Fiat Yamaha rookie slaughters the opposition and lap record to take the premier slot for Sunday's Portuguese Grand Prix
Lorenzo... on pole for Sunday's Portuguese GP
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Jorge Lorenzo took his third MotoGP pole position in a row at Estoril today setting a new lap record ahead of tomorrow's Portuguese Grand Prix.
Lorenzo torched Estoril's MotoGP lap record by posting a 1:35.715 best with 3 minutes of the hour-long session remaining.
Fellow countryman Dani Pedrosa took second place on the grid with a 1:35.948 - beating third place man, Valentino Rossi who held pole for much of the session but couldn't quite match his team-mate's stunning performance.
Britain's James Toseland, riding a Tech 3 Yamaha, improved on yesterday's disappointing performance and even held pole for a short time, posting a 1:36.790 to secure sixth place on the grid.
Reigning world champion Casey Stoner struggled to gain any decent pace from his Ducati Desmosedici, finishing the session in a lowly (for him) ninth place. Team-mate Marco Melandri had a bad run yet again, failing to get into the top sixteen
Portuguese Grand Prix Qualifying Results
1 Jorge Lorenzo Yamaha Factory 1:35.715
2 Daniel Pedrosa Honda HRC 1:35.948
3 Valentino Rossi Yamaha Factory 1:36.199
4 Nicky Hayden Honda HRC 1:36.266
5 Colin Edwards Yamaha Tech3 1:36.289
6 James Toseland Yamaha Tech3 1:36.790
7 Andrea Dovizioso Honda Scot 1:36.998
8 Randy De Puniet Honda LCR 1:37.223
9 Casey Stoner Ducati MotoGP 1:37.253
10 John Hopkins Kawasaki Racing 1:37.346
11 Shinya Nakano Honda Gresini 1:37.664
12 Loris Capirossi Suzuki MotoGP 1:37.786
13 Chris Vermeulen Suzuki MotoGP 1:37.843
14 Antonio Elias Ducati d Antin 1:38.561
15 Anthony West Kawasaki Racing 1:38.775
16 Alex De Angelis Honda Gresini 1:38.823
