Lorenzo: Pole very important to be ahead of trouble in race

Jorge Lorenzo said that his 62nd pole position was the “best lap of my life.” The Spaniard was almost half a second clear of the field after a highly charged qualifying session. With a world championship on the line for tomorrow the pressure being placed on Lorenzo this weekend is immense but in the white hot atmosphere of qualifying he pulled out a lap that he felt was reminiscent of 2008 when MotoGP still allowed qualifying tyres.

“I had the opportunity to make a very good lap time in the past; I remember when we had the qualifying tyres in 2008 for example I make also impressive lap times. But to be honest, I think the lap of today would be very difficult to repeat even if I tried many times because the bike was perfect in this lap, the rear tyre was working very well in acceleration and traction, and also I ride as fast as possible in all the corners, so very happy with the lap time.”

With Valentino Rossi starting last on the grid tomorrow the key for Lorenzo was to qualify on the front row of the grid. With Marc Marquez and Dani Pedrosa having such impressive pace this weekend Lorenzo admitted that finishing on the podium will be very difficult for Rossi. If Rossi fails to finish on the rostrum Lorenzo will need to finish in the top two to claim a third premier class crown.

 “Today, the mission has been done. I wanted to start on the front row. Starting from pole position, it is very important to make a good start and avoid some problems in the first laps because the tension is high – the tension before the qualifying was very high and to manage this tension is very hard; this can make you weaker or even stronger.”

When asked what affect the title battle is having on his mental state Lorenzo answered honestly by saying that he had been struggling with sleep in recent days.

“I don’t know, maybe I will need some little pill to help me! Last night I wake up very early for me and normally I can sleep a lot. Last night, maybe the jet lag is still in the body from the three previous races. The first week, I wake up very early and now little by little I wake up later, but still I cannot sleep like before.”