Zoom Jorge Lorenzo

It was another nervous day for the Fiat Yamaha Team today as they watched their injured rider Jorge Lorenzo battling through the pain barrier in Le Mans. Despite his injuries however he was able to qualify fifth, in the middle of the second row, for tomorrow's French Grand Prix.

The 21-year-old rookie gave his team another scary moment this morning when he crashed out during first practice and was carried off by stretcher.

A quick check up at the circuit clinic however revealed that he had luckily done no further damage to his two fractured ankles and he was able to take part in this afternoon's qualifying session. There were a few more nervous moments for his team when he twice ran off track, but despite his difficulties he was able to use all of his Michelin qualifying tyres and fifth on the grid is an excellent result in the circumstances.

Lorenzo's team-mate Rossi qualified one place ahead of him and Dani Pedrosa, Tech 3 Yamaha rider Colin Edwards and Casey Stoner make up the front row. Tomorrow's 28-lap race gets underway at 1400 CET and with the expected rain having held off so far, the riders will be hoping the trend continues for one more day to give them a dry race.

Jorge Lorenzo
“This is a very difficult time and I have a lot of pain in all of my body, but I want to keep going and I think fifth place is a very good position for me today. Of course I know it's a risk for me, but this sport always has some danger and I don't think about this. Today was hard and my crash this morning didn't help, but I didn't make anything worse and I was able to ride this afternoon and to try hard with my qualifying tyres. We need to improve the bike more for this track, especially the electronics and the chassis, but I know that we can be better tomorrow and I am sure that my physical condition will be better as well. Neither our bike nor my mental or physical condition is perfect here and my rhythm is not as good as at the other races, but of course I still want to try to be in front and this is why I have made some mistakes today. It's not the end of the world however, I've been in worse situations in the past and I won't panic. Tomorrow is another day and, although today I was lacking some confidence, I know I will feel better in myself tomorrow and that I will be able to try to take some points.”

Daniele Romagnoli