Lorenzo takes pole at Aragon

Alcaniz - MotoGP points leader Jorge Lorenzo won his fifth pole position of the season in qualifying for the Aragon Grand Prix on Saturday.

Fellow Spaniard and nearest championship contender Dani Pedrosa was second, while Cal Crutchlow will start third.

Lorenzo steered his Yamaha around the 5-kilometre (3.15-miles) MotorLand Aragon circuit in front of his home fans in a session-best 1 minute, 49.404 seconds.

"I am happy that the bike got better each time we took it out," said Lorenzo, the 2010 champion. "We went for it on slick tires at the end and managed to get the first spot. Let's see what happens on Sunday."

Lorenzo leads the championship standings with 270 points. Pedrosa is next with 232 points.

Pedrosa looked set to grab pole until Lorenzo edged him out with a flying run late in the session.

"It is important to be in the starting row because the first curve on this track comes very fast after the start," Pedrosa said.

Lorenzo's team-mate, Ben Spies, will start fourth. Valentino Rossi, whose Ducati slid out early in the session, will start from eighth place.

Sunday's grand prix is the 14th of the 18-race season.