Submitted by Mike Lewis on
Results Below:
Valentino Rossi grabbed his third pole position of the season when he became the lone rider to dip into the 1'43s Saturday at the Twin Ring Motegi Circuit. Rossi's qualifying time of 1'43.954 in the session's final minutes put him one-tenth clear of title-rival Marc Marquez (2nd), who had dominated much of the practice at the Japanese circuit this weekend.
Jorge Lorenzo continued his strong, post-highside form when he seized the final spot on the front row with a 1'44.221. Lorenzo, who was stretchered off the track after a hard crash in FP3, stayed near the top of the timesheet for much of the qualifying practice. Andrea Dovizioso held position in fourth with Cal Crutchlow (5th) and Aleix Espargaro (6th) completing the second row.
Maverick Vinales (7th) didn't improve from FP4 and again finshed just behind his Suzuki teammate. Hector Barbara took eighth on the grid, a full second back from the pole position. Pol Espargaro (9th) completed the third row, just ahead of Scott Redding (10th) who was the second-fastest qualifier in Q1.
The first fastest Q1 qualifier, Alvaro Bautista, crashed his Aprilia early session and didn't return. Aprilia narrowly missed out on having both of its factory bikes advance to Q2 for the first time this season. In the dying seconds of Q1, Redding just pushed Stefan Bradl into 13th on his final lap.
Rossi's pole position ties all three front-row starters at 64 pole positions for their respective careers.
Result:
| Pos. | No. | Rider | Bike | Time | Diff. / Prev. | |
| 1 | 46 | Valentino ROSSI | Yamaha | 1'43.954 | ||
| 2 | 93 | Marc MARQUEZ | Honda | 1'44.134 | 0.180 / 0.180 | |
| 3 | 99 | Jorge LORENZO | Yamaha | 1'44.221 | 0.267 / 0.087 | |
| 4 | 4 | Andrea DOVIZIOSO | Ducati | 1'44.294 | 0.340 / 0.073 | |
| 5 | 35 | Cal CRUTCHLOW | Honda | 1'44.402 | 0.448 / 0.108 | |
| 6 | 41 | Aleix ESPARGARO | Suzuki | 1'44.494 | 0.540 / 0.092 | |
| 7 | 25 | Maverick VIÑALES | Suzuki | 1'44.539 | 0.585 / 0.045 | |
| 8 | 8 | Hector BARBERA | Ducati | 1'44.980 | 1.026 / 0.441 | |
| 9 | 44 | Pol ESPARGARO | Yamaha | 1'45.232 | 1.278 / 0.252 | |
| 10 | 9 | Danilo PETRUCCI | Ducati | 1'45.782 | 1.828 / 0.550 | |
| 11 | 45 | Scott REDDING | Ducati | 1'45.827 | 1.873 / 0.045 | |
| 12 | 19 | Alvaro BAUTISTA | Aprilia | |||
| 13 | 6 | Stefan BRADL | Aprilia | 1'45.823 | 0.209 / 0.115 | |
| 14 | 43 | Jack MILLER | Honda | 1'46.347 | 0.733 / 0.524 | |
| 15 | 38 | Bradley SMITH | Yamaha | 1'46.593 | 0.979 / 0.246 | |
| 16 | 21 | Katsuyuki NAKASUGA | Yamaha | 1'46.627 | 1.013 / 0.034 | |
| 17 | 68 | Yonny HERNANDEZ | Ducati | 1'46.705 | 1.091 / 0.078 | |
| 18 | 53 | Tito RABAT | Honda | 1'46.753 | 1.139 / 0.048 | |
| 19 | 50 | Eugene LAVERTY | Ducati | 1'47.060 | 1.446 / 0.307 | |
| 20 | 76 | Loris BAZ | Ducati | 1'47.501 | 1.887 / 0.441 | |
| 21 | 7 | Mike JONES | Ducati | 1'47.631 | 2.017 / 0.130 | |
| 22 | 73 | Hiroshi AOYAMA | Honda | 1'47.788 | 2.174 / 0.157 | |
Comments
Mike jones
Watched him race last year at Baskerville here in Tasmania. The bloke is seriously talented. Going to Phillip Island next weekend and hope he gets a go there. Nice to see a newbie progress each and every session.
agreed
out qualified honda factory test rider on first attempt. not too shabby!
...on a Japanese track that
...on a Japanese track that is a tough learn. That he has never ridden. And first time swinging a leg over a GP beast. Good on ya mate! Apparently Jones races a Panigale on a team owned by Bayliss in the Aussie Natl series. Quite a stretch of a reach for a replacement rider eh? Pirro is busy testing the 2017 bike elsewhere, WSBK is racing this weekend (Chaz could have?!), and you-know-who declined the no notice trip to Japan.
Iannone just said he may not be fit for PI. Jones would be up to speed on the bike/tires/brakes, and home. There is another Ducati rider somewhere too isn't there? "Tow truck" Hector may get another go in red, OR perhaps....
Motegi looks to be a Ducati track as much as any on the calendar. Dovi looks good this weekend, he is a strong braker and does well here. But I can't help thinking that we are looking at untapped bike potential. T7 is my favorite spot on the track for an aggressive inside line block on the brakes after a nice chute.
Poor Dani, he is so strong at this track. There are reasons Aoyama is on the factory bike (contracts, little time on hand, etc) but with Crutchlow's performance this year I would much rather see him get it. I bet it is good for a couple tenths. Cal is under 3 tenths off of Marquez, and the next Honda is 2 seconds behind him. Glad to no longer be scrolling past the uninsightful rankorous comments here attacking Crutchlow. Hope that crow is tasty.
Jorge and determination are quite synonymous. When he is not in front of people speaking about other riders he has my respect and admiration. Most of his 1:1 interviews in which he speaks about himself and his riding are reflective, straightforward, and powerful. No, I didn't see that in Biaggi, but the determined intensity and willful thinking is similar. Jorge impresses.
Rossi is sick w jet lag and a virus. The guy has been in his own time zone that is a few hours behind wherever he is probably since getting on a 125. Coming to Japan is tough on him. So is the big braking of Motegi on the Yamaha that has been relatively weak in that area. He and the Yamaha have found something extra. Again.
Colder temps and the Suzuki have gotten on well. A.Espargaro looks great. Betcha a sake he does some dirt tracking in the grass tomorrow though. We can remain pleased about the boost that smaller Manu's got w the MM electronics, I can't conceive of Mitsubishi EVER getting it together such that Suzuki could succeed. If anyone has analysis re the Suzuki doing much better in the cold please chime in. The mechanical grip is there. What is the specific dynamic?
Looking fwd to a battle or two tomorrow, cheers!
Speaking of crow
Aleix has been slaving over a hot stove to prepare something special for you.
Jorge Lorenzo
Surley even the people who have a negative opinion about Jorge cannot doubt his toughness, courage & craft, I tip my hat to him. It is a pity Dani had his huge accident & will have to sit this one out.
Horrible highside
Lucky escape from injury by Lorenzo, but it might slow him down on race day. Hopefully not, as the FP4 results indicate a close race between the protagonists.