SPEED & ADRENALINE
уторак, 29. октобар 2013.
недеља, 27. октобар 2013.
субота, 26. октобар 2013.
Lorenzo masters wet Motegi for crucial pole
Following Friday’s cancellation of practice sessions due to weather
conditions at the AirAsia Grand Prix of Japan, the premier class riders
were given a special 75-minute qualifying heat on Saturday afternoon.
Defending World Champion Lorenzo made full use of the extended
session, getting straight out onto the wet circuit to start working on
his race set up. Having initially swapped top spot with rival Marc
Marquez early in the session he then dropped down the timesheets.
After some work on set-up he was back, rising quickly to second after a
third of the time had gone, 0.1s from Marquez on top. The P1 position
continued to change hands until with 15 minutes to go, when Lorenzo put
the hammer down and delivered a perfect 1’53.965 lap to go over half a
second clear.
Whilst his rivals were able to improve, so was he, dropping even
further to a 1’53.471 in the final seconds to secure pole 0.65s ahead of
Marquez.
“I’m really happy,” reflected Lorenzo. “It was not so simple because
my last memory of the rain was Assen. At the beginning I was a little
bit scared and didn't want to crash. We were lucky to have the extended
qualifying time to get used to the track. Little by little I got
confidence and finally I felt really good with the bike and the grip of
the track, especially under braking. It doesn't matter if it’s wet or
dry tomorrow, it’s not my problem to think about it, I have to ride in
whatever conditions we have. A wet race would be better for the
championship though!”
His teammate Valentino Rossi was also looking comfortable around the
Motegi circuit. The nine-time World Champion was one of the few who
climbed to the top of the timesheets early in the session with a
1’59.304. He continued to be a key protagonist, regularly swapping
positions in the top four places with his rivals.
With 30 minutes remaining Rossi had taken provisional second on the
grid, just 0.12s from Pedrosa on pole. The last minutes as usual saw a
flurry of activity as his teammate took a stunning pole position. Rossi
eventually took fifth place at the end of the session with a 1’54.732
second lap.
The Italian later stated, “The result is not so bad, I hoped to arrive
on the front row, I’m not so far but I am behind. I was in a better
shape when it was full wet and felt better with the bike. When there was
less water on the track and some places were quite dry I was able to
improve my time a little but not enough for the front row. Tomorrow will
be a surprise because if it is dry we will have to make the best set up
in the morning warm up and try to arrive competitively for the race.”
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