Submitted by Jared Earle on
Qualifying was on a dry track.
In the first session, Yonny Hernandez on the Pramac Ducati opened the session with the quickest lap, but was deposed by Stefan Bradl's LCR Honda. Michele Pirro on the development Ducati threatened to steal second place, the last promotional place, from Hernandez, but was unable to close the quarter of a second needed to be elevated.
The second session, with all twelve riders taking part, including Valentino Rossi with a modified glove to accommodate his injured left little finger, proved to be close.
After one lap, Marc Marquez was quickest with a 1'56.760 with his Repsol Honda teammate Dani Pedrosa backing him up in second place. Aleix Espargaro on the NGM Forward bike was the quickest Yamaha third.
In the second run, Marc Marquez was closely followed by Andrea Iannone, who acknowleged the assistance he got from following Marquez, on the softer tyre, and as Marquez set the fastest lap, it was beaten hundredths later by Iannone. Marquez, on the subsequent lap, took the top spot back with a 1'55.585, as the Pramac Ducati couldn't keep up with the increased pace.
Andrea Dovizioso's Factory Ducati beat Iannone's Pramac Ducati for second place, without using a tow, putting two Ducatis on the front row, with Bradley Smith's Tech 3 Monster Yamaha in fourth place, ahead of Dani Pedrosa's Honda and both Movistar Yamahas. Jorge Lorenzo pulled in on one bike and chose to use his other bike for the second run, but neither put him on the front row.
Qualifying 2 Results:
| Pos. | Num. | Rider | Bike | Time | Gap 1st | Prev. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 93 | Marc MARQUEZ | Honda | 1'55.585 | ||
| 2 | 4 | Andrea DOVIZIOSO | Ducati | 1'55.714 | 0.129 | 0.129 |
| 3 | 29 | Andrea IANNONE | Ducati | 1'55.726 | 0.141 | 0.012 |
| 4 | 38 | Bradley SMITH | Yamaha | 1'55.730 | 0.145 | 0.004 |
| 5 | 26 | Dani PEDROSA | Honda | 1'55.812 | 0.227 | 0.082 |
| 6 | 99 | Jorge LORENZO | Yamaha | 1'55.815 | 0.230 | 0.003 |
| 7 | 46 | Valentino ROSSI | Yamaha | 1'55.821 | 0.236 | 0.006 |
| 8 | 6 | Stefan BRADL | Honda | 1'55.871 | 0.286 | 0.050 |
| 9 | 44 | Pol ESPARGARO | Yamaha | 1'55.899 | 0.314 | 0.028 |
| 10 | 41 | Aleix ESPARGARO | Forward Yamaha | 1'56.090 | 0.505 | 0.191 |
| 11 | 35 | Cal CRUTCHLOW | Ducati | 1'56.129 | 0.544 | 0.039 |
| 12 | 68 | Yonny HERNANDEZ | Ducati | 1'56.622 | 1.037 | 0.493 |
Qualifying 1 Results:
| Pos. | Num. | Rider | Bike | Time | Gap 1st | Prev. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6 | Stefan BRADL | Honda | 1'56.722 | ||
| 2 | 68 | Yonny HERNANDEZ | Ducati | 1'56.849 | 0.127 | 0.127 |
| 3 | 51 | Michele PIRRO | Ducati | 1'57.093 | 0.371 | 0.244 |
| 4 | 19 | Alvaro BAUTISTA | Honda | 1'57.428 | 0.706 | 0.335 |
| 5 | 45 | Scott REDDING | Honda | 1'57.557 | 0.835 | 0.129 |
| 6 | 7 | Hiroshi AOYAMA | Honda | 1'57.984 | 1.262 | 0.427 |
| 7 | 17 | Karel ABRAHAM | Honda | 1'58.100 | 1.378 | 0.116 |
| 8 | 2 | Leon CAMIER | Honda | 1'58.635 | 1.913 | 0.535 |
| 9 | 9 | Danilo PETRUCCI | ART | 1'58.863 | 2.141 | 0.228 |
| 10 | 15 | Alex DE ANGELIS | Forward Yamaha | 1'58.948 | 2.226 | 0.085 |
| 11 | 8 | Hector BARBERA | Avintia | 1'58.968 | 2.246 | 0.020 |
| 12 | 70 | Michael LAVERTY | PBM | 1'58.968 | 2.246 | |
| 13 | 23 | Broc PARKES | PBM | 1'59.581 | 2.859 | 0.613 |
| 63 | Mike DI MEGLIO | Avintia |
Comments
Well Done Bradley
I hope he can get a good result now that the contract pressure is off. He has been showing glimpses of potential this year, plus he did better than I expected last year.
the thing is
... the starting grid is now almost always misleading. Once upon a time the two andrea's and bradley would have expected to be battling for podiums based on these results, but in reality they'll probably just trip up pedrosa, lorenzo and rossi for a few laps before settling down to fight among themselves. I'm not sure I see the point of these different tyre rules, I'd get it if that advantage could be carried through to the race to the extent that it did mitigate the superiority of the factory bikes, but it isn't. It'll be an awful shame if they hamper the next three staying as one chasing group, I can't think of any time that I've seen these three separated by so little, and while I think MM will probably run away with it again, there could be a good old ding dong for second.
Partly fair assessment but;
Both Andrea's were on soft rears and Ianonne got a tow from a very willing Marquez to inflate his grid position. Smith qualified on his own and on a hard tyre.
If BS 38 can get a start keeping out of the Ducati's way then he will have a chance of running with the big boys.
Tows
Well, glad Iannonne confessed to getting help on the his fast lap. One reason why I like the 2 Qualifying sessions instead of one. Helps cut down on the towing issue. Surprised that Lorenzo did not qualify higher.
Bradleys Race starts are not
Bradleys Race starts are not that good and he is directly ahead of Rossi. It is going to be difficult for him to get a top 5 start methinks.