Movistar Yamaha MotoGP Take Fourth and Fifth Row in Tricky Phillip Island Qualifying

Movistar Yamaha MotoGP's Jorge Lorenzo did what was needed in the first qualifying session today at the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit and positioned himself in the top two. He was determined to continue his speed during the Q2 session, but was unable to get a feel for the rapidly drying track conditions and secured 12th position. Teammate Valentino Rossi came just short to proceed to qualifying two and will start tomorrow's Michelin Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix from 15th on the grid.

After Friday's downpour at the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit saw the majority of FP2 canceled, the mixed weather conditions continued to haunt the MotoGP paddock, further disrupting the Michelin Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix schedule.

Movistar Yamaha MotoGP's Jorge Lorenzo and Valentino Rossi aimed to battle their way through Q1 to enter Q2 after finishing outside the top10 in the challenging conditions of this morning's extended FP3 session.

Lorenzo had a relatively easy pass through Q1 in order to promote to Q2. Waiting for the majority of the field to exit pit lane ahead of him, he immediately moved up to second on his first flying lap. When the pace picked up he was pushed back to third and returned to the box with more than six minutes remaining.

When the Mallorcan resumed his attack he was sitting in sixth position and set a 1'41.593s for fifth place, but he wasn't done yet. The Factory Yamaha rider put the hammer down once more and set a strong 1'40.452s for second place, which he held until the end of the session.

With heavy rain predicted for 16:15 local time, in the middle of Q2, Lorenzo didn't waste a minute at the start of the second session to get a flying lap in. Getting a feel for the now drying track, he set a first lap of 1'40.350s for ninth place, which he soon replaced with a 1'37.833s best lap, but was pushed back to 11th place as the pace quickened.

With more than seven and a half minutes left of the session he came in for a short pit stop before having another go. However, unable to get a feel for the conditions, he had to settle for 12th place, on the fourth row on the grid, with a best time of 1'36.840s.

In Q1, Rossi waited for the first group of riders to get out on track before he left pit lane and took third place on his first flying lap. He improved on his time but not his position on his second attempt, but his charge was far from over. On his third try he successfully took over second spot from his teammate, dropping a 1'41.368s. He completed another lap, while fellow Yamaha rider Bradley Smith pushed him back one place, before quickly returning to the pits with less than four minutes on the clock for a fast rear tyre swap.

Rossi was eager to improve on his second stint, but had only time to put in one more lap and was unable to better his placement in the rankings. He will start tomorrow's race from fifth row on the grid.

Massimo Meregalli - Movistar Yamaha MotoGP Team Director

"The conditions were really unfavourable today. The changing circumstances on track made it difficult to get heat into the tyres to improve the level of grip, so it was easy for the riders to be caught out. Jorge did well during the first qualifying session and kept his head to secure exactly the result he needed. It was a shame that he couldn't get a feel for the drying circuit in Q2. Valentino had a good first run in Q1, but when he opted for a new tyre combination to accommodate the drying line for his second stint he just ran out of time to make it work. Tomorrow we hope for either a full dry or a full wet race."

Jorge Lorenzo - 12th / 1'36.840 / 9 laps

"We've reached the second qualifying luckily, because some of the riders put in the mixed tyres when the track wasn't ready yet. That's why we were able to finish in second and get through to Q2, but in that session with the slicks was probably the worst scenario to try to make the step I needed in these difficult and dangerous conditions. We've not been lucky with the weather; too much rain, then no rain, there was wind and it's been very cold. Considering all negative circumstances today it was not possible for me to be fast."

Valentino Rossi - 15th / 1'41.368 / 8 laps

"It was a very strange day when it comes to the conditions, because they changed continuously and unfortunately we were never strong starting from this morning. We are a little bit worried because, though we know in these conditions it is difficult for everybody, I never felt the right feeling on the wet and the dry. Yesterday morning we started quite well, but today we had some problems so we start towards the back of the grid. We hope for better conditions because it looks like with our bike we suffer a bit. It depends very much on the pace what happens tomorrow, it looks like when it is very cold we struggle to get the tyres up to temperature and the bike becomes very difficult to ride. Starting from fifteenth is a problem for sure, if you want to try to win it is quite impossible, but if you are fast you can do a good race. So this is what we have to try."