio TIM di San Marino e della Riviera di Rimini.

In all but one session this weekend Jorge Lorenzo has led the way on his Movistar Yamaha M1, the Mallorcan looking almost untouchable. Misano is one of his favourite circuits on the MotoGP™ World Championship calendar, having never finished outside the top two in the premier class. All signs point to Lorenzo continuing this streak on Sunday, starting on pole position with a record breaking 1’32.146s. Lorenzo approached the Q2 session with a two-stop strategy, allowing him to use three new tyres.

His final run saw Movistar Yamaha teammate Valentino Rossi briefly block Lorenzo’s line, forcing him to roll off on the throttle but Lorenzo himself admits that this lap was already 0.1s or so slower. Misano may be one of Lorenzo’s favourite tracks, but it’s also Rossi’s home round and the Italian won’t give up his 12 point championship lead without a fight. Rear tyre wear may also play a major role in Sunday’s race as riders and teams are still unsure of how far the tyres may drop with the new asphalt.

Jorge Lorenzo: “Rather than pole position, it‘s more important to always be first or second; I finished first in all sessions, apart from the first practice, under all kinds of conditions, with new and old tyres. I think we did a good job with the bike during the whole weekend and we have a good setting. We just need to change the last details for tomorrow. It‘s going to be interesting to see how the rear tyre drops as this new tarmac is more abrasive. It will be difficult to keep up the same pace during the whole race, but almost everyone will have the same problems and we are prepared to do a very good race.”