The Yamaha Factory Racing rider was the fastest man on track in the morning’s final free practice, setting an impressive 1’22.112 to top the time sheets. The afternoon qualifying heat saw him again quick onto the pace, again fastest man on track mid way through the session. Unfortunately, he was not able to take any great advantage from the softer tyre compounds available and had dropped out of the top four until the last moments. As the final minutes ticked down, he broke under the 1’22 mark to beat Marco Simoncelli for the final spot on the front row by just 0.010 seconds.
Ben Spies was on much better form than the day before, a good night’s sleep had shaken off most of his head cold and the Texan was keen to attack the track. The crew made some major set up changes midway through both the morning practice and afternoon qualifying to help deliver an optimum bike package for the twisty Sachsenring circuit. Clear improvements were evident, with Spies climbing from seventh in the morning with a 1’22.772 to fifth on the grid in qualifying with 1’22.056, just 0.375 from pole.
Jorge Lorenzo:
“It’s been a strong weekend so far. I’ve never felt great on this track, but this weekend I’m riding fast and feeling comfortable. It was a pity at the end of qualifying that the soft tyre didn’t improve anything much. In the end, I couldn’t make pole position but I think third position on the front row is a good place to start tomorrow for the race; I got it by just 0.010! Casey is very strong but I hope to be ready to fight for the victory with him. I think the fans will see a great race as there are a lot of riders who can fight for the win.”
Ben Spies:
“Today was definitely better. I’m still not 100% but I’m feeling a lot more clear headed on the bike. We were able to make the bike a bit better and I was able to ride better today to get into the top five. I made a mistake on my last lap, totally my fault, two corners to go I lost the rear, then saved it but then lost the front as well which cost me a tenth. It might have made us a little closer to the front, but we’re still in the middle of the second row so we can put a good race together tomorrow.”
Yamaha Factory Racing press release
