Despite having clinched this year's title with three rounds to go, Marc Marquez showed no signs of complacency as he stormed to pole position for tomorrow’s Australian round of the MotoGP championship at the Phillip Island circuit.
The factory Honda rider lapped the 4.4km circuit in 1:28.408 to take pole pole position by two tenths from Cal Crutchlow who did a stellar job to put his Ducati on the front row. It remains to be seen whether Ducati has the race pace to hold off its rival come Sunday. At the last race, Crutchlow’s teammate Andrea Dovizioso took pole position but fell to fifth place by the time the chequered flag was waved at MotoGP Motegi.
Two-time MotoGP world champion Jorge Lorenzo, who arrives in Australia with back-to-back victories in Aragon and Japan, was third quickest in Q2, just eight thousandths of a second shy of Crutchlow’s 1:28.642.
Bradley Smith missed out on the MotoGP front row by just 0.006 seconds but would nevertheless be satisfied with fourth on the grid - his best qualifying performance since the season opener in Qatar. Aleix Espargaro was equally impressive in his Forward Yamaha, setting a laptime of 1'28.866 to take sixth on the grid.
Dani Pedrosa made his way from Q1 to line up fourth on the grid with 1'28.675 in the #26 Honda.
Pramac Racing’s Andrea Iannone will start from third row on the grid alongside former MotoGP champion Valentino Rossi who would be disappointed with his lowly grid spot of eighth. Pol Espargaro will give the two Italian riders company on the same row.
A brief shower at the end of Q1 meant that riders expected a tricky time in the all important Q2 shootout for pole position. However, the track dried quickly and riders were able to use slicks right from the beginning of the session.
MOTO2: RABAT TAKES NINTH POLE OF THE SEASON
Runaway championship leader Esteve Rabat took his ninth pole of the Moto2 season at the Phillip Island Circuit in Australia with a lap time of 1'32.726 in his Kalex.
If Rabat goes on to win tomorrow’s Moto2 race and his teammate and chief title challenger Mika Kallio fails to finish on the podium, the Spaniard will leave Australia with the Moto2 crown.
Caterham’s Johann Zarco qualified on the front row for the third consecutive race, posting a laptime that was just 0.015 tenths slower than pole sitter Rabat.
Mika Kallio took third on the grid for Marc VDS racing team and must not lose any positions in the race. if he wants the Moto2 championship fight to carry on to the Malaysian Grand Prix.
Maverick Vinales was fourth quickest in qualifying and will be joined on the second row of the grid by Interwitten Sitag’s Thomas Luthi and Sandro Cortese’s Kalex.
MOTO3: MARQUEZ TAKES POLE AS MILLER STRUGGLES DOWN IN EIGHTH
Motegi Moto3 winner and championship leader Alex Marquez took his third pole position of the season today at the Phillip Island Circuit as he aims to extend his lead at the top of the Moto3 standings.
The Spanish rider pipped Estrella Galicia teammate and Moto3 championship rival Alex Rins by just 0.014 to set a new fastest lap(1:36.050) and secure the top spot on the grid.
Mapfire Aspar’s Juanfran Guevara equaled his season best grid start of third place as he completed the front row of the grid for tomorrow’s Australian Moto3 Grand Prix.
Danny Kent, who started the last race in Japan from pole position, was only fourth quickest in his Red Bull sponsored Husqvarna while home hero Jack Miller languished down in eighth place, with traffic preventing the Australian to set a decent time around the 4.4km circuit in Victoria.
Write your Comment