Scene set for Spanish Aragon showdown

MotoGP News
Date: 28/September/2012

MotoGP title contenders Jorge Lorenzo and Dani Pedrosa were separated by just 0.088s during qualifying on home Spanish asphalt at Aragon.

Should the race take place in the dry, few would bet against a Lorenzo or Pedrosa victory. But qualifying was the first dry session of the weekend, with further unsettled weather again forecast for Sunday.

Lorenzo said: “Finally we had dry weather but it was very cold. Little by little we improved the pace and with the last qualifying tyre I pushed a lot to get pole. We will start from the front, now let’s see where we finish.”

In terms of the title, the extra uncertainty created by a wet-weather race arguably benefits Pedrosa more than Lorenzo.

The Repsol Honda rider dropped from 13 to 38 points behind Lorenzo after being knocked off at Misano. Pedrosa thus needs to not only beat Lorenzo, but have other riders finish between them.

There is a much larger possibility of that happening in the wet, while the first corner at Aragon is known as something of an accident black spot.

Pedrosa, who recovered from a crash early in qualifying, said: “The first corner here is so close, maybe not even third gear if you start on the front row, so it will be close at the start tomorrow.

“I can’t think too much about the championship now. I’ve just got to go out, ride and have fun.”

Leading the challenge to Lorenzo and Pedrosa could be Cal Crutchlow, who battled the pair for pole on his way to third on the grid.

“If I can stick with those guys in the first couple of laps it’s at least possible to break away from the others. So the key will be the start and first laps, which isn’t usually my strong point unfortunately!” said the Tech 3 Yamaha rider.