Lorenzo predicts top eight pace in the race

Tough qualifying day for the ‘Spartan’ with a comeback on the cards

Jerez podium finisher Jorge Lorenzo (Ducati Team) is the most successful rider at Le Mans on the MotoGP™ grid, and the five-time World Champion will be pushing hard to get back in the fight on Sunday after a day of complicated conditions on the Bugatti circuit for qualifying - including a crash in FP4 in the same place as teammate Andrea Dovizioso.

After FP3 left some huge names outside Q2 including Lorenzo and compatriot Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda Team), the number 99 later missed the cut in the damp despite good pace in the wet – but race day? The forecast seems dry.

Jorge Lorenzo, P16: “Unfortunately the weather conditioned my practice and qualifying. With the rain I felt I was very competitive, but when I fitted slicks with the track partially damp, I wasn't able to push hard because I didn’t feel safe enough. In Q1 there were a lot of really quick riders, and despite the fact that I set a good time, we weren't able to get into Q2. Pity, because I feel sure that if I had had another 15 minutes available I could have dropped my lap time by three or four tenths, and I think that my real position in dry conditions is amongst the top eight riders. Now the only thing that I can do is use the warm-up tomorrow morning to improve the set-up of my bike and then try and make up positions in the race.”