Jorge Lorenzo will start his final MotoGP race with Yamaha from pole position after smashing the lap record at the Circuit Ricardo Tormo in Valencia, Spain on Saturday in qualifying.
Three-time MotoGP champion Lorenzo announced earlier this year that he would be leaving Yamaha at the end of the 2016 season, favoring a switch to Ducati for 2017.
The Spaniard has endured a mixed season with Yamaha, claiming just three wins and three poles ahead of the race weekend in Valencia as Honda rival Marc Marquez swept to his third championship with three races to spare.
Lorenzo managed to rediscover his form in qualifying on Saturday, delighting his home fans by storming to pole with a fastest lap of 1:29.401.
Marquez was left to settle for second place on the grid, finishing three-tenths of a second further back. Lorenzo’s teammate, Valentino Rossi, will start on the outside of the front row in third place after lapping 0.7 seconds slower than the pole time.
Lorenzo’s replacement at Yamaha, Maverick Vinales, will start his final race for Suzuki from fourth on the grid ahead of Andrea Dovizioso and Pol Espargaro. Andrea Iannone qualified seventh ahead of Dani Pedrosa and Aleix Espargargo, the latter suffering a crash in the session, while Bradley Smith rounded out the top 10.
Three riders remain locked in a tight battle with 17 points separating the leader Cooper Webb from third-place Chase Sexton and these are only a few Supercross numbers to consider entering Seattle.Chase Sexton made a statement in Detroit with his second win of 2023. – Feld Motor Sports
Webb and Tomac won the last four championships with two apiece in alternating years, but they were not one another’s primary rival for most of those seasons. On the average, however, the past four years show an incredible similarity with average points earned of 21.0 for Webb and 21.3 for Tomac. With five wins so far this season, Tomac (23 wins) leads Webb (19) in victories but Webb (43) edges Tomac (41) in podium finishes during this span.
Tomac has won two of the last three Seattle races and those two wins in this stadium are topped only by James Stewart. Fittingly, if Tomac gets a third win this week, he will tie Stewart for second on the all-time wins’ list. Tomac tied Ricky Carmichael for third with 48 wins at Oakland and took sole possession of that spot with his Daytona win.
Sexton still has a lot to say and after winning last week in Detroit, he is speaking up. The Supercross numbers are against him entering Seattle, however, because a points’ deficit this large after Round 10 has been erased only once. In 1983 David Bailey was 47 points behind Bob Hannah, and like Sexton he was also in third place. Bailey took the points’ lead with one race remaining.
The seven points Sexton was penalized last week for jumping in a red cross flag section in Detroit could prove extremely costly.
In fact, it has been a series of mistakes that has cost Sexton the most. In the last two weeks, he lost 10 points with a 10th-place finish to go with his penalty. Erase those, and all three riders hold their fate in their hands.
Plessinger’s heartbreak in Detroit is still fresh, but the upside of his run is that was his best of the season and could turn his fortunes around. Prior to that race, he led only seven laps in three mains. He was up front for 20 laps in Detroit with five of those being the fastest on the track.
Last week’s win by Hunter Lawrence tied him with his brother Jett Lawrence for 17th on the all-time wins’ list. With the focus shifting to 250 West for the next two rounds, Jett has a great opportunity to pull back ahead. The real test will be at the first East / West Showdown in East Rutherford, New Jersey on April 22.
Last Five Seattle Winners
450s 2022: Eli Tomac
2019: Marvin Musquin
2018: Eli Tomac
2017: Marvin Musquin
2014: Ryan Villopoto
