Jorge Lorenzo claimed pole position in the FIM MotoGP World Championship at Laguna Seca but may not be fit to race after being stretchered away after Saturday’s qualifying session.
The Fiat Yamaha rider set a mark of one minute 21.678 seconds but both he and world championship rival Casey Stoner suffered crashes near the end of the session with the Spaniard taken away on a stretcher.
His crash came just moments after Lorenzo, who had already been involved in a lowside crash earlier in the session, flipped his handlebars, landing on his shoulder and sliding 30 metres into the sand. The Press Association
The Spaniard was taken from the Laguna Seca circuit in an ambulance after he tumbled over the handlebars and slid into a sand trap at high speed at the end of Saturday’s qualifying.
Dani Pedrosa qualified fourth ahead of Andrea Dovizioso and Toni Elias. Guardian.co.uk
The 22-year-old was taken off the track by ambulance and it was not immediately clear how badly he was injured.
He will have a late medical check just hours before the race begins but is optimistic about his chances of racing.
“We were really comfortable and competitive on this track, but when I had my last chance to do a quick lap time I found some slower riders on track and they wanted to follow me,” said Lorenzo.
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“I decided to slow down for a while because I wanted to be alone but the rear tyre was too cold for the speed I was doing. I went into the corner and I crashed.”
“I’m disappointed for these two crashes but I am okay and I am optimistic that I will be able to ride on Sunday.”
Rossi wished a speedy recovery to both Lorenzo and Stoner.
“I just hope that Casey and Jorge are fit and are able to race, because for sure it would be a great battle between us, as our pace on race tyres is very similar,” said Rossi. BBC Sport
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