British MotoGP, Silverstone
Date: 19-20 June
Saturday 19 June: Qualifying: 1150-1505, BBC Red Button/online Sunday 20 June: Moto2: 1100-1215, BBC Red Button/online, Race live: 1215-1415, BBC Two/online ; 125cc: 1400-1500, BBC Red Button/online
 Lorenzo leads the MotoGP championship by 25 points |
Jorge Lorenzo secured his first pole position of the season after setting the fastest qualifying time for Sunday's British MotoGP at Silverstone. The Fiat Yamaha rider, who leads the world championship by 25 points, set a time of two minutes 3.308 seconds. Randy de Puniet was second, with Dani Pedrosa in third despite a late crash. The Repsol Honda rider needed a check-up in the track medical centre but suffered nothing worse than bruised knees and is fit to race on Sunday. Lorenzo, 23, has recorded two wins and two second places in the four races so far this season, but had not yet started from front spot - it is the 10th pole position of his MotoGP career.  | 606: DEBATE |
In an exciting qualifying session, Lorenzo battled with de Puniet after the Frenchman carved half a second off Lorenzo's best time with 15 minutes remaining. But the championship leader regained front spot with a stunning lap as de Puniet also suffered a minor crash in the final stages. With world champion Valentino Rossi out for three months following his crash in qualifying for the Italian Grand Prix a fortnight ago, new favourite Lorenzo knows he has a brilliant opportunity to take the Italian's title. And victory at Silverstone on Sunday would go someway to helping him achieve that. "I'm happy to have made pole and more importantly to have ridden well," said Lorenzo. De Puniet added: "The first row was always my target. "I was fastest through the middle sector but I pushed too hard at the end and made a little mistake but still it is good to be on the front of the track. "I think we have a good target and perhaps it was good for me to crash as I will probably be quieter in the race." Pedrosa crashes in British GP qualifying Pedrosa's involvement on Sunday looked to be in doubt following his heavy crash, with the bike going over his ankle, but he said it was nothing too serious. "I crashed when I was on my last qualifying lap as I braked going into a left hander," said the rider who is currently second in the championship standings. "I hit some bumps and then the front started to move a lot and then had a little slide. Maybe the bike went over me and at that moment it hurt, but afterwards the pain went away so I'm ok." Pedrosa's team-mate Andrea Dovizioso will lead the second row, with Ducati duo Nicky Hayden and Casey Stoner in fifth and sixth. Ben Spies, Marco Melandri, Marco Simoncelli and Colin Edwards make up the top 10. In the Moto2 class, Claudio Corti was the surprise pole sitter, after he held off Jules Cluzel and Stefan Bradl in qualifying - home favourite Scott Redding was 12th fastest. And in the 125cc class, Bradley Smith narrowly missed out on pole, being edged for front spot by Marc Marquez. Pol Espargaro starts in third spot.
British MotoGP qualifying results: 1 J Lorenzo (Sp) Yamaha 2mins 03.308secs
2 R de Puniet (Fr) Honda 2:03.434
3 D Pedrosa (Sp) Honda 2:03.586
4 A Dovizioso (Ita) Honda 2:03.995
5 N Hayden (US) Ducati 2:04.332
6 C Stoner (Aus) Ducati 2:04.394
7 B Spies (US) Yamaha 2:04.477
8 M Melandri (Ita) Honda 2:04.555
9 M Simoncelli (Ita) Honda 2:04.868
10 C Edwards (US) Yamaha 2:05.035
11 H Barbera (Sp) Ducati 2:05.354
12 H Aoyama (Jpn) Honda 2:05.712
13 A Espargaro (Sp) Ducati 2:05.748
14 L Capirossi (Ita) Suzuki 2:05.821
15 A Bautista (Sp) Suzuki 2:06.607 125cc qualifying results: 1 M Marquez (Sp) Derbi 2:14.667
2 B Smith (GB) Aprilia 2:14.966
3 P Espargaro (Sp) Derbi 2:15.112 8 D Webb (GB) Aprilia 2:16.689 Moto2 qualifying result: 1 C Corti (Ita) Suter 2mins 09.624secs
2 J Cluzel (Fr) Suter 2:10.037
3 S Bradl (Ger) Suter 2:10.413
12 S Redding (GB) Suter 2:10.768
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