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Lorenzo on pole at Le Mans comes as no surprise, and is rather a confirmation of the superiority he's shown up until now. The Majorcan used the qualifying to continue to demonstrate his domination, stopping the clock on 1”31”975 and setting a new record at the French track.
“I started well and this made things easier. I'm really pleased with our work and I have a bike that allows me to maintain a strong pace. With this time, I've exceeded even my expectations”, admitted Lorenzo.
To get a clearer idea of Jorge's form in France, we need only look at the 0”441 second gap that separates him from Marquez, significant seeing how Marc is a specialist when it comes to the flying lap.
“I would have liked to be closer to Jorge but he's very strong here. Me, Valentino and the two Ducatis are all very close but Lorenzo seems to be a step ahead", said the Honda rider.
Completing the front row is the Ducati of Andrea Iannone, 0”494 from the front. The Italian was unlucky to suffer a crash at Turn 12 during his second exit. He ran back to the garage to get on his second Desmosedici but was unable to improve further.
“Unfortunately I had a problem wtih the water pump and liquid ended up on the rear tyre causing the crash - explained the Maniac, an incident that appears identical to that suffered by Dovi at Jerez - With the second tyre I could have improved further”.
Pol Espargarò opens row two, awarding the Tech3 team 4th place at its home track, with team-mate Bradley Smith in 6th. Between the two Yamahas is Andrea Dovizioso, 0”612 from Lorenzo.
On row three, in 7th, is Valentino Rossi, who improved during FP4. The Doctor didn't adopt the best strategy in the qualifying and found himself behind Vinales (just behind him on the timesheets) during his flying lap, missing out on the chance to improve further.
Ninth for Crutchlow ahead of a surprising Petrucci. Danilo progressed from Q1 to Q2 and was able to set the 10th time despite his hand still not being in the best shape. He also suffered a crash but without consequences.
Pedrosa also fell (11th ahead of Aleix Espargarò) but during his first exit. Dani crashed at Turn 4 and Pol Espargarò just managed to avoid him, the incident nevertheless conditioned his qualifying session.
From 13 down: Barbera, Redding, Hernandez, Laverty, Bradl (with the new Aprilia frame), Miller, Bautista, Rabat and Baz, last at his home GP.
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