Estoril MotoGP: Lorenzo takes pole position

Yamaha Factory Racing rider Jorge Lorenzo took his first pole position of the season in the last five minutes of qualifying at Estoril, ahead of Marco Simoncelli who had been consistently fast throughout practice and qualifying until a late crash in turn 7.

Dani Pedrosa qualified in third, six tenths of a second in front of his Repsol Honda team mate Casey Stoner. Ben Spies (Yamaha Factory Racing) will start in fifth position, whilst Andrea Dovizioso completes the second row in sixth.

Texan Colin Edwards took seventh, just edging his Monster Tech 3 Yamaha team mate Cal Crutchlow into eighth place. Brit Crutchlow gave an impressive performance having not ridden the circuit before and qualified ahead of Valentino Rossi.

Having set the fastest time in the third practice session this morning, Loris Capirossi (Pramac Racing Team) will start from fourteenth on the grid.

1. Jorge LORENZO SPA Yamaha Factory Racing 1m 37.161s 
2. Marco SIMONCELLI ITA San Carlo Honda Gresini 1m 37.294s
3. Dani PEDROSA SPA Repsol Honda Team  1m 37.324s
4. Casey STONER AUS Repsol Honda Team 1m 37.384
5. Ben SPIES USA Yamaha Factory Racing 1m 37.866s
6. Andrea DOVIZIOSO ITA Repsol Honda Team 1m 38.073s
7. Colin EDWARDS USA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 1m 38.080s
8. Cal CRUTCHLOW GBR Monster Yamaha Tech 3 1m 38.189s 
9. Valentino ROSSI ITA Ducati Team Ducati 301.4 1m 38.271s
10. Hector BARBERA SPA Mapfre Aspar Team MotoGP 1m 38.363s
11. Hiroshi AOYAMA JPN San Carlo Honda Gresini 1m 38.497s
12. Karel ABRAHAM CZE Cardion AB Motoracing 1m 38.786s
13. Nicky HAYDEN USA Ducati Team 1m 38.922s
14. Loris CAPIROSSI ITA Pramac Racing Team 1m 38.934s
15. Alvaro BAUTISTA SPA Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 1m 39.172s
16. Randy DE PUNIET FRA Pramac Racing Team 1m 39.378s
17. Toni ELIAS SPA LCR Honda MotoGP 1m 39.894s