FRONT ROW RETURN FOR LORENZO IN MISANO 

2008-08-30 09:45
Jorge Lorenzo made an impressive return to the front row of the grid today, his first top-three qualification since his treble of pole positions in the opening three races of the season. The Mallorcan qualified third on a sweltering day in Misano and his Fiat Yamaha team-mate Valentino Rossi made it a good day for the whole garage by qualifying second, just 0.076 seconds ahead of him.

After his run of bad luck Lorenzo has been in much better shape since first practice yesterday, with improvements to his Michelin tyres giving him back his old confidence and flair. His first run with a qualifying tyre put him straight to the top of the standings and he was able to improve twice more, before being edged out by Stoner and Rossi in the closing seconds of the session. He and his crew now hope to make some final improvements to the setting of his M1 before bidding for a podium return tomorrow when the 28-lap race gets underway at 1400 CET.

Position: 3rd Time: 1'33.964 Laps: 29
"Straight from yesterday morning it's clear that this track is a different situation for us. We're struggling much less and my Michelin tyres are much more competitive again here, so thanks to them. I can ride in a good, flowing rhythm once more and my tyres are giving me the confidence that I need in order to go fast. It feels really good to be back on the front row again and I am very happy today. It is clear that to stay with Stoner and Valentino is going to be very hard, but the important thing is that we have been able to compete with them today and we're in a good position to try again tomorrow. I'm still not thinking about results but I will just do my best, try to take a good rhythm and try to put on a good race for all the fans!"

Team Manager
"It's great to finally be back on the front row after some time and, more importantly, to watch Jorge riding so competitively again. Thanks to Michelin for their work because the tyres performed very well today and enabled Jorge to have good confidence and feeling with the bike, which in turn has enabled the team to find a good set-up. We have improved session by session throughout the weekend and now we are confident that we can continue to be competitive in the race tomorrow. We hope to see Jorge fighting at the front again and getting the result he deserves."

Qualifying Times
FRONT ROW
1. Casey Stoner (AUS) Ducati Marlboro 1'33.378
2. Valentino Rossi (ITA) Fiat Yamaha Team 1'33.888
3. Jorge Lorenzo (SPA) Fiat Yamaha Team 1'33.964
SECOND ROW
4. Randy De Puniet (FRA) LCR Honda MotoGP 1'34.236
5. Toni Elias (SPA) Alice Team 1'34.322
6. Dani Pedrosa (SPA) Repsol Honda 1'34.398
THIRD ROW
7. Chris Vermeulen (AUS) Rizla Suzuki 1'34.461
8. Shinya Nakano (JPN) San Carlo Honda Gresini

Source: Fiat Yamaha Team

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