Lorenzo Obliterates Lap Record Ahead of Qualifying

May 30, 2015
2 min read

Jorge Lorenzo heads into this afternoon's qualifying session as the man very much to beat after obliterating the Mugello lap record in FP3. The Movistar Yamaha rider posted a blistering lap of 1:46.617 on his nineteenth tour of the 15-turn circuit. Just to validate his intentions he put in another 1:46s lap on the following circulation. The Spaniard spent the first part of the session working on race set-up and looked very consistent. He really is ripping up the form guide for this weekend.

The team everyone expects to be quick will be scratching their heads after FP3. Ducati were 2nd and 3rd quickest but nearly half a second off of top spot, despite being able to use the soft rear Bridgestone tyre. Interestingly it was Iannone who bested Dovizioso, with a stunning performance from wild-card Michele Pirro 4th.

Pol Espargaro languished outside the top ten for much of the session, but began ramping up his pace as the clock counted down and ended up 5th quickest, with Cal Crutchlow, Dani Pedrosa and Bradley Smith following.

Valentino Rossi was 9th, and after the lap of his team-mate he'll need to really dig deep in FP4 to produce something in qualifying. I think that if Rossi can get onto the front two rows he can race well from their and challenge for victory. But he needs to keep Lorenzo close by, because Le Mans showed that the Spaniard will run away at the front if he is given the opportunity, and the Italian can't let that happen by having a bad qualifying.

Maverick Vinales completed the top ten and the riders going straight through to QP2.

The big loser of FP3 was Marc Marquez. The Spaniard had been quick in the early stages of the session. But, as the track conditions improved towards the end of the 45-minutes, the reigning world champion found himself on the cusp. As Pedrosa jumped up to 7th, that pushed Marc out.

And with the likes of Petrucci, Hernandez, Barbera in QP1 and with use of the soft rear tyre, Marquez may find his day becoming even more difficult.

QP2 Runners:

Jorge Lorenzo

Andrea Iannone

Andrea Dovizioso

Michele Pirro

Pol Espargaro

Cal Crutchlow

Dani Pedrosa

Bradley Smith

Valentino Rossi

QP1 Runners: