Marquez Takes MotoGP Pole Position At Catalunya (Updated Again)

Marquez Takes MotoGP Pole Position At Catalunya (Updated Again)

© 2016, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

FIM MotoGP World Championship

Circuito de Barcelona – Catalunya, Spain

June 4, 2016

Qualifying Results (F1 course, all on Michelin tires):

From Qualifying Session Two:

1. Marc MARQUEZ, Spain (HONDA), 1:43.589

2. Jorge LORENZO, Spain (YAMAHA), 1:44.056

3. Dani PEDROSA, Spain (HONDA), 1:44.307

4. Hector BARBERA, Spain (DUCATI), 1:44.322

5. Valentino ROSSI, Italy (YAMAHA), 1:44.324

6. Maverick VINALES, Spain (SUZUKI), 1:44.329

7. Cal CRUTCHLOW, UK (HONDA), 1:44.366

8. Andrea IANNONE, Italy (DUCATI), 1:44.458

9. Danilo PETRUCCI, Italy (DUCATI), 1:44.911

10. Andrea DOVIZIOSO, Italy (DUCATI), 1:45.029

11. Scott REDDING, UK (DUCATI), 1:45.030

12. Pol ESPARGARO, Spain (YAMAHA), 1:45.218

From Qualifying Session One:

13. Aleix ESPARGARO, Spain (SUZUKI), 1:44.914

14. Bradley SMITH, UK (YAMAHA), 1:45.197

15. Michele PIRRO, Italy (DUCATI), 1:45.538

16. Yonny HERNANDEZ, Colombia (DUCATI), 1:45.690

17. Eugene LAVERTY, Ireland (DUCATI), 1:45.885

18. Stefan BRADL, Germany (APRILIA), 1:45.892

19. Jack MILLER, Australia (HONDA), 1:45.942

20. Tito RABAT, Spain (HONDA), 1:46.205

21. Alvaro BAUTISTA, Spain (APRILIA), 1:46.463

More, from a press release issued by Marc VDS Racing Team:

Miller and Rabat face the challenge of revised Catalunya Circuit

Team Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS riders Jack Miller and Tito Rabat were separated by just two tenths of a second at the end of a competitive qualifying session for the Grand Prix of Catalunya.

Miller will start 19th just ahead of Rabat in 20th with both riders posting fastest times on their final qualifying laps.

It was another challenging day with Miller chasing front-end confidence and Rabat still not 100% fit as he recovers from the collarbone injury he suffered at Mugello two weeks ago.

And changes to the circuit layout only added to the complexity of finding the optimum set-up for tomorrow’s 25-lap race, the seventh round of the MotoGP World Championship.

Following the tragic death of Spanish Moto2 rider Luis Salom in Friday’s FP2 session a revised circuit configuration was introduced by Race Direction.

The 4.65 km layout is the same as used for Formula One at the Circuit de Barcelona Catalunya, with a slow chicane before the final corner and a tighter turn 10 to provide additional run-off area.

As result lap times increased by almost three seconds compared to the previous layout with the increased physical effort testing Rabat’s endurance to the limit.

Jack Miller: 19th – 1’45.942

“I’m not too thrilled with my starting position and for the moment I seem to have found my limit to be really confident to push for a faster time at this circuit. I did my best lap riding alone and although I lost a little time when I missed a gear in the third sector this did not make a big difference. Now we just need to look at what we can do for the race and try and grab some points.”

Tito Rabat: 20th – 1’46.205

“The changes in the track layout did not help me because it requires more physical effort especially in the chicane complex before the final corner. But with the condition of my collarbone injury I am just happy to be on the grid for my home race in front of my family, friends and fans. It will not be easy but I will do my best to get a good result.”

Michael Bartholemy: Team Principal

“With the changes to the track we anticipated an opportunity to be closer to the front in qualifying but things didn’t go our way. With Jack we need to find a solution that can improve his lap times and rhythm over the race distance. We knew that this weekend would be difficult for Tito with his physical condition just two weeks after fracturing his collarbone in Mugello, so it was a big effort from him to do his fastest time on the last lap.”

More, from a press release issued by Monster Yamaha Tech 3:

Confident Espargaro to launch from fourth row at home GP

Monster Yamaha Tech3 team riders Pol Espargaro will lunge forward from 12th on the grid at the Monster Energy sponsored Gran Premi de Catalunya as he aims to delight his fans in the round seven battle. Due to the tragic passing of Moto2 rider Luis Salom yesterday, the track layout was altered to avoid the 12th turn where Salom fell and the Formula One track configuration was selected instead for safety reasons. As a result, an extra 15 minutes was added to FP3, which Espargaro concluded impressively in 5th after blitzing to a 1’45.153 lap time. This left him only two-tenths from 3rd and able to comfortably pass through to QP2. When the 15-minute shootout began, he immediately jumped into action and after giving his all, he finished with a personal best of 1’45.218. The 24-year-old now aims to have a flying start and then finish as close as possible to the factory MotoGP riders by the time the chequered flag falls.

On the other hand, Bradley Smith will kick off his mission to end up as the leading satellite rider from the fifth row of the grid after a determined effort in qualifying today. The young Briton was increasing his pace in FP3 as the session drew to a close, but an unfortunate fall occurred at the second turn, which halted his chances of improving his time and caused him to participate in qualifying 1. Here, he rapidly set off and built up his speed at the physically demanding circuit. Smith dug deep and posted a lap of 1’45.197 on his penultimate run, which resulted in him finishing in 14th whilst also marking a huge cut of over two seconds from his FP3 time. Tomorrow, he will intend to undertake a rocket start and join the hunt with his teammate for the top independent position.

Pol Espargaro

Position: 12th Time: 1’45.218 Laps: 7

“To be really honest I’m a bit disappointed with our qualifying performance because this morning we were fast as well as competitive and I had high hopes of scoring a strong position on the grid. To be honest, I do not really know what happened because in FP3 I had really good rear grip, which helped me to lap with a good rhythm. However, this afternoon the grip level wasn’t the same anymore, and this was probably due to the different conditions. Unfortunately, I was quite surprised and I couldn’t make up this lack of grip and so I find myself on the fourth row, which is not where I expected to be. Now we will have to analyse the data for tomorrow so we can understand why this happened and also find out which tyre compounds to use for the race, as we tried all the possible options so far this weekend. However with a solid start, we can be strong in the fight and this is my aim for tomorrow as I really would like to make my fans cheer.”

Bradley Smith

Position 14th Time: 1’45.197 Laps: 7

“The step that we made today wasn’t as big as what we would have liked, but we certainly made good progress in the right direction. Of course, the grid position is not the result that we were hoping for, yet if you look at the lap times in QP1 it was very competitive compared to the second session and my qualifying one time would have put me ahead of my teammate. We didn’t manage to ride a 1’44 lap today but I did the best that I could and we definitely improved a lot from FP4. Also, I must say thanks to the team who worked really hard to get my bike ready for this afternoon after the fall I had in FP3. We managed to improve to such a degree, that there are always some minor issues that remain and still need to be ironed out, so today felt like we were one session behind. Anyway, if there is a positive to be taken from not participating in QP2, it’s that we saved a set of tyres, which means that tomorrow we can do a solid, long run in the warm up and then set everything for what will be a challenging race. It certainly won’t be easy, and it will be tricky with these tyres, which may drop quite a bit in performance over the whole distance. Having said that, we are more optimistic about tomorrow than we have been for the weekend so far, so tonight we’ll look at the data and continue to work hard and I’m sure that we can progress even further. Hopefully, this will be reflected in the result and honestly, I think my chances are good because aside from Barbera, the satellite guys are bunched together. Therefore, I will focus on getting a good start tomorrow and we will see where we can finish.”

More, from a press release issued by Aprilia:

THE APRILIA MACHINES ARE AT WORK ON THE MONTMELÒ TRACK WHICH THEY WILL TAKE ON FOR THE FIRST TIME IN A RACE TOMORROW

MotoGP began the second day of practice at Catalunya after the tragic news of the passing of Luis Salom after the accident yesterday in the Moto2 FP2 session. For safety reasons the last part of the Catalan track was modified, adopting a slower configuration similar to the one used by Formula 1.

This means that a lot of changes had to be made to the Aprilia RS-GP machines that are making their absolute début on this track, ridden by Alvaro Bautista and Stefan Bradl, in terms of both electronics and the seamless gearbox ratios. These changes were tested in the morning FP3 session (extended 60 minutes instead of the regulation 45) and in the FP4 session that preceded qualifying. In line with what had already occurred yesterday, the clear difficulty managing the tyres over race distance emerged due to the characteristics of the track and the typically summer temperatures on the Montmelò circuit.

The Aprilia Racing Team Gresini riders finished the decisive qualifying session in eighteenth place with Bradl, who improved his feeling compared to yesterday, and twenty-first with Bautista, conditioned by a bike change due to a harmless crash in FP4. This means that they will start respectively from the sixth and seventh row.

ALVARO BAUTISTA

“It was a rather tough day where we also had to change our points of reference due to the new track. In the morning we lapped a lot on used tyres, using the medium up front, but we are finding that with this solution we cannot ride the entire race distance. The same goes for the soft rear tyre. So, in FP4 we tried to lap with hard and used tyres but at the end of the session a crash forced me to use the second bike in qualifying and the feeling wasn’t the same as the one I had with the other RS-GP, so I wasn’t able to ride well. Now we need to take some decisions for the race, but it seems clear that we will have to race with the hard solution”.

STEFAN BRADL

“We improved compared to yesterday, not so much in terms of the standings, but the changes we made are taking us in the right direction. I am definitely more confident for tomorrow. We found some advantages with the hard front tyre that we tested in FP4, gaining more stability. The tyres will definitely be the main concern during the race. We tried a lot of changes to make it easier to look after them, but the 25 laps tomorrow will be rather demanding. The situation should be similar for everyone. We will need to find a way to conserve the tyres as much as possible. It will be an interesting Sunday”.

More, from a press release issued by Movistar Yamaha:

MOVISTAR YAMAHA MOTOGP CLAIM FIRST AND SECOND ROW IN CATALAN QUALIFYING

Movistar Yamaha MotoGP rider Jorge Lorenzo secured a front row start in front of his home crowd this afternoon, taking second in qualifying for tomorrow‘s Gran Premi Monster Energy de Catalunya. Teammate Valentino Rossi left it to the last lap to make his move, securing fifth on the second row of the grid.

Montmelò (Spain), 4th June 2016

Movistar Yamaha MotoGP‘s Jorge Lorenzo continued his strong results from yesterday in a challenging second day at the Circuito de Barcelona-Catalunya, taking second on the grid for tomorrow‘s Gran Premi Monster Energy de Catalunya. The reigning World Champion and his teammate Valentino Rossi only had two sessions before the 15-minute qualifying heat to get used to a track revision following yesterday‘s tragic incident involving Luis Salom. After the Doctor changed his setting to suit the new fourth sector he recorded the fifth best time at the very end of the Q2 session.

Intending to hit a clear track, Lorenzo was one of the last riders to leave the pits in Q2, allowing the pack to move ahead. With his first flying lap, a 1‘44.452s, he shot straight into second place. He continued to push hard but was unable to improve his time on his first tyre and returned to the pits with six minutes left.

Two minutes later he was back on track, ready to attack again. The local hero bettered his time but not his placement with his third attempt, a 1‘44.056s lap. Despite a strong fast sector from Lorenzo on his final lap he was unable to snatch pole and took second on the grid, 0.467s off the front.

Rossi kept the tension high to the last moments of the qualifying heat. Leaving the pits late like his teammate, he took third on his first flying lap with a 1‘45.315s. Having been pushed back to sixth, he put the hammer down and was promoted to fifth on his second hot lap with a 1‘45.138s before entering pit lane with six and a half minutes remaining.

Returning to the track with just over four minutes on the clock offered him another chance to step up to the challenge. As the pace quickened towards the end of the session, the nine-time World Champion moved five places up the timesheets as the flag went out with a 1‘44.324s, to take fifth for a second row start, 0.735s from pole.

MASSIMO MEREGALLI

TEAM DIRECTOR

Today we faced some challenges. We used most of the free practices on altering the bikes‘ set ups to make them suit the revised final sector of the track, which has different requirements than our bike was prepared for yesterday. The time we spent on this compromised our programme for the weekend, especially concerning the tyres. The new layout drastically changes the characteristics of the track, and it doesn‘t fit the strong points of our bike. Jorge did a good job to set the second fastest time and secure a place on the front row of the grid. Valentino also put in extra effort to recover from this morning‘s difficulties and will start the race from the second row. It looks like we have only one tyre choice for the race and unfortunately that option is not our favourite, but despite this we will be working hard in the garage to further improve the total package so we can have a race that‘s full of action from the start until the end.

JORGE LORENZO

It‘s very tragic what happened with Luis yesterday. As a result, the Safety Commission decided to make this modification to the track and this for sure doesn‘t help our bike. There are a lot of corners in first gear, so this benefits our rivals a little bit. Finally, we set a very good lap time for this track and we have to try to finish on the podium tomorrow. It will be a good result after what has happened.

VALENTINO ROSSI

In the end, the qualifying was not so bad. Unfortunately I wasn‘t able to make the perfect lap, I made a few mistakes and will start from the second row, from fifth position, that is OK. We need to work, we are quite worried for the race. With this new layout we suffer a lot and especially because we need to use the hard front, but unfortunately we are not able to use it in the right way, we are very slow and in terms of pace we are quite far from the top guys. I think that it will be hard, but we have time and have some hours to think and we hope we can change the situation for tomorrow. It‘s not a voluntary decision, with the medium option after seven or eight laps it‘s finished, so we need to use the hard tyre, but try to use it in a better way.

More, from a press release issued by Aspar Team:

Aspar Team riders to start from sixth row in Barcelona

Yonny Hernández and Eugene Laverty pin points hopes on race pace

The Grand Prix of Catalunya continued to go ahead this morning after yesterday’s tragic incident, which claimed the life of Moto2 rider Luis Salom. With the blessing of his family, his team and the rest of the members of the paddock, track action continues here in memory of the talented young rider. In the wake of Salom’s accident the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya has been altered slightly to use the Formula 1 layout and the changes seems to have suited some bikes more than others. Yesterday Jorge Lorenzo set the pace ahead of Maverick Viñales and Cal Crutchlow, with Marc Márquez down in ninth place. However, Márquez today vaulted himself to pole position with a time of 1’43.589 – almost two seconds slower that the lap record around the usual layout – to leave Lorenzo trailing by four tenths. There is very little between the riders behind them, with just 0.060 seconds separating Dani Pedrosa, Héctor Barberá, Valentino Rossi, Viñales and Crutchlow.

Aspar Team riders Yonny Hernández and Eugene Laverty will start alongside each other on the sixth row of the grid, the Colombian just ahead of the Irishman after qualifying sixteenth. Like yesterday, Hernández was eleventh fastest in FP3, missing out on direct qualification for Q2 by just 0.026 seconds, before a mistake in Q1 cost him his final opportunity to progress. Eugene Laverty will start alongside Hernández from seventeenth on the grid after lapping two tenths shy of his team-mate. Today he wore a replica of the helmet design used by Gene McDonnell, a friend of Eugene’s father and the man he was named after. McDonnell died the day after Eugene’s birth, thirty years ago in an accident at the Isle of Man TT.

16th Yonny Hernández 1’45.690: “I am not completely happy with the qualifying position because all weekend I have been fighting for the top ten. I thought we could make it through to Q2 and we held back a set of tyresto make our challenge but it wasn’t to be. We put the soft tyre in to try and push for the lap time but I made a mistake and didn’t manage it. Anyway, I am calm because I know we have a good pace for the race tomorrow. The objective is to finish the weekend off with a good result for the team.”

17th Eugene Laverty 1’45.885: “The new layout is tight and twisty, pretty much the opposite of how it was before. It took me a few laps to get it right but it’s the same for all the riders. Again, like yesterday, I don’t think the position shows our true potential but the pace these guys are able to put together over one lap is really incredible. I have to give them credit because it is hard to do that kind of a lap, changing the riding style and the lines completely. In Superbike there was one rider capable of it, here there are ten, so I am trying to adapt. My lap today was quite good but it was still only good enough for seventeenth on the grid when in reality we have top ten pace. Our bike is strong under braking so with a long run down to turn one it will be critical to get a good start and let’s see if we can make up some positions early in the race. After that, our pace in FP4 on the hard tyre was not too far from Lorenzo and Rossi so I am optimistic that over 25 laps we can be strong. Starting from seventeenth will make things difficult but I have Ducati power underneath me and a bike that is good under braking so I have to make use of those strengths. The goal is the top ten. I have a new helmet for the rest of the weekend and I am really happy with how it looks; it is really ‘retro’. Today is the 30th anniversary of the fatal crash of Gene McDonnell in the Isle of Man TT. He was a friend of my father and the reason I was named Eugene, in his memory, so his family asked me if I would do this and I feel very proud to be in a position to do something nice like this.”

More, from a press release issued by Ducati Corse:

Third row start in Catalan GP for Iannone, eighth in qualifying at Montmelò. Dovizioso will start from row 4 in tenth place

Andrea Iannone and Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team) notched up eighth and tenth quickest times in today’s qualifying session at Montmeló, positions that mean the two Italians will line up on the grid for the Catalan GP, scheduled for 2 pm at the circuit on the outskirts of Barcelona, from the third and fourth row.

The Catalan circuit has been modified since yesterday in the final section, before the main straight, in the wake of the tragic incident involving the Spanish Moto2 rider Luis Salom. This morning the MotoGP riders went out on track for a one-hour FP3 session (instead of the usual 45 minutes), during which they had to learn the new circuit layout and earn a top 10 place that would take them directly into Q2 in the afternoon. Iannone was tenth-quickest with a time of 1’45.517 while Dovizioso, less than one-tenth of a second slower than his team-mate, classified twelfth and as a result had to take part in Q1. In this session he placed second with a time of 1’44.656, just behind the Ducati of Hector Barber (Avintia Racing).

The usual FP4 afternoon session took place before the two qualifying runs (Q1 and Q2) and here Iannone terminated the thirty minutes of track time in third place, while Dovizioso placed sixth.

In the decisive Q2 run, the two Ducati factory men were however unable to achieve the required performance and they had to settle for the third and the fourth rows of the grid for tomorrow’s 25-lap race.

Andrea Iannone (Ducati Team #29) – 1’44.458 (8th)

“We are working to reduce the gap from the leaders, but we are struggling a lot at this circuit. The bike tends to slide about a lot and I am not able to have the corner speed I would like. We are trying to find a solution that allows us to make a step forward and despite this problem, I believe that tomorrow it will be possible to do a good race. We don’t have the pace of the guys at the front but, if we manage to maintain a constant pace and preserve the tyres, which deteriorate very rapidly, we might be in a position to score a good result.”

Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team #04) – 1’45.029 (10th)

“I managed to improve my times in the afternoon, during FP4, and so I am quite happy. Unfortunately however I didn’t do a good qualifying session, because I was not able to ride well because of the scarce feeling with the hard front tyre, which meant that I couldn’t push hard, and so I made a few mistakes that didn’t allow me to set a good time. It’s true that we are starting behind, and that’s a pity, but if I manage to get a good start tomorrow like at Mugello, I know I have good pace and I feel that my bike set-up is not so bad for the race. The tyre drop-off will affect everyone a bit and we will only be able to see who is the most competitive as the laps go by.”

More, from a press release issued by Pramac Racing:

A little smile for Octo Pramac Yakhnich in the sad Barcelona week end: Petrux 9th, Scott 11th

In the weekend that will be sadly remembered for the tragic death of Luis Solom occurred during free practice on Friday, Octo Pramac Yakhnich finds a smile thanks to the performance of Danilo Petrucci and Scott Redding. For the first time this season, they gained a double direct qualification to Q2 before ending respectively in ninth and eleventh place the Grand Prix of Catalunya qualifying.

It was a particular day due to the change to the circuit layout which has become necessary to increase security measures in the turn 12, theatre of the dramatic crash of yesterday. Both Petrux and Scott, however, interpreted well the new layout managing easily to center direct access to qualifying for pole position (7th and 8th place).

Danilo Petrucci, however, has had to deal with a crash in FP4 that has taken away a bit of confidence. Petrux was still able to achieve a good laptime in Q2 lapping alone (1’44.911) and winning the third row (9th place) in the starting grid of the Grand Prix de Catalunya.

Scott instead missed to enter the Top 10. His quickest laptime of 1’45.030, just 1 millisecond behind Andra Dovizioso, earned him eleventh. The best news, however, come from the race pace. During FP4, in fact, the British rider has been shown to have found a good feeling with his Ducati Desmosedici GP setting the fifth fastest time in race pace only one-tenth of a second from the virtual podium.

11° – Scott Redding

1’45.030

We have a good base on which we can work for tomorrow’s race and also the confidence is good. It will be a tough race, the new layout does not help but it’s a situation common to all. I struggled a bit in qualifying, but in race pace we were very fast and this is a good sign for tomorrow. I’m happy because in Q2 I did better than the FP3. It was not a great improvement but no matter because it means that we are on the right direction.

9° – Danilo Petrucci

1’44.911

We did a good job in Q2. With the new tire the bike proved to be very fast even though I lost a little confidence with the crash in FP4 and this was a shame. We are sure about the tire to use tomorrow especially at the front. We could not find a good set up for the race so far. I’ll have to try to ride a little more smoothly than my aggressive style. I think I’ll find a bit more difficulties than the others.

More, from a press release issued by Avintia Racing:

Fourth fastest time for Barbera and Avintia Racing in Barcelona

Hector Barbera and Avintia Racing got their best ever qualifying result together in MotoGP with the Spanish rider taking fourth place for a start from the second row of the grid. Following the fatal accident of Luis Salom yesterday, Race Direction decided to made some changes to the circuit layout, adding the Formula 1 chicanes and also 15 extra minutes in FP3 for all classes. Barbera worked really hard with his team to adapt his bike during the morning, but he was not able to get in Q2. But then in a frantic Q1 session, the Avintia Racing rider finished first after setting a lap in 1’44.494. But he only had one set of new tyres for the crucial Q2 and he knew he had to play his only card towards the end. His gamble paid off, with Barbera shooting up to second place for a moment before finishing the session in fourth spot – an excellent starting position which will give him the chance to fight for a top result in front of the Spanish fans.

On only his second day aboard the bike of Loris Baz, who has started to work with a physiotherapist in order to return to action as soon as possible, Italian Michele Pirro ended qualifying in 15th place. His feeling with the Ducati Desmosedici GP14.2 improved a lot and tomorrow he hopes to be able to achieve a good result in the race.

Hector Barbera | 1’44.322 | P4

“I am very happy. I think we did a great job during the entire day. After missing out on the Q2 in the first effort, I gave it all in Q1, where I felt good on the bike and had a lot of confidence. To finish Q1 in first position gave me a moral boost. The strategy was very clear to me, I knew where I was able to push and to find some extra fractions of a second and finally we achieved this fantastic fourth place. We improved the bike a lot during the weekend and to start from the second row of the grid at my home race is unbelievable for me, for the team and for all our sponsors. I want to dedicate this result to my friend Luis Salom and his family. We feel all shattered after this tragedy and I hope to do a great race in his honor tomorrow!”

Michele Pirro | 1’45.538 | P15

“Today things went a little better than yesterday. My feelings with the bike keep improving in every session. Tomorrow we try to tie it all together in order to confront the race with the best possible set-up. I am happy with what we achieved and with the great job the team has done, because we have to remember that the bike is quite different to the version I am used to and we have not had a lot of time together. Now I will start from 15th place on the grid with confidence to be able to improve and get further towards the front in the race.”

More, from a press release issued by LCR Honda:

THIRD ROW FOR CRUTCHLOW IN BARCELONA

On a difficult weekend for the MotoGP World Championship following the sad passing of Luis Salom during the Moto2 practice on Friday, the qualifying sessions at the Grand Prix of Catalunya went ahead as scheduled with the blessing of the Spanish rider’s family and team.

The tragic incident led to overnight track changes at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, with LCR Honda’s Cal Crutchlow one of the riders on the Safety Commission who helped decide on a new configuration. Following the layout used by Formula 1 cars, it meant a much slower and tighter final sector, which forced the riders to work hard to find a new set-up as well as learn the best lines.

Crutchlow has been in impressive form all weekend nonetheless, and ultimately qualified his LCR Honda on the third row of the grid with the seventh fastest time of the session. With a best time of 1’44.366 he was less than a tenth off the front row positions, and as such is confident of putting in a good performance in Sunday’s race.

#35 Cal Crutchlow – 7th (1’44.366)

“It’s been an emotional day for all of us, and as part of the Rider Safety Commission along with Dorna we took the decision to alter the circuit in the best way we could. I don’t think we did a bad job because it means we are able to race safely, even though the new layout is not great. It is tight, twisty and difficult to get used to, but it was the best solution available.”

“The last sector was my best sector yesterday, but we did the best job with it we could today. We have to go into tomorrow quite positive, because I feel ok on the bike despite some setting problems. I’m just a little disappointed not to be on the front row because with just another half a tenth I could be there.”

More, from a press release issued by Repsol Honda:

Marquez takes pole position, Pedrosa 3rd at their home GP

Repsol Honda’s Marc Marquez has scored the 61st pole of his career for tomorrow’s Catalan GP, with teammate Dani Pedrosa on the front row for the first time of the season.

Marc and Dani started the day well – despite a small crash for the former at turn 2 on his favourite bike – posting the second and third fastest times in an FP3 session that was extended to 60 minutes to allow the riders to learn the revised circuit layout, introduced after Luis Salom’s tragic incident yesterday.

After working hard on the setup in yesterday’s free practices Marc and his crew decided to introduce some important modifications to the bike settings for today, which allowed him to improve significantly his feeling on the bike. Marc continued his progress into FP4 and qualifying, recording the fastest time in both sessions.

Dani, who has worked with one of his bike on a new chassis over the last two days and decided to use it on tomorrow’s race, snatched the third spot on the front row after devoting FP4 to finalizing the setup of his RC213V.

Marc Marquez

POLE POSITION 1’43.589

“We’ve worked well, and this morning we had a good feeling, but that fact was covered up because my crash was on the bike that I liked more. I felt very comfortable in FP4, with a good pace when using race tyres. We did a very good job and everything together meant that things worked out well. I’m very happy with the pole position, but we’re already thinking about the race. I don’t know what will happen tomorrow, but I want to dedicate this pole to my grandmother who passed away two weeks ago and to Luis Salom.”

Dani Pedrosa

3RD 1’44.307

“I’m very happy with a place on the front row; it’s important for me because I had been trying for it all season. Tomorrow we’ll use the new chassis that we’ve been trying here over these two days, and we’ll have to figure out which are the best tyres to have a good race. Today I tried to do my best on the bike to improve in all aspects and in every section, but obviously the last sector is new and it tests the ability of each rider to learn a track quickly. In any case, it certainly is a difficult part. In qualifying I made a few mistakes here and there, although fortunately I was able to get a spot on the front row. Anyway I don’t want to forget what happened yesterday, I knew Luis and his family well, as I started racing with him long time ago with the minibikes at Mallorca. He was a strong and positive guy I will never forget him”.

More, from a press release issued by Team Suzuki Press Office:

VIÑALES & TEAM SUZUKI ECSTAR SECOND-ROW AT CATALAN GP

Jun 4th, 2016

Team SUZUKI ECSTAR’s Maverick Viñales will start tomorrow’s Catalan MotoGP™ from the second-row of the grid after putting his GSX-RR into sixth position in this afternoon’s Q2, as team-mate Aleix Espargaró will start from row five after just missing-out on the final session to determine the front four-rows.

The track’s layout was modified today as a security measure to assure riders’ safety after yesterday’s crash, when Moto2 rider Luis Salom lost his life. The revised layout required Viñales and Espargaró extra effort to learn new lines and revise the machines’ set-up, but the day was hard for them also for the emotions they carried following their friend’s departure.

The first two sessions of the GP of Catalunya saw both Team SUZUKI ECSTAR riders work with various chassis options that were introduced last week in Valencia. The evolution chassis work done in the early part of the season has been useful for Suzuki’s R&D in Japan to consolidate a standard chassis that has been developed following feedback from both riders after the Winter tests. Following Valencia, however, the standard chassis configuration was developed further into two various directions; both of them preferred for different reasons by Viñales and Espargaró because of personal reasons and riding styles. These two evolution chassis were brought to Catalunya so that both riders had one bike equipped with the standard chassis and another with the new evolution chassis.

Davide Brivio – Team Manager:

“Today we had to restart our work on the track in some way, although the atmosphere was pretty different after what happened yesterday to Luis Salom. We tried to think as normal, and we had two different situations. With Maverick we managed to be performing, the morning was very positive; and in the afternoon he had some small issues, but was only 22-thousands-of-a-second from the first row, which is good because in the race it doesn’t make too much difference to start on first or second row assuming that we will be able to improve his setting and allow him to find the right pace. On the other hand, Aleix missed the Q2 by very little and so he will need to make a recovery race. We still have some options; we will try to find a better feeling on the front and a solid pace to allow him to have a positive race.”

Maverick Viñales:

“This has been a hard day from the emotional side, because of what happened yesterday. I was very close to Luis and today was pretty hard to get on the bike. However, from the sporting side, the weekend has been positive so far, as I managed to be among the fasted for all of the three free practice sessions, even though I am disappointed with the qualifying. The second row is not that bad, but I’m sad that when the temperatures get higher we can’t find a good feeling with the bike. It’s a problem we have already had – when it becomes hot, we lack in traction and grip – and this affected my performance in qualifying. However, although I’m sixth I’m not far from the first row, which means I still have some room for a good race. The new layout of the track is not that good for us, but assuming it has been done for safety reasons, we will adapt to it.”

Aleix Espargaró:

“What happened yesterday touched me deeply and it felt really, really hard to get back on the bike today. To be honest, yesterday after I heard the news, I was thinking about not racing, but then with all the other riders we decided not to stop the event and commemorate Luis with a good race. The new layout is very hard for me, I struggle to find a good set-up that allows me to be effective in sector ‘4’ and we lack a lot on grip. The most worrying is the tyre performance; it drops very fast and the difference between new tyres and worn tyres is nearly two seconds, which is a huge drop, and which will make the race very interesting. My position on the grid is not so good, but the pace is not bad; the race will be very long, therefore we still have good hopes for a positive home race.”

More, from a press release issued by Dorna:

Marquez leads front row of local heroes

Marc Marquez continued to be the man to beat in Catalunya as he sprinted to his third pole of the 2016 season.

The sun continued to beat down as MotoGP™ World Championship bikes roared out of pit lane for Q2. With an air temperature of 25.5°C and a ground temperature of 42.5°C, conditions were ideal for the forthcoming battle for pole position at the Gran Premi Monster Energy de Catalunya. Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) quickly set the best time of the weekend, becoming the first rider to ever set a 1’43 lap around the new layout on a Grand Prix motorcycle.

His lap wouldn’t be challenged until the final 30 seconds when the timing screens became a sea of red. Just as the flag came out Marquez recorded a 1’43.589, netting pole position as he ended 0.467s faster than his closest rival. The Repsol Honda man was the only rider under the 1’44 barrier to take his first pole position since Austin earlier in the year. Both of Marquez’s previous 2016 poles have converted into victories. This is also Marquez’s first MotoGP™ pole position at the Barcelona circuit, having never previously started higher than third in the premier class.

Jorge Lorenzo (Movistar Yamaha MotoGP) did well to produce a 1’44.056, unable to challenge Marquez’s time but a quarter of a second faster than third placed Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda Team). The Catalan GP sees Lorenzo out for his third straight victory of the 2016 season, arriving with a comfortable ten-point lead. Lorenzo has won the premier class edition of the Catalan GP on four previous occasions, most recently in 2015. Lorenzo did admit that he and Yamaha are struggling in the final sector, the heavy braking causing issues which need to be solved to stay with Marquez.

The Catalan GP is home to all three riders, making for a very special front row. Dani Pedrosa returns to the front row for the first time since the Valencia GP in 2015, having not started higher than fourth so far in 2016. This ends what had been Pedrosa’s longest run without a front row start since his rookie season in 2006. A 1’44.307 saw Pedrosa just able to hold onto the front row 0.015s ahead of fourth place.

Hector Barbera (Avintia Racing) was a surprise in fourth after advancing from the Q1 session. Not since the Italian GP in 2012 has Barbera started a MotoGP™ race inside the top six.

0.002s back on Barbera was Valentino Rossi (Movistar Yamaha MotoGP) who had been unable to crack the top three since the new layout was introduced.

Action commences on Sunday with Warm Up at 09:40 Local Time before the Catalan GP begins at 14:00 Local Time.

First pole of 2016 for Zarco in Barcelona

Johann Zarco will start from pole position for the first time since lifting the world title in Japan back in 2015.

Conditions remained stable for Moto2™ Qualifying at the Gran Premi Monster Energy de Catalunya, not too hot and not too cold. The field picked up immediately where they left off and resumed working on refining the settings of their 600cc machines. During Free Practice 3 Johann Zarco (Ajo Motorsport) and Alex Rins (Paginas Amarillas HP 40) were a step above, but their half-second advantage vanished in Qualifying.

Johann Zarco’s pole position time came relatively early in the session, the French rider setting a 1’49.179 on his eighth lap. This would prove to be the fastest time of the day, 0.5s quicker than he had gone the previous session. In 2015 Zarco also took pole position in Barcelona, making this the first time in his career that he has taken back-to-back poles at the same track. His pole in 2015 would provide the perfect launch pad for Zarco who went on to take victory. Can he do it again on Sunday?

Although their advantage wasn’t as big, Zarco and Rins remained as the two quickest riders, Rins only 0.035s off pole. For the fourth time in 2016 Rins will line up on the front row, continuing a pattern of taking a front row at every second race. Rins is the only Spanish rider inside the top five and is out to deliver the home fans a good result. He is only two points off the championship lead and could very well see himself leading the championship after the race if he finishes ahead of Lowes.

Third place on the grid went to Thomas Luthi (Garage Plus Interwetten), who is currently third in the World Championship standings. The Swiss rider ended 0.293s back on pole position, both Zarco and Rins having just a slight edge over him. Luthi took his maiden front row of 2016 in Le Mans at round five, going on to finish on the podium.

Takaaki Nakagami (Idemitsu Honda Team Asia) will begin Sunday’s 23-lap race from fourth, ahead of Sam Lowes (Federal Oil Gresini Moto2). The Brit had a difficult session, crashing at Turn 9 with 20 minutes of the session remaining. His team did a brilliant job to get his bike repaired and send him back over; unfortunately traffic saw Lowes unable to set a final flying lap.

Axel Pons (AGR Team), Alex Marquez (Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS), Lorenzo Baldassarri (Forward Team), Marcel Schrotter (AGR Team) and Sandro Cortese (Dynavolt Intact GP) made up the top ten. As is now typical in the intermediate class, times were ridiculously tight with a second dividing the top 14.

Franco Morbidelli’s (Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS) Saturday proved a difficult one. The Italian had crash in Free Practice 3 and his Qualifying session got off to a similar start, coming off at Turn 3 for the second time in 24 hours. His team worked to their maximum to repair the bike, allowing him to return to track. Unfortunately this was followed by an even bigger crash at Turn 9, ending his session. Morbidelli was unharmed and will start Sunday’s race in 18th.

Danny Kent (Leopard Racing) also suffered a fall, coming off at Turn 5. He was uninjured.

Moto2™ action begins at 09:10 Local Time on Sunday with 20 minutes of Warm Up. Racing begins at 12:20 Local Time.

Binder charges to second career pole

Times were tight in the lightweight class, the front row decided by 0.088s with Binder taking pole ahead of Antonelli and Navarro.

Having had an extended Free Practice 3 session to adjust to the new layout of the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, riders in the Moto3™ World Championship began Qualifying on a 40°C track. It was a slower than usual start to the session as riders took the opportunity to focus more on race pace and learning the new corners, rather than pushing for a flying lap right away. Mid 1’54s were the target time on the new layout, Jorge Navarro (Estrella Galicia 0,0) having topped FP3 with a 1’54.641.

But with five minute to go all thoughts of the race were gone and new tyres were fitted for the charge to pole position. In classic Moto3™ style it was all about the last laps, Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Ajo) setting a 1’54.024s to take just the second pole position of his career. Not only is this the South African’s second pole but it is just his fourth ever front row start in the World Championship. It has been 11 races since a Moto3™ race was won from pole position, can Binder break the curse and become the first rider to take four straight wins in the series?

Having been inside the top two in all three previous sessions, it came as little surprise that Niccolo Antonelli (Ongetta-Rivacold) was again strong at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. The Italian completed a 1’54.078 to grab second on the grid, his second front row start of the 2016 season. He’s out to get back on the podium for the first time since round one in Qatar.

Jorge Navarro will line up third on the grid for Sunday’s race, the highest placed Spaniard on the grid and in the championship. After crashing out of the race in Mugello he needs to beat Binder to keep his championship hopes alive. The Spanish rider is yet to take a victory in the World Championship, having had seven previous podiums.

The second row of the grid will be headed by Nicolo Bulega (SKY Racing Team VR46) who starts in fourth, the highest placed rookie. Just behind was fellow Italian Enea Bastianini (Gresini Racing Moto3), 0.036s splitting the two riders. Bastianini has twice missed out on victory at the Catalan GP, taking second in 2014 and 2015.

Khairul Idham Pawi (Honda Team Asia), Francesco Bagnaia (Aspar Mahindra Team Moto3), Jules Danilo (Ongetta-Rivacold), Aron Canet (Estrella Galicia 0,0) and Romano Fenati (SKY Racing Team VR46) completed the top ten.

Latest Posts

WorldSBK: Bulega Undergoes “Arm Pump” Surgery In Italy

Nicolò Bulega underwent surgery for compartment syndrome Nicolò Bulega underwent...

How To Identify Real Vanson Leathers

Vanson has been producing jackets, riding/racing suits, and other...

Kato Named New President Of Yoshimura Japan

Editorial Note: Yohei Kato is the grandson of Yoshimura...

Suzuki Hayabusa Anniversary Celebration Scheduled April 27 In Concord, NC

SUZUKI HAYABUSA ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION COMING TO CONCORD, NC “Hayabusa Homecoming”...

Oxley Bom Podcast: Hanging With Jorge

Roadracing World MotoGP Editor and Isle of Man TT winner...