JEREZ (Spain): Yamaha’s Jorge Lorenzo claimed his first pole position of the season with a new track record time of 1min 37.910sec for the Spanish MotoGP on Saturday.

The two-time world champion had been fastest in three of the four practice sessions on Friday and Saturday morning and continued that form into qualifying to break the record set by world champion Marc Marquez in claiming pole position last season.

In soaring temperatures, he finished 0.39 seconds ahead of Marquez who was bot­h­ered by a broken finger on his left hand while Italian And­rea Iannone completed the front row of the grid. It was the Spaniard’s 31st career pole in the top category.

Italian Valentino Rossi, who tops the world championship standings with 66 points after winning two of the three races, was unable to match the pace of his team-mate Lorenzo as he could only manage fifth on the grid behind Pol Espargaro.

Fellow Italians Andrea Dovizioso and Iannone are next on their Ducatis before Lorenzo with 37 points and Marquez with 36.

It was confirmed on Friday that Lorenzo would be staying with Yamaha until the end of his contract in 2016 despite a disappointing start to the season.

And he said the confidence shown in him by the team has played a big part in his return to form this weekend.

“We’re back. I have a lot of confidence in the bike, the team and myself. The contract renewal has helped me a lot and, as I always say, it is Sunday when the points are dished out and what better way to start than on pole,” he said.

Published in Dawn, May 3rd, 2015

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