Catalunya Qualifying MotoGP

We are ready for a start. Oh, no! Rossi. Why and I went to the corner,

I fell down. I am lucky. I am OK. do not believe it! You can see what

he is thinking, how did I do that?! He is going for the inside. He has

done it. Cal Crutchlow, another podium. I hate to be gifted the

podium, I want to work for it. I was working in the end. I came back

quite fast. If I kept going, I would have been able to catch him

and be on the podium. Contact almost between Lorenzo and Dani

Pedrosa. Job done for Jorge Lorenzo, winning three in a row in Italy.

opened the little gap I needed and finally I did it. From then on, it

was more easy for me. Welcome to qualifying practice for the Grand

Prix in Barcelona. What a race in Mugello. A timely win for Jorge

Lorenzo. Cal Crutchlow, the first British rider since Rocket Ron

Haslam to score back-to-back podium Haslam to score back-to-back podium

finishes. Fantastic. It has been a brilliant start to the season. The

third place consolidating 4th in the standings ahead of Valentino

Rossi and six points short of Marc Marquez, both of those riders

crashed out in Italy. This is a special race for Rossi. A six time

when they hear. Particularly for Marquez, Lorenzo and Dani Pedrosa,

Marquez, Lorenzo and Dani Pedrosa, who live a couple of miles from the

track in Barcelona. Dani Pedrosa is in good form on the track and off

it. So much so that he took a are so long to a cocktail party and

gave a great interview for the show tomorrow in which he talked about

everything. Among the interesting things, his thoughts on his team-

mate from just down the road. How do you think Mark coming into

the team, has that -- how has that changed or improved you as a rider?

He is a little different from the riders I used to work with the fall

in the team. Casey was fast and with super talent. He had his own

idea of how to do it. He would be in second and I would be in third

gear on the corner, gearbox choice for the race. He was working his

way in and I was working my way. Mark is also super-fast. He does

not have that knowledge. He is more ensue, OK, he is doing this, I have

to do this because he has the experience. Somehow, it is hard for

me to know him because he is new in the class. In the other way, I have

to keep the throttle open. He looks at me as a reference. He is pushing

to be close to me or Jorge Lorenzo. The these are live shots. They have

just finished the practice session. The order for qualifying was

decided this morning. Upper the commentary box, Steve as always.

Dani Pedrosa is showing consistency to be a contender in the

Championship. Perhaps at this stage a title favourite.

If not favourite at least in the hunt. He leads at the moment. He

had two whens. Lorenzo has two. He will need to back this one. Our

after his performance last year I had him down to win the

Championship this year. I did not expect Marc Marquez to be as fast.

With Casey Stoner again in, this looked like his best chance. He is

fast. A little fragile. If he falls down, he will be protected. Dani

Pedrosa is the real deal. I have seen his style changed. He has

become more aggressive. As we have discussed, having Marc Marquez and

Casey Stoner, it has made him ride the wave Valentino Rossi did when

Lorenzo came along. It has lifted him.

Our under pressure, of course. This is a race that the two will really

want to win. They are both from Barcelona. Jorge Lorenzo has lived

here since he was a teenager. Who could forget the battle he had

here? We think about it every time we come here, it was a seminal

moment in the modern day of MotoGP. Valentino taking it at the final

corner. He mocked him. You can only do that

on the last corner. -- mugged. Valentino compromised his exit

speed. But Lorenzo was not expecting that. I have never seen

anyone pass another guy for the win. You might pass the back mark, but

it was a deep breath, see what happens... It worked for him. This

is what we like about Valentino Rossi. He does what you do not

expect. I am not sure this weekend. We will see.

It was a reminder. I am still the big person in his garage. It's set

Lorenzo back for a little while. The relationship has changed quite

a lot since then. There was a funny moment in the press conference.

Valentino was asked by a journalist about the last corner manoeuvre.

Would you be ready for a last lap like 2009 against Jorge Lorenzo?

he is waiting for me, yes! He has not lost his sense of humour.

He might surprise himself this weekend. In free practice he has

probably been closer to the top than he might have expected.

Yesterday, during the free practice, he was fastest on track, the first

he was fastest on track, the first time he has led the session in the

dry since 2010. This morning, things changed. The pace increased.

Marc Marquez set this time. Rossi in fourth place, one-tenth off

Marquez. The pace was red hot. We are set for an absolutely scorching

Q2. First up his cue one, the riders from 11th place down.

Bradley Smith narrowly missed out on qualifying for Q2. Still injured

this weekend after the crash when he took skin off his finger and he

hopes to have a skin graft, he wanted it in Italy but it was so

bad he could not have the operation. He is still in discomfort. Even

more so after a tumble yesterday. The crash was silly. I ended up

looking into the corner, just getting on the gas, Los the front

and try to save it on my elbow. -- lost the front. At the wrong time,

these mistakes. I feel that something is missing at the moment

and if we find it we will make a good step. It is trying to find it

at the moment. When the injury, I have to be careful to stay on two

wheels. What do you make of his wheels. What do you make of his

progress so far? You would have to say Bradley is

finding it difficult. He is coming in to it's not doing as well as

others. He was on a bike that was not proven. He is finding it tough.

Been injured is hard enough... It is hard enough when you are not

injured. It is incredibly painful, even though it is a small finger.

He will have to keep going round until it comes back together. It is

not easy. He might struggle. He is a thinker. He digs deep. This

morning, he was a distant 13th, 14th, he was struggling. He got his

head down. And although he is the 11th and in this first session

going out now, he is only one second from the pole time.

Bradley looking to be one of the top two riders in the session. De

Puniet would be another one. Laverty will not look for the top

to spot. I will let you take it away for the rest of the session.

Michael on his first visit will have impressed.

I reckon he has covered himself I reckon he has covered himself

the top two that will move him through to qualifying two. He will

have to look at people like Andrea Iannone. The time we are looking

for from Bradley as he commences a lap, so you can see it scrolling,

his best in the combined free practice sessions was a 42.957.

That was this morning when it was cooler. He will be looking to get

into the 42s to get himself ahead. The track generally gets like that

when it is hot. I would not like to be down in the hot pit lane. That

is the sort of time he would be looking at. We had 41s in this

morning's practice from the faster guides, such as Marquez. May be

creeping into that this afternoon. It is one of the big circuits,

Catalunya. Fantastic, elevation changes. Fast and fluent, we like

that. It has a monster straight. And one of the most challenging

braking zones. Two, in fact. They are doing in excess of 210 miles

per hour into a fast right-left chicane. They lose about 140 mph in

300 metres down to that braking zone. You have to left -- let the

brakes off when you are to begin. There is a corner and we were

talking about. This is across the Strait. 44.2. He has done a 42.9.

That is the guide. He has 11 minutes to chip away at that.

Bradley Smith, at the moment the fastest man on track. Iannone has

just taken a second out of Bradley's opening lap. Iannone on

the Pramac Ducati, always knocking on the door and getting into -- to

get into the top 10. The number 51 machine we have been talking about.

That is nothing like the other Ducatis on the track. They keep

playing around with it. It will be something they will be testing on

Monday. There was a test day here for a lot of the teams who will be

staying. Some are raft to Aragon. There is a lot of testing. -- off

to Aragon. Suzuki will be testing, the factory, on Monday. There is a

lot of riding going on. That is De Puniet. He will have had six days

of solid riding a motorcycle. He is fit and he will be needing to be.

Bradley Smith. The third part of the lap. Coming up to the final

section. He needs to be at the top two. He is not going to be on this

lap, by the look of it. His little finger is badly damaged. They have

put the little finger and the next one to it in the same part of the

second for Ducati in this session so far. Bradley Smith knocking on the

door behind. The fastest, Andrea Iannone. He had done 43.1 this

morning. He quickly achieved his best time. It is possible to go as

quickly as that this morning. Colin Edwards. The first of the CRT bikes.

That is what he has got to be looking at. Randy De Puniet. Get in,

have another tyre. He has displaced Colin Edwards. They are putting in

good laps. The speed they are getting out of it is pretty

stunning. It is quite extraordinary. Randy De Puniet, 318 K 's. They give

away some time. This one can do 340. Very close. A slower machine again.

Number 71, Claudio Corti, the 25-year-old. Colin Edwards'

team-mate. We have a new rider, Javier del Amor, who has been

drafted in. That is because of an injury. Hiroshi Aoyama had a crash,

and out of nowhere, they have grabbed a whole of Javier del Amor,

and out he goes. Talk about a baptism of fire. He is not the

slowest so far. He has got a battle just to qualify. He needs to go as

quickly as he can and make the 107%. He is on the Avintia Blusens

machine. 36 years old. He will know his way around here, that is half

the job done. Bradley Smith having another tyre fitted. Seven minutes

remaining of this session. He has his eyes on springs. They are fast,

he will be thinking. This is a better lap from Javier del Amor. He

is currently 9.9 seconds off the fastest time, so this will take some

time of that. He has taken three seconds out of his best time. That

is good stuff, a vertical learning curve. He normally rides the BMW

1000 in the Spanish championship. Changing the settings, trying

different springs... Not in this session, but they will establish

what is going on. When you have got good tyres on, you can load up the

suspension. Michael Laverty was talking about how much you have got

with a new rear tyre, especially up through the chicane the long

right-hander, Corner number three, he says you can get on the power

earlier and harder. And after three laps, the traction control starts

kicking in, and you lose lap time. Randy De Puniet getting a new rear

wheel. It is characterised by the tyre consumption, the circuit. So

many long opening right corners in particular, it is very tough.

the third corner in particular, even though it is the start of the lap,

it heats the tyre up, it never gets a chance to call down. Asymmetric

tyres as we see Andrea Iannone putting in a good lap. He is sitting

away nicely. Claudio Corti back into the pits. He is working hard, Andrea

Iannone -- Andrea Iannone. He would hear in a previous guise. He is no

slouch in this circuit. This should be a belting lap. That will lock him

morning. That is excellent from him. Bradley Smith is still on the

track. He is still further. He needs to find half a second to move

himself up into contention for the gear, the fifth corner. Down the

hill. Then a very tight climb back up the hill. They create a lot of

the curb. Another important corner, the ninth corner. Coming down to the

second, a monster breaking point. This is the spot that has caught

everybody out. This is a cracking lap, almost 0.2 ahead of the best

time. Andrea Iannone is on a good lap as well. They might eclipse the

moment, he has had an injection in his hand to stop that. Bradley Smith

goes fastest! Job done. He has gone faster by 0.3 seconds than he did

this morning, so that is great stuff. As we said before, digging

deep, he is now in front of Andrea Iannone. Two and a half minutes

left. If the team are pleased, they need to tell their faces! That was a

great job! In these conditions, it is a lot harder, the track

temperature has soared. You will not get many laps out of these tyres at

optimum speed. He will not get chance to do another one, he knows

that. He has seen the best time he has done all we can do. It was 42.9

before, so he found 0.3 there. A was. Andrea Iannone on another

decent lap. But he is being mobbed by his team-mate, it will appear

that he has done enough. This could go anyway. You have got to keep

circulating. He is in there unless his team-mate gets him, and this is

his team-mate. As you can see, he is projected to be in third place,

halfway through the lap. This is his last shot. Down the hill towards the

demanding tent corner, which has caught so many people out across the

weekend. He has seen the best of his tyres. Bradley Smith is now back

into the pits, he knows he has done the best he can out of the equipment

he has got in this session, and it looks to be enough. He is in the

pits in first place. Looking at his time, 42.6, that puts him in about

ninth place, exactly where he wants to be. That would be a cracking

result. That would be the third row, that would be really something.

He is in the hunt. As the seconds countdown, we are looking at Pope

Bradley Smith is through. And Andrea Iannone going with him. What that

means for Bradley Smith, he will be no logo -- no lover Danforth row of

the grid. And no harm at all, given that this is his first year on a

MotoGP machine, getting the extra few laps that the session gives you

before you move up into the main qualifier. Nice action. Very

relaxed. Very. We have a ten minute break now that the chequered flag

has gone out until we get to the second session. The big guns, now.

That will be something to watch. Randy De Puniet just finishing the

lap. It will be amazing to see, it is so close. You have got the first

ten covered by 0.9 seconds, the first half a dozen covered by 0.3.

It is really tough at the top. Unbelievably, the second fastest in

the combined sessions was Nicky Hayden on the Ducati. That for some

lap. It surprised a lot of us. Whether he can reproduce that... We

know he is capable of a fast lap. Holding his lap -- holding his

breath and going for it. Qualifying is one thing, it will be a torturous

25 laps tomorrow, the weather forecast is similar to today, 27

degrees ambient. A thumbs up from Bradley Smith. Do you remember how

he looked in Mugello, with his father trying to get the glove on?

He missed some minutes of the session just through the pain of

having his finger hanging and having a tender not better. It is

extraordinary how many riders have got missing little fingers or messed

up fingers, broken fingers, twisted fingers. Unfortunately, the little

finger can get underneath the handlebar when you crash. That is

what does the damage. Yes, I remember Jorge Lorenzo having a

warmup accident like that, but no harm done, it was his wedding ring

finger! That went missing! Barry Sheen's finger ended up in my dinner

once. On my plate. I hope it was served to your satisfaction.

He is going to have to keep his fingers crossed that they do not go

too quickly in this next session, or he will be outside the 107%

qualification in it. It is stinking manufacturers, it is brilliant to

see. That is a cracking job by and it is pleasing to see a. It is

a lovely day for it. He almost blew his Herald.

Half a second quicker this afternoon. By you satisfied with

the weekend? I am not satisfied with qualifying. I got held up on

two of my best laps. It was frustrating. I missed an

opportunity on the best tyre to do a lap time. My time this morning

was strong on yesterday's tyre. The pace was good. I had hoped for a

stronger qualifying. A little bit disappointing, but stronger than in

Mugello. This is your first time here. What do you make of it?

quite like the circuit. Whenever the temperature is up, the extra

horsepower is not as noticeable because everybody is spinning. I

think that is when the -- wide the CRTs are closer. You are not used

to the weather after the British championship! I will be fitting a

drinks bottle in the, keeping hydrated. It is a big culture shock

for me. The heat does not seem to affect me, surprisingly, being a

pasty, white guy from Northern Ireland! Colour in your cheeks this

afternoon. Thanks. We will see how he gets on tomorrow. A good result

for Colin Edwards, 16th. It was tough out there in the heat, I

imagine. I am used to it. It is like Texas. Want it you think of

the qualifying session? Are you happy? Yes, I mean, it is as fast

as we have gone all weekend. This morning, the conditions were better.

This afternoon, it is hot, typical Barcelona. When it is hot, it is

slippery and greasy and the tyre lasts for a lap and after that it

is spinning everywhere. You have one chance to get it right. That is

what we did. Then you try to find the gaps in the traffic. How do you

find that you qualifying format? like it. I get to watch the riders

at the end. The format, I like it because there is less traffic, not

that you would know it's just then. It seemed like they were everywhere.

We certainly like it. Don't we? certainly do. We have 15 minutes of

the top riders and the battle for pole position will be intense. 0.5

seconds separated the top eight riders this morning. Track

temperature is coming up. There has been a lot of work for them to do.

Extra work over lunchtime for the Yamaha team. Jorge Lorenzo pushing

the limits. It leaves him in a strange position,

a fair way down. Left side of the tyre on the cold as he tipped it in

them. It was the slowest corner. Just folded underneath and that was

it. There was no damage done. He was a quick. When he went out on

the second bike, it was not set up properly. It was a second off.

Hopefully, they have got it sorted in time. It is so tight. Three-

tenths off, put him in P6. There was a big team effort on

Thursday afternoon. This is one of the great sporting arenas in

Barcelona but there is a more famous one. The riders took on each

other in a game of football. I suppose you can guess who the

suppose you can guess who the manager of the MotoGP was. A had to

be the boss c'est in the paddock. Bossiest.

This is the home of FC Barcelona. The MotoGP riders are pitting their

skills against Moto2 and Moto3 boys. There are some out there who

literally do not have a clue what they are doing. Bradley has a club

foot and has no idea what he is doing. I have no football skills. I

have a big heart and try to get in on every tackle. I am not scared to

kick a few people and give some shoulder barges. I expected better

from you. You played professionally. Yes, obviously I still have my

injury. I did not dive, but I had my injury from Le Mans. There was a

point when you had to choose between football and motorcycle

racing? It was a long time ago. I am rusty. I was happy to stay at

the back to look pretty but I could not help but go out there and I was

just tackling because my shooting skills were awful. I missed the

ball every time. Better to stay at the back and do passing. It was

good fun. We had a good game. I am I think Cal Crutchlow made the

right choice. He is going out now. He had trials at Coventry City and

Northampton Town. I am not sure on the evidence of the skills we saw.

Definitely made the right choice. A contender for the front row this

afternoon on the evidence of free practice. I would like to see you

on a football pitch. I retired from football at the under 12 age. There

was no money in them. You could not cheat. When everybody has a ball

cheat. When everybody has a ball and you cricket, where is the fun

in that? Here we go. After the Marquez. And the rest of the bunch,.

Jorge Lorenzo has a new helmet design. He has the man with him

this weekend to sorts is -- his head out so he can go out there and

race. What was that about? He is cross. He has wrecked two laps.He

will go slow and with these riders going fast, he will get in their

way. He will not want to go too fast because he will not want take

the best out of the first soft option. Not getting what he wanted

out of the last turn. At least they are through and clear. He has to

leave enough temperature in the tyre as well. If you do not get

enough temperature, we all know... Cal Crutchlow, what has he got? He

has been fast this weekend. This is the important one. It revolves

around this session. 600s -- 600ths. Nothing sounds quite like the Honda.

My key Heighton has a -- aborted his lap. -- Nicky Hayden. I have

noted how more riders including Lorenzo, are getting off the bike

more. That elbow was down... The elbow down is much more to do with

whether they drop it or not. It is not to say that Marquez gets a more

lean angle. 42.094. 41.8 was the best he did this morning. That was

a good opening shot. A lot of them are letting the elbow fall. Marquez

always has it up. Dani Pedrosa is on a fast lap. Cal Crutchlow,

fastest and stop that is the fastest lap he has done this

weekend. Lorenzo is not happy. He is storming of out of the pit

garage. He did not cross the line. I do not know whether the bike is

not sorted from this morning. That is something. 41.4. The fastest lap

we have seen all weekend. I was just about to say Cal Crutchlow had

put it in, the fastest this weekend and now Dani Pedrosa, faster than

anyone else. What is going on here? There was a problem with that from

the start. Marquez caught him not know. It's just cut out, or

something, he is saying. That was strange. Marquez, he is a cross the

line. If he has enough "I've Had The Time Of My Life", that will

done a good or bad lap but you do not do that until you come across

the line. This is him among the traffic. Bradley Smith is clinging

on to the back of him. This could drag Bradley along. The first split

was good for Marquez. The second was not. If you were Marquez, you

would probably call this a bad show and have another go. I think he has

aborting. Casey Stoner's the best qualifying we have seen was 41.1,

way back in 2008 in the era of qualifying tyres.

In theory, the softer rear tyre could do the race. It is debatable

what they will use tomorrow depending on temperatures. And the

data found out today. Dani Pedrosa was thinking about that. That was a

good lap. Dani Pedrosa in particular, it could go either way.

It will be a big call on a circuit like this in this heat to use these

softer tyre and still think you are in the hunt at the end. With high

temperatures, often it becomes slippery. It is what their data

shows them and what the times showed them not so much in this

session but in the free practice, where they had a lot of laps strung

together. From that, when they have done third race distance, they can

put a picture together of what the tyre will end up like. Rossi put a

marker down in fifth place. Our hearts leapt yesterday when he was

fastest in free practice two. spoke to Jeremy Burgess this

morning just before lunch. Saying what is the plan for this

afternoon? He said they do not have plans. He said they have strategy.

It sounds better! Normally they say go out of the garage that way and

the circuit is that way and put in a fast time. We know from the whole

of his career, Valentino Rossi, he has been the ultimate qualifier. --

he has been the ultimate racer, but qualifying has not really been his

thing. I would have liked to have seen Casey Stoner doing it. Jorge

Lorenzo. He moves up to third. He will not be pleased with three-

tenths off. It is so quickly over. The front row, Dani Pedrosa, Cal

his aggressive style, he nailed the throttle, he fired himself up the

hill. This is record book stuff, halfway through the lap. The fastest

ever, 41.186. It is really quick. Three quarters of the way through,

we are looking at a new record. Casey Stoner, 2008, the

record-holder. One more aid, long right-hander. This will be good for

Andrea Iannone as well. This is going to be fantastic stuff. A

five-year-old record out the window! That is the fastest anybody

has ever been around here on two wheels! Andrea Iannone got dragged

up to fifth place as well. Put your bikes away, boys, that will be pole

position. That is stellar. That confirms it, that is a cracking lap.

He will be tapping his time! There is nobody else that can get anywhere

near that. Nicky Hayden on another good lap. Alvaro Bautista is OK.

Marc Marquez has not found a hole in the traffic. Three minutes left. He

is languishing a bit. Nicky Hayden is still looking pretty good, always

good for a lap. He thinks the bike is not good for the race distance.

We shall see. You can see the determination, the way he is firing

the bike into the corners, talking to himself. What is it going to be?

Fourth-place. He is the guy who could grin and bear it and squeeze

one lap out that is impossible for him the bike. That is a great

performance. That is how hard it was! That will do me, he says! That

is faster than the time that put him second fastest until then. It is

great to see. That is quicker for him, but he stays in 12th place.

Bradley Smith doing a sterling job. 11th fastest. This is Marc Marquez,

starting a lap. Even the mercurial Marc Marquez, I do not believe, can

match Dani Pedrosa. A great performance. Really good for his

confidence as well. No quarter asked or given! But even so, he has been

tangled up a bit. He is 0.4 off, as is Valentino Rossi. Three quarters

of the way through, not what you would expect. Jorge Lorenzo is off

as well. Dani Pedrosa, that was a crusher. We know how well he starts

anyhow. Marc Marquez, Alan Tino Rossi and Alvaro Bautista... This

could be a second-place. It has gone. It disappeared. He is on the

second row at the moment. Cal Crutchlow still in second. How about

that? Nicky Hayden is right up there, Alvaro Bautista is on the

front row of a grid. He had a pole position once. In Silverstone, in

chicken dish and is. Valentino Rossi is on the third row at the moment.

He is back in seventh place. Not where he wants to be. His team-mate

is only on the second row, Jorge Lorenzo, stuck in fourth place.

Jorge Lorenzo has been on the front row every race this year. Surely he

will get himself on the front row. This one might be. It is looking

pretty good. Cal Crutchlow is second quickest. A great job. He is 0.7

behind Annie Pedrosa. Marc Marquez! The back wheel came up in the air,

and he still hit his apex, I have never seen anybody do that. Jorge

Lorenzo must be on his second bike. Yes, second fastest. He has just

displaced Cal Crutchlow. 0.6 off, that is how fast Dani Pedrosa went.

The first man to take the chequered flag, Jorge Lorenzo. This is quite a

good lap from Stephane bridal. lost it in the last sector.

Crutchlow has just gone second! Where did that come from? ! He knows

it was good! Great stuff from Cal Crutchlow. Taking the chequered

flag, what a belter! Nobody can threaten him now. I had quite a long

conversation... Aleix Espargaro's time has been taken away. There you

go, Dani Pedrosa, Cal Crutchlow, Jorge Lorenzo, that is the front

row. A storm King job from Cal Crutchlow, and a screaming lap from

Dani Pedrosa. There was a long discussion about how good Cal

Crutchlow has become. He did not tear up any trees in his first year,

but he has chipped away, he is very good at analysing what is going on

and how to make himself faster, and he is the real deal. That is some

front row. The fastest man down the straight was Marc Marquez, 342.4

kilometres an hour. 213 miles an hour, unbelievably quick. Especially

in this heat. The hotter it gets, the engine does not like it. The

Dani Pedrosa lap, that is really something else. Jorge Lorenzo should

be relieved to make the front row, the way that went, having the crash

this morning, then having the clutch problem. It was damage control for

him. That is the front row, Dani Pedrosa, Cal Crutchlow and Jorge

Lorenzo. Cracking stuff from Alvaro Bautista and Marc Marquez is a bit

further back than I figured. thought it was traffic. It looked

like he did not really get one clear lap. Valentino Rossi starts on the

third row alongside Andrea Iannone and Andrea Dovizioso. Bradley Smith

will be on the fourth row. I think Javier del Amor, 48.9... I think

that will do it. I think he is a was something very special. Take

that! I can still whip out a quick lap when I need to, thinks Dani

Pedrosa! He is still bearing the scars from the massive crash in

Mugello, terrifying. He did not race, yes. Dani Pedrosa on pole, you

will expect to see him make the first corner first. Jorge Lorenzo

one Bastia, do not rule him out. is just telling him the time of Dani

Pedrosa, he says, are you sure? With just one lap, you can bang in a

lap like that. Everything was perfect, and no traffic, but

smashing that record that goes back to those days is something else. Cal

Crutchlow, the man pushing back against the Spanish Armada, Spain in

first place, third place and fourth-place. Cal Crutchlow, second,

in the middle of the front row. A belting performance. They will not

be letting him slip through their fingers. Yamaha could not do that.

What a belting job. Bradley Smith qualifying in 11th place. I bet he

stick. That was your main target, I would imagine, the second session?

After yesterday, we were struggling a fair bit, I did 44.2, and we are

down to 42.5, so I made some good improvements, feeling more

confident, and this is where we are apt at the moment. Our tyres are a

bit more consistent in the race. A great result for Cal Crutchlow, a

really good day. We will see you tomorrow.

You are getting stronger and stronger, and incredible last lap,

congratulations. I do not care about proving myself to Yamaha. They know

we can go fast. We did a good enough job, I have not been on the front

row for a while, so I am happy to be there. It will be a big battle

tomorrow. There might be eight guys on the same pace. Maybe not as fast

as Dani Pedrosa, Jorge Lorenzo is a bit quicker than today, we will see

tomorrow, if we can aim for the top five, that will be great, if I end

up on the podium, I will be happy. It will be tough, the conditions are

difficult for our bike. The gap to Dani Pedrosa is a lot. But the team

has worked great again. We are continuing the way we started the

him. What a screamer from Dani can make the bike last. Dani Pedrosa

starting on pole position, you are not going to bet against him, he

will be going as fast as he can. you were scratching your head, you

would think, how did Dani Pedrosa do that? There must be some timing

error! He will get to the first corner first, but will he make it to

in free practice, and he took out even more fun that over second place

in qualifying, sensational. The crowd will hope he can do it

tomorrow. Three Barcelona boys going for home glory, and Cal Crutchlow

looking for a third successive podium. Find out how he gets on