Lorenzo Clinches First Pole Position in Close Qatar Qualifying

Movistar Yamaha MotoGP rider Jorge Lorenzo continued his strong form today during the Qualifying 2 session, returning to the top of the time sheets again under the floodlights of the Losail International Circuit. He secured the 62nd pole position of his career with a 1'54.543s lap, making him the new leader in the all time pole position classification. His teammate Valentino Rossi, on the other hand, left it to the last lap to make his move, securing fifth on the grid for tomorrow's Commercial Bank Grand Prix of Qatar.

"It's not bad to have this record for most pole positions on the first weekend of the championship. Today it has been quite difficult to keep calm and try not to crash, because sometimes you have a good feeling with one rear tyre and you put in another and you have a different feeling. This is what happened on my second try, I almost crashed on the first lap, but luckily on my first try, my first lap was enough to keep the pole position. I expected to be a little bit faster and that everyone would come closer to the 1'54.0s, but finally this 1'54.5s was enough to be on pole."

An incredibly close first QP of the 2016 season saw Marc Marquez qualify on the front row with the field’s second best lap time at 1m54.634.

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