Spanish Grand Prix, Jerez, MotoGP, J2: Small fall for Jorge Lorenzo in qualifying and eleventh place on the fourth row

Jorge Lorenzo has certainly experienced more pleasant situations than arriving this weekend at the Spanish Grand Prix in seventeenth position in the provisional World Championship standings. It's not entirely his fault as his Honda hasn't shown impressive reliability since the start of this year.

But the tide may be turning. During the first free practice session, he placed second, 0.124 behind his new teammate Marc Márquez, which did not fail to surprise him. “ I followed him closely after he was fast Friday morning, revealed the mischievous Catalan. I saw some strong points in his riding style and some weak points. But I won't reveal the weaknesses. His strength is that he can go very fast in the corners. He was able to do that with the Ducati and now he is succeeding with the Honda. It's positive ».

It was also positive in the afternoon and Jorge ranked fourth of the day, 0.136 behind the leader Danilo Petrucci. In 1'38.045, he was significantly faster than the lap record which was then still his possession in 1'38.735 on his Movistar Yamaha since 2015. The surface has just been redone, and this record was bound to fall. As for the pole position record established in 1'37.653 by Cal Crutchlow on his LCR Honda in 2018, Marc Márquez (or another…) should logically pulverize him this Saturday.

Lorenzo explained that his main problem was being able to slow down enough to take the apex point he had determined. He was turning too late, which affected the entire turn.

On this Saturday morning, we wished a happy birthday to Jorge, born on May 4, 1987 in Palma de Mallorca. He was the first to set off on the track during FP1, clearly expressing clear motivation. At mid-session, Lorenzo was in 5th place in the session in 1'38.152 and 5th overall in the three sessions in 1'38.045, before FP3 was interrupted by a red flag 17'17 from the end planned, an air fence having to be replaced in turn 10 after being punctured by Cal Crutchlow during a minor fall.

The drivers left the pits and immediately Lorenzo took the best time in 1'37.684, just 0.03 off the testing record set in 1'37.653 by Cal Crutchlow (LCR Honda) in 2018.

In the final moments of FP3, Lorenzo ranked tenth in free practice with a time of 1'37.376, 0.419 behind Danilo Petrucci's best time (1'36.957), a new circuit record. In the afternoon he was positioned fourteenth in FP4 in 1'38.478, 0.827 behind the leader, his teammate Marc Marquez.

Jorge set off at 14:35 p.m. for Q2 alongside his 11 fastest opponents from free practice. He made his first run with Marc Marquez, who returned to the pits after setting a time of 1'36.970. Lorenzo returned at the end of his third lap with a time of 1'37.496 which earned him ninth position.

For the second run, Jorge took to the track for the last time five minutes from the checkered flag, but fell in Turn 2 without gravity 3 minutes from the end. It was too late to make another attempt and he had to settle for eleventh position with a time of 1'37.496, 0.616 behind. fabio quartararo in pole position.

“The session went pretty well, I pushed a lot during the first run, then during the second, I tried to be more aggressive in braking, Lorenzo explained. Unfortunately, I lost the front and fell. Fortunately, I didn’t get hurt.”

“Starting from the fourth row is not ideal, but that is where we will start. The start of the grid will be important to keep our position, because everyone is very fast. Here we are closer than ever to the front”.

“I couldn't fight for pole position or the front row today. We still need a little something. But I'm pretty happy with some of the progress I'm feeling. Slowly I'm getting used to the bike and understanding it better. I drive more smoothly. And I understand some things that will help me in the future.”

“I wonder what the next races are going to be like, but there are still little things happening, even if I qualify directly in Q2. These are not serious things, but they prevent us from taking the next big step. This is why we cannot qualify on one of the first two lines.”

“I want to finish the race first and for the bike not to be a problem this time. I'll see what's possible with the bike tomorrow. I have to stay focused and do everything in my power to gain places. So far I don't have a clear solution for racing. We’re just going to go see what happens.”

“The track condition was better today. And with each training session, I discover things on the Honda that allow me to drive faster. And if you ride better, if you gain confidence and if you move more smoothly, the results will eventually come.”

“We continue to work on the setting, we modify the use of the rear brake. I look carefully at where it is effective to use the rear brake. I've changed a lot since Friday. Yesterday, being limited in certain sections, I reached the limit too early. That's why I wasn't fast enough yesterday. Today I took a different path at certain times of the day. We learn something new every day.”

Qualification ranking:

1 Fabio Quartararo FRA Petronas Yamaha SRT (YZR-M1) 1'36.880

2 Franco Morbidelli ITA Petronas Yamaha SRT (YZR-M1) 1'36.962 +0.082

3 Marc Márquez ESP Repsol Honda (RC213V) 1'36.970 +0.090

4 Andrea Dovizioso ITA Mission Winnow Ducati (GP19) 1'37.018 +0.138

5 Maverick Vinales ESP Monster Yamaha (YZR-M1) 1'37.114 +0.234

6 Cal Crutchlow GBR LCR Honda (RC213V) 1'37.175 +0.295

7 Danilo Petrucci ITA Mission Winnow Ducati (GP19) 1'37.209 +0.329

8 Takaaki Nakagami JPN LCR Honda (RC213V) 1'37.332 +0.452

9 Alex Rins ESP Suzuki Ecstar (GSX-RR) 1'37.351 +0.471

10 Francesco Bagnaia ITA Pramac Ducati (GP18) 1'37.384 +0.504

11 Jorge Lorenzo ESP Repsol Honda (RC213V) 1'37.496 +0.616

12 Joan Mir SPA Suzuki Ecstar (GSX-RR) 1'37.514 +0.634

13 Valentino Rossi ITA Monster Yamaha (YZR-M1) 1'37.371

14 Stefan Bradl GER HRC (RC213V) 1'37.406

15 Jack Miller AUS Pramac Ducati (GP19) 1'37.605

16 Aleix Espargaró ESP Factory Aprilia Gresini (RS-GP) 1'37.625

17 Pol Espargaró ESP Red Bull KTM Factory (RC16) 1'37.798

18 Johann Zarco FRA Red Bull KTM Factory (RC16) 1'37.820

19 Bradley Smith GBR Factory Aprilia Gresini (RS-GP) 1'38.357

20 Tito Rabat ESP Reale Avintia Ducati (GP18) 1'38.403

21 Karel Abraham CZE Reale Avintia Ducati (GP18) 1'38.447

22 Miguel Oliveira POR Red Bull KTM Tech3 (RC16) 1'38.894

23 Hafizh Syahrin MAL Red Bull KTM Tech3 (RC16) 1'40.042

24 Andrea Iannone ITA Factory Aprilia Gresini (RS-GP) Package

Reference times:

New practice record: 1'36.880 by Fabio Quartararo (Petronas Yamaha SIC) this Saturday in Q2

Old test record: 1'37.653 by Cal Crutchlow (LCR Honda) in 2018

Lap record: 1'38.735 by Jorge Lorenzo (Movistar Yamaha MotoGP) in 2015

Best top speed: 295,9 km/h for Andrea Iannone (Ducati Team) in 2015

Provisional ranking of the World Championship:

1 Andrea DOVIZIOSO-Ducati 54 points

2 Valentino ROSSI-Yamaha 51

3 Alex RINS-Suzuki 49

4 Marc MARQUEZ-Honda 45

5 Danilo PETRUCCI-Ducati 30

6 Jack MILLER-Ducati 29

7 Takaaki NAKAGAMI-Honda 22

8 Cal CRUTCHLOW-Honda 19

9 Pol ESPARGARÓ-KTM 18

10 Fabio QUARTARARO-Yamaha 17

11 Franco MORBIDELLI-Yamaha 16

12 Maverick VIÑALES-Yamaha 14

13 Aleix ESPARGARÓ-Aprilia 13

14 Francesco BAGNAIA-Ducati 9

15 Joan MIR-Suzuki 8

16 Miguel OLIVEIRA-KTM 7

17 Jorge LORENZO-Honda 7

18 Andrea IANNONE-Aprilia 6

19 Johann ZARCO-KTM 5

20 Tito RABAT-Ducati 1

Photos © motogp.com / Dorna