Pedrosa scores 'very important pole’ in busy day
Repsol Honda rider Pedrosa, now the most successful Spaniard of all time for premier-class poles (23), outpaced Lorenzo's Yamaha by just 0.018s at the end of a hectic hour-long session that saw teams and riders working flat out to make up for time lost during the damp free practices.
“It was a pretty tight session and no time to rest as we had to test the tyres, suspension and find some settings, as well as finding some feeling for myself!” said Pedrosa, who has closed to within 13 points of Lorenzo in the standings.
“At the end we managed a good lap to take pole, which is very important as the first part of the circuit is very tight, so a good start is necessary. The setting on the bike is good so I hope to have a good race tomorrow.
“Thanks to all my team, we did a very good job in a very short time after a strange weekend due to the weather conditions, but we remained focused to have a good qualifying session and be ready for tomorrow's race.”
Pedrosa's stand-in team-mate Jonathan Rea will make his MotoGP debut from ninth on the grid.
