Catalunya MotoGP: Fiat Yamaha duo predict tough battle

Jorge Lorenzo and Valentino Rossi have spoken about their expected titanic tussle for glory in tomorrow’s Catalunya MotoGP race after the Fiat Yamaha pair dominated qualifying.

Lorenzo will start from pole position after a best time of 1.41.974 on his last flying lap ousted Rossi from top spot by just 0.013s.

His outstanding display in sweltering conditions gave the Spaniard his third pole position in the opening six races and he said: “If the heat is like this tomorrow then it will be very difficult and very hard.

“I think I’m in good shape, especially at this track I feel great on the bike and the bike is working good. I only have some problems on the exit of the corners but apart from this it is looking good.”

With track temperature hitting an incredible 52 degrees today, key to tomorrow’s 25-lap will be rear tyre performance from Bridgestone’s extra hard compound slick.

Lorenzo though said he isn’t too concerned about tyre endurance and he added: “Sure it is difficult to keep a pace for the whole race because after ten laps the tyres are moving a lot but this is one of best points, I can make a better race at the end than at the beginning so I don’t worry about this.”

The 22-year-old is certainly expecting a tough battle with team-mate Rossi in front of his home fans in Barcelona and he said: “I am expecting a very good fight with Valentino, who has a very strong pace.

“It looks like Stoner and Dovizioso will be there too so I hope it’s an exciting race for the fans!

“I have a good rhythm here and I feel very comfortable on the bike so I am just going to stay focused and think about having a great race.

“It could be a close race but and while the big crash of Dani is not good, I think he will be with us tomorrow.”

Rossi was happy rather than miffed at being pipped to pole right at the death of a session that the Italian had looked in control of during the final ten minutes.

He clocked a best time of 1.41.987 and was only 0.013s adrift of Lorenzo, who has won two of the opening five races.

Rossi, who has qualified on the front row of the grid for the first time since the second race in Japan, said: “I think tomorrow we will be competitive.

“Unfortunately this afternoon Lorenzo was a bit faster than us, and we lost a bit in the last sector where I struggled a little bit.

“When you lose the pole position by just 0.013s it’s quite bad but I’m more happy than angry because I feel good with the bike from yesterday and this was the best practice of the season.

“We worked very well on the setting and we worked well on the soft tyres and at the end the lap time is competitive.

“For sure tomorrow it will be difficult because on this track after five or six laps there is great demand on the tyres, especially on the rear, so it is a sliding race to the end. With the temperature like today it is also a test of physical strength.”

Rossi and Lorenzo are easily the fastest and most consistent riders on race tyres at the Montmelo circuit, but Rossi is refusing to rule out the threat posed by Aussie Stoner, who qualified third on the Ducati GP9.

“Looking at the lap times Jorge is very fast and I have a good pace. Maybe Casey is a little bit slower but he is not far away.

“It’s always dangerous to say the battle is only between two, specially with Stoner around because he is on the front row and the line to the first corner is a long way and the Ducati always pushes very strong off the line.

“Maybe we have to fight a bit with Casey but for the pace Jorge and I are a bit faster, “added the 30-year-old.

“Like Lorenzo, Stoner has now qualified on the front row of the grid in every race so far in 2009, though he just edged out fourth quickest Andrea Dovizioso by 0.168s.

Stoner said: “It’s been up and down position wise but we’ve stayed almost the same time from the front guys on race tyres.

“I’ve always been about four or five tenths away from where I really want to be though we made a big step this afternoon.

“This morning we couldn’t get the bike to turn at all and once we got that we lost all grip in the rear so we’re struggling at the moment to figure out which way is the best one to go.

“We’re in the middle of working out whether we need more rear grip or better turning.

“If we can improve tomorrow morning like we did this afternoon we might be able to hang on, but it looks like being very difficult because Valentino and Jorge are running a really good pace and it will be very difficult to keep with them.”