Just when it looked like the weekend was predestined to go the way of Dani Pedrosa there was a dramatic twist to the script today as the challenge of Jorge Lorenzo finally emerged to take pole position in qualifying practice. The Spanish pair line-up either side of Cal Crutchlow on tomorrow's front row but barring rainy conditions it is hard to see past the championship's leading two riders for the race win.
POWER ELECTRONICS Aspar rider Randy De Puniet made life difficult for himself after just ten minutes of this afternoon's grid shootout, running straight into the gravel under braking and suffering a crash that thankfully left him and his bike without major injuries. The Frenchman bounced back to clock a 1'57.844 on his twelfth lap, enough to secure a visit to parc fermé as the fastest CRT qualifier by a single position from his team-mate Aleix Espargaró. The Spaniard was once again his most competitive rival and with a second advantage over the rest of the CRT bikes on the grid it looks to be a straight battle for honours between the pair tomorrow.
10th Randy De Puniet 1.57.844 (15 laps):
“Qualifying was a bit of a tense affair for me because I crashed on only my second run. I made a mistake trying to brake too late and went straight into the gravel. It wasn't a big one but I was a little dizzy when I got up. I went back to the garage and decided to wait for the guys to fix the bike. They did a great job and barely fifteen minutes later I was back on track. It was time to put the soft tyres on and I struggled a little to get on the pace at first because I was still a bit dazed. I came back in for another tyre and that time I was able to set a good lap. In the end I was tenth fastest and the top CRT so I want to thank the team for the job they have done. This is a great result but we have to back it up tomorrow.”
11th Aleix Espargaró 1.58.153 (20 laps):
“Today has been very positive. I am happy because we have improved a lot from day one after suffering some major rear grip issues. We also had some chatter this morning but we have improved in both aspects and I'm pleased with the way we are responding to problems as they arise. We have put together a good pace, like my team-mate, and it looks like between us we have a bit of an advantage over the rest of the CRT riders so it could be a battle between Randy and myself if everything goes to plan. He is very fast over one lap but we'll see what happens over race distance. I am going to try everything to win and I hope it's a dry race but I won't be too bothered if it rains.”
Power Electronics Aspar Press Release
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Source: http://www.zimbio.com/MotoGP/articles/PoizsVLws3F/De+Puniet+Back+Qualify+Top+CRT
Michael Bartels Edgar Barth Giorgio Bassi Erwin Bauer Zsolt Baumgartner Elie Bayol
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