Submitted by Mike Lewis on
Results Below:
Result:
Jorge Lorenzo set a new lap record and, in doing so, seized pole position for Sunday's MotoGP race at the Brno circuit. The Spaniard, with a blistering lap 1'54.989, was the only rider to dip into the 1'54s during Saturday's qualifying practice.
Marc Marquez took the second spot on the front row, seven-hundredths of a second behind the leader. Valentino Rossi (3rd) solved his recent qualifying woes and grabbed the final front-row slot at the Czech GP.
As gratifying as his qualifying performance might have been to the championship points leader -- it is Rossi's first front-row start since Assen -- he still remains three-tenths of a second behind his pole-position teammate and title rival.
Andrea Iannone finished the session just a tenth from Rossi's time to lead the second row. Bradley Smith, who saved his best for last grabbed fifth, closely followed by the factory Ducati of Andrea Dovizioso.
Indeed, only one second separated the top nine riders in what were ideal qualifying conditions with cooler temperatures than Friday.
Maverick Vinales, who has scored points in every race this season thus far -- a rookie record -- took seventh on the grid to lead the third row. Pol Espargaro (8th) was a mere one-thousandth of a second behind followed by an injured Dani Pedrosa.
Cal Crutchlow, the former pole-position record holder until Saturday, rounded out the top 10.
| Pos. | No. | Rider | Bike | Time | Diff. / Prev. | |
| 1 | 99 | Jorge LORENZO | Yamaha | 1'54.989 | ||
| 2 | 93 | Marc MARQUEZ | Honda | 1'55.063 | 0.074 / 0.074 | |
| 3 | 46 | Valentino ROSSI | Yamaha | 1'55.353 | 0.364 / 0.290 | |
| 4 | 29 | Andrea IANNONE | Ducati | 1'55.390 | 0.401 / 0.037 | |
| 5 | 38 | Bradley SMITH | Yamaha | 1'55.460 | 0.471 / 0.070 | |
| 6 | 4 | Andrea DOVIZIOSO | Ducati | 1'55.935 | 0.946 / 0.475 | |
| 7 | 25 | Maverick VIÑALES | Suzuki | 1'55.954 | 0.965 / 0.019 | |
| 8 | 44 | Pol ESPARGARO | Yamaha | 1'55.955 | 0.966 / 0.001 | |
| 9 | 26 | Dani PEDROSA | Honda | 1'55.969 | 0.980 / 0.014 | |
| 10 | 35 | Cal CRUTCHLOW | Honda | 1'56.192 | 1.203 / 0.223 | |
| 11 | 8 | Hector BARBERA | Ducati | 1'56.399 | 1.410 / 0.207 | |
| 12 | 68 | Yonny HERNANDEZ | Ducati | 1'56.739 | 1.750 / 0.340 | |
| Q1 | Pol Espargaro and Cal Crutchlow advanced from Q1 | |||||
| 13 | 9 | Danilo PETRUCCI | Ducati | 1'56.713 | 0.501 / 0.175 | |
| 14 | 45 | Scott REDDING | Honda | 1'56.765 | 0.553 / 0.052 | |
| 15 | 41 | Aleix ESPARGARO | Suzuki | 1'56.806 | 0.594 / 0.041 | |
| 16 | 6 | Stefan BRADL | Aprilia | 1'57.133 | 0.921 / 0.327 | |
| 17 | 63 | Mike DI MEGLIO | Ducati | 1'57.215 | 1.003 / 0.082 | |
| 18 | 76 | Loris BAZ | Yamaha Forward | 1'57.540 | 1.328 / 0.325 | |
| 19 | 19 | Alvaro BAUTISTA | Aprilia | 1'57.552 | 1.340 / 0.012 | |
| 20 | 50 | Eugene LAVERTY | Honda | 1'57.634 | 1.422 / 0.082 | |
| 21 | 69 | Nicky HAYDEN | Honda | 1'57.645 | 1.433 / 0.011 | |
| 22 | 43 | Jack MILLER | Honda | 1'57.855 | 1.643 / 0.210 | |
| 23 | 15 | Alex DE ANGELIS | ART | 1'58.599 | 2.387 / 0.744 | |
| 24 | 71 | Claudio CORTI | Yamaha Forward | 1'59.145 | 2.933 / 0.546 | |
| 25 | 17 | Karel ABRAHAM | Honda | 1'59.903 | 3.691 / 0.758 | |
Comments
Diff/Prev details
The gap numbers from positions 13+ need to be qualified as relating to the fastest rider in Q1 - otherwise they make no sense.
Great point
Fixed. Thanks.
Confusing times
It's a confusing list for sure. It would be better if they simply list all time differences relative to the fastest time. That means that 13th place can be closer to the pole time than 12th place, but that does not bother me. We all know how that results from the Q1 - Q2 format. At least then we have an idea of how close or spread out the entire field is.
Just a suggestion. I hope people from the timing department also read this exquisite website ;-)
Interesting Race!
FP4 looked to me like VR was 1:56-mid, JL was 1:56-mid-to-high and MM was 1:56-mid - so nothing between them. This should be a race-long battle between those 3 assuming they all get a reasonable start. JL's 1:56-low was a one-off and I don't think is sustainable, so he might pull a small gap on lap 1 depending on the start, but I think that's unlikely given Marquez's commitment.
The 2nd half of the race, barring "incidents" should be amazing.
How about calling slow Q, Q2,
How about calling slow Q, Q2, and fast Q Q1...
Expected temps?
What are the expected temps for race time tomorrow relative to this Q?
Perhaps the lot of us should put half the time we spend considering VR46's slow to get to full speed and Q concerns and redirect it at appreciating the opposite phenomena of JL99. How the heck does he roll the bike out of the crate and up to speed so freakishly fast? His first lap of a session is blistering! Remarkable.
Looking forward to next year when everyone is on the same tires and the lap times in practices and Q are not "bifocal."
Smells like a delicious race is cooking...yum!
:)
Interesting
Rossi looks very strong, and foxing a bit-particularly with Marc grabbing a little tow on that last lap-lots of good fast laps between the top three in Fp4......can anyone verify is this towing slows the rider in front? I thought I read this somewhere once
Tow
Depending on how the rider sits in behind, the tow should reduce drag for the front rider as well.
The suggestion is that it is
The suggestion is that it is like doing a fast lap with a bee in your bonnet. Honestly I thought there would be more fuss its almost a capital crime when a midpacker does it to a top 4 ride in moto3. Deliberate attempt to put Rossi off no question. If its not hot tomorrow hard to see past Jorge however mm will upset the apple cart even if he doesn't have the pace to win it. The concern for me is that Jorge will get away as mm tries desperately to massage his bruised ego. Good session and great site as ever.big up to Bradders grounding and pounding his factory teammate.
Maverick Vinales
I'm sure you're correct about his rookie record setting year but I also belive John Hopkins scored points in almost every race his rookie year. I didn't check because posting from my phone.
Ears, motors, and getting together to watch a race
Plus in the history of the series there has never been a rider whose ears stuck out that far. They were remarkable. After he was done w his EMGO Suzuki GSXR 600 my team mate picked it up. It was well sorted, but when he got the motor open it was stock, they had switched it out. Bone stock. But the helmet had enough room in it to put headphones or earmuffs in.
NW what? Are you in the Pacific NW USA by chance? Buy you a pint to watch the race together? I am in Portland Oregon. You?
:)