FIM MotoGP World Championship
Circuito de Jerez
Jerez de la Frontera, Spain
May 6, 2017
Qualifying 2 Result (all on Michelin tires):
1. Dani PEDROSA, Spain (HONDA), 1:38.249
2. Marc MARQUEZ, Spain (HONDA), 1:38.298
3. Cal CRUTCHLOW, UK (HONDA), 1:38.453
4. Maverick VIÑALES, Spain (YAMAHA), 1:38.677
5. Andrea IANNONE, Italy (SUZUKI), 1:38.744
6. Johann ZARCO, France (YAMAHA), 1:38.861
7. Valentino ROSSI, Italy (YAMAHA), 1:38.908
8. Jorge LORENZO, Spain (DUCATI), 1:38.910
9. Jonas FOLGER, Germany (YAMAHA), 1:39.108
10. Jack MILLER, Australia (HONDA), 1:39.125
11. Scott REDDING, UK (DUCATI), 1:39.152
12. Aleix ESPARGARO, Spain (APRILIA), 1:39.400
More, from a press release issued by Monster Yamaha Tech 3:
Zarco to storm forward from the second row – Focused Folger qualifies solidly in 9th
The Monster Yamaha Tech3 team riders concluded their Jerez qualifying campaigns notably by clinching second and third row starts for the headline event tomorrow. Johann Zarco delivered another impressive charge as he seized his third top six qualifying result of the year. The rapid French rider built up to QP2 by powering to 2nd in FP4, and he then wrapped up the 15-minute shootout with a lap that was just 0.184 back from the Championship leader Maverick Viñales. Meanwhile, Jonas Folger will begin the fourth round from one row behind his teammate after producing another mature and strong performance in Q2. The rapid rookie finished only 0.247 behind his teammate and tomorrow he intends to come out on top in the independent rider fight.
Johann ZARCO
Position: 6th – Time: 1’38.861 – Laps: 8
“I am very happy with how today went and also with the work that we undertook. This morning I was confident that I could improve on yesterday’s time, even though everyone was quite fast. However, I pushed and eventually I was able to seal my place in QP2. Here, we used the soft tyre, which was the same as all of the other riders I think, but the weather was hot which made it tricky to be fast due to the grip. Nevertheless, the team and I did a good job and I improved my time on both tyres. Finally, 6th on the grid is perfect for tomorrow and I aim to enjoy the race but stay focused and be strong at the beginning so that I can follow the leading riders. Then I will push until the end in order to take home a lot of points.”
Jonas FOLGER
Position: 9th – Time: 1’39.108 – Laps: 8
“Overall, I am quite pleased with the qualifying result as well as with my final time. It was very close throughout the day with the other riders, and it was also a bit of a challenge as a few issues came up. Yet, we did some solid work to find the right balance today and in the end, we found a good way. This was especially true in FP4 where we used the medium compound, which is the race tyre, and a full tank of fuel, so I was confident and consistent. In QP2, with the soft tyres and low fuel, I was not quite able to find those extra two-tenths, but anyway, we can be happy with 9th on the grid. Tomorrow is the big day, and it will be a tight race, but I think that we have a positive pace and therefore a good chance.”
More, from a press release issued by Team Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS:
Miller on target to continue top ten streak in Jerez
Team Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS rider Jack Miller is on target to continue his run of top ten performances in tomorrow’s Spanish Grand Prix.
Miller has opened the 2017 season in superb form with three consecutive top ten results. He will start the fourth round of the MotoGP World Championship from 10th on the gird following his fastest ever lap of the 4.4km Jerez circuit in qualifying.
The 22-year-old Australian posted a time of 1’39.125 in a blisteringly fast session to be within 0.8s of pole sitter Dani Pedrosa.
Jerez was bathed in sunshine for qualifying with a track temperature of 40 degrees and the near perfect conditions were in contrast to the wet and cooler weather for Friday’s practice sessions.
Miller is unconcerned to be starting on the fourth row having focussed intensely on his race set-up during practice with tomorrow’s 27-lap encounter set to test both rider and tyre endurance.
Despite posting his fastest time of the weekend so far Tito Rabat will start from 18th on the sixth row having been slowed by traffic on his final run.
In the earlier FP4 session while running in race trim Rabat was impressively 10th quickest, just 0.6s behind factory Honda star Marc Márquez.
The Spanish GP will be the 3,000th Grand Prix since the World Championship began in 1949.
Jack Miller: 10th – 1’39.125
“My focus this weekend has been on putting in a lot of laps on races tyres ready for another top ten finish and that’s what we concentrated on in practice. In qualifying I felt really comfortable and tenth on the grid is positive for me because it was a really fast session and I did my fastest ever lap at Jerez. We are in good shape for the race tomorrow.”
Tito Rabat: 18th – 1’39.564
“I am very happy with my result in FP4 because I made the lap time alone on race tyres. I had a good strategy for qualifying but could not do my maximum because of traffic in the final sector of my fast run. I’m not happy for this but overall it has been a positive weekend and my time of 1’39.5 gives me a lot of confidence to score points in the race.”
Michael Bartholemy: Team Principal
“I was impressed by Tito today who was on top ten pace in FP4 and doing his times alone which is very important to prepare for the race. Tito is a little frustrated to be 18th on the grid after he hit traffic in qualifying, which did not allow him to show his full potential. Jack did a great job to go directly into the Q2 session and he has very good race pace. We know Jack starts very fast and is always strong on the opening laps so he is in a good position to challenge for another top ten finish tomorrow.”
More, from a press release issued by Octo Pramac Racing:
Scott places in 11th and starts from row 4, while Petrux will start from row 5
The qualifying for the Spanish Grand Prix took place on the Circuit of Jerez today. Scott Redding finished in 11th place after winning direct qualification to Q2. For Danilo Petrucci a bit of misfortune in Q1 but also a lot of confidence on race pace.
Scott started his Saturday’s qualifying making big progress compared to Friday. The English rider lapped fast in FP3 easily gaining a place in Q2 thanks to the 8th place. In the qualifying for the pole position Scott pushed hard but in the third time attack he could not find a few milliseconds that would allow him to comfortably get the third row.
Petrux encountered some difficulties in FP3 (13th) but in Q1 seemed to have the pace to win one of the two available places. Unfortunately in the first time attack the rear tire did not make the most of it forcing it to fight for Q2 with only one attempt. In the second fast lap Danilo was very fast (1’39.090, it would be the ninth time of the Q2) but was not enough to qualify.
11th – Scott Redding – 1’39.152
“I am satisfied. I struggled a bit with high temperature in the afternoon while the Fp3s have gone very well. I did all the qualificaying lapping alone and trying to make three time attacks with the three soft rear tires available but in the last attempt the front tire had already dropped a lot. Maybe I could have won two or three positions but I’m still confident for tomorrow’s race because the race pace is good”.
13th – Danilo Petrucci – 1’39.090
“Today has gone pretty well. If I look at the final qualifying lap-time I’m satisfied because it’s a good time. Unfortunately in the Q1 I only had one chance because the first soft-rear had some problems. I’m a bit worried about weather conditions. When the temperature rises, the consumption of the rear tire increases a lot. But this is a common problem for everyone. The race is long. I will try to do my best”.
More, from a press release issued by Pull&Bear Aspar Team:
Very close qualifying at Jerez
Pull&Bear Aspar riders will start the Spanish Grand Prix from the sixth and seventh row of the grid, respectively, with Bautista and Abraham missing out on Q2 by just over half a second
For the second consecutive day, three riders from the same manufacturer occupied the top three places on the MotoGP timesheets. Just 49 thousandths of a second separated poleman Dani Pedrosa from teammate Marc Márquez, after a last attempt in Q2 in which the latter was unable to best the 1:38.249 marker. Next to them on the grid will be Cal Crutchlow, who finished third, two tenths off the top. Maverick Viñales, Andrea Iannone and Johann Zarco will start from the second row, while current World Championship leader Valentino Rossi is seventh.
Álvaro Bautista will begin his home Grand Prix from the sixth row of the grid, after struggling to set a good fast lap. The Pull&Bear Aspar rider did, however, put in a good pace during the fourth free practice session, so the first laps of the race will be key to establishing his possibilities at the Spanish Grand Prix. Karel Abraham will head the seventh row of the grid at the Spanish round. The Czech is still sore from the injury he suffered at Austin, which -coupled with the short time he has spent on track due to yesterday’s weather conditions and a technical problem with his bike- has delayed his progress this weekend.
17th Álvaro Bautista 1:39.462: “My pace in FP4 was very good, but we have to improve our fast lap. In FP4 we made a small change to the bike to give better rear grip and be able to corner better. My pace was good and quite realistic, with tyres that had 25 laps in them at the end. However, when we put new tyres on I had trouble turning the bike in and I was fighting with it to get a good lap. Starting from the back of the grid complicates everything because you spend a lot of time trying to gain places. I will try to make a good start, although everything will depend on the first few laps.”
19th Karel Abraham 1:39.678: “We aren’t having much luck, because this morning in one of the first outings on track the bike had another technical problem. The good thing is that we know what it is and we will solve it. Then, with the other bike, we tried a couple of things, but we needed more time on track. In the afternoon, in FP4, we decided to only do one stint of seven or eight laps and check that everything was ready for qualifying. I gave my all and the bike went quite well, but I think on my best lap I was at the limit at all times, getting the most from the bike. We will look at the data to see where we can improve our times and be more consistent. If we had been able to ride for all the time we had initially planned, maybe we could have improved a couple of positions. My ankle and knee hurt a lot yesterday; today I have taken painkillers and they have helped me.”
More, from a press release issued by Aprilia:
ALEIX ESPARGARÓ GOES THROUGH TO Q2 AND TOMORROW WILL START FORM THE FOURTH ROW IN THE JEREZ GP
GOOD RACE PREPARATION FOR SAM LOWES AND HIS APRILIA
The final day of practice before the Jerez GP had the Aprilia riders working on their RS-GP machines in preparation for a race that promises to be rather heated. In fact, the two free practice sessions were characterized by extremely close gaps. For example, in FP4, in twelfth place Aleix Espargaró was just over six tenths from the first place time.
The quickly rising temperature and the consequent decrease of grip on the track will be the key factors for the 27 laps tomorrow. These are conditions that have enhanced the characteristics of the RS-GP machines thus far.
Precisely for this reason, the Aprilia Racing Team Gresini riders are confidently anticipating the first European Grand Prix of the 2017 MotoGP season. Aleix Espargaró came through Q1 selection with a brilliant lap, later having to throw in the towel after a crash in Q2. Tomorrow he will start from the fourth row with a good pace and the extra motivation of his home crowd. Sam Lowes is also smiling, slowed a bit in Q1 by a small technical issue but able to lap in FP4 at a decidedly consistent pace. The British rider took a fairing with new aerodynamics on its maiden run, a solution that he will most likely also use in the race.
ALEIX ESPARGARO’
“At the moment, we have a good pace, especially with higher temperatures and poor grip conditions. In these situations, we usually struggle less than the others. In any case, we need to improve front end stability. I am too close to the limit in braking and in the race we cannot risk on every lap. During Q2 I did not have any more new front tyres since I had used them to get through Q1 and I noticed straight away that it would have been difficult with the new rear. I always give one hundred percent because I am always aiming for the best result. Unfortunately, I crashed while I was pushing.”
SAM LOWES
“At the beginning of Q1 we were hindered by a small problem with the fuel pump. That kept me from making a second run, where I could have improved. In fact, this weekend I am feeling at ease with the bike and I am taking some good steps forward. I am optimistic about the race, partially because in FP4 I maintained a very consistent pace – enough to be able to battle with the riders ahead of me – so the goal is to try to earn my first points. Today I used the new downforce fairing and I will also use it in the race. It helps me to have more stability coming out of corners.”
More, from a press release issued by Repsol Honda:
Pedrosa storms to Spanish Pole with Marquez second in all-Honda front row
Dani Pedrosa took a stunning pole position, his 29th in MotoGP and the 47th in his career, edging teammate Marc Marquez by just half a tenth in a breath-taking battle for the top spot during the final minutes of the Gran Premio Red Bull de España in Jerez. Cal Crutchlow in third completes an all-Honda front row for the first time since the German GP in 2014 (at the Sachsenring).
Dani has led every session this weekend apart from today’s FP4, showing a competitive pace and dazzling speed in every condition. Tomorrow he will start from pole for the first time since Malaysia in 2015, and he’ll do so at the 3,000th Grand Prix of the world championship.
Marc made good use of the work he did on the setup of his RC213V, and after a fourth-fastest time in the morning’s FP3 session ensured him a direct passage to Q2, he posted the top time in FP4 and then fought hard for the pole in qualifying.
Race will start tomorrow 14h00 local time.
Dani Pedrosa 26
POLE POSITION 1’38.249
“This was probably one of the best poles of my career because it was a really hard battle. It was a strategic end of the session with Marc there right behind me, so for a moment I wasn’t sure if I should push or not. There was no choice anyway, so I just went for it. I’m very happy because our main target for the GP was to be on the front row. The feeling was really good, and it has been good all weekend, so I told myself, Okay, let’s try it. It has been a while since I’ve led in qualifying; I’ve struggled a lot last season so I’m very happy with today. Thanks to the team for the hard work, and I’m also happy for Honda. It looks like we’re doing really well so let’s focus for tomorrow and do the best we can!”
Marc Marquez 93
2ND 1’38.298
“Dani has been really strong and fast today, and all weekend honestly. For that reason, I tried to follow him during the final laps in qualifying, to learn what he was doing differently! I was able to do a very good lap time and that was my target, to get a front-row start because I’ve been struggling a bit here with the fast lap. I’m happy because it looks like we’re getting better and better. Today in FP4 we were able to set a very good pace and we’re very satisfied with that. Normally this circuit is not one of the best for our bike and for my riding style, but it looks like our plans are working well. We’re improving in the areas we’re working on, and that’s also important in view of the coming races at the other European tracks. Anyway, now we must think about tomorrow; race day is always different but we’ll try to manage well.”
More, from a press release issued by Movistar Yamaha:
MOVISTAR YAMAHA TO START SPANISH GP FROM 2ND AND 3RD ROW
Movistar Yamaha MotoGP riders Maverick Viñales and Valentino Rossi continued the action today at the Circuito de Jerez, in the FP3, FP4 and Q2 sessions. They secured fourth and seventh place respectively on the grid for tomorrow’s Gran Premio de España.
Jerez de la Frontera (Spain), 6th May 2017
Movistar Yamaha MotoGP’s Maverick Viñales and Valentino Rossi will start tomorrow’s Gran Premio de España from the second and third row of the grid after taking fourth and seventh place respectively in today‘s qualifying session.
Viñales was the last rider out this afternoon to clock a time in Q2 and immediately moved up to provisional fourth place, before the pace picked up. He put his head down and improved his time to a 1‘38.677s to promote to third on the provisional front row and returned to the box. On a one-stop strategy, he entered pit lane with seven minutes of the session remaining and went back out on track one and a half minute later.
He had just enough time for two more tries and didn’t hesitate to put the hammer down to drop a 1’38s lap, but he was unable to improve on his earlier achievement. His second hot lap of the session was fast enough to hold fourth place, 0.428s from pole, on the second row of the grid.
Teammate Rossi took a little while to get underway at the start of the 15-minute qualifying heat, allowing most of the traffic to leave before him. He entered a relatively empty track, but was struggling to breach into the top of the timesheets. His best lap on his first run, a 1’39.305s, kept him in tenth place as he entered the pits with less than seven minutes on the clock.
A little more than two minutes later, he was back out again and clearly on a mission. Having dropped to 11th place in the meantime, he was determined to better his position and had two more chances to strive for a top result, which he took with both hands to drop under the 1‘39-mark on his first try. His best lap, a 1’38.908s, 0.659s from the front, earned him seventh on the grid for tomorrow’s race.
MASSIMO MEREGALLI
TEAM DIRECTOR
After two challenging practice sessions yesterday in wet and drying conditions, today was our first chance to work on the dry set-up, but we hadn‘t anticipated facing this lack of grip. Anyway, we have been able to make some progress during today‘s sessions. We have improved the feeling on the bike for both riders throughout the day. We still have to work to create some more grip in time for tomorrow‘s warm-up, which is going to be a fundamental last practice opportunity to fine-tune the setting for the race. Tomorrow is predicted to be the hottest day of the weekend and this might affect our tyre choice. Maverick and Vale will be starting from second and third row and we expect that we will fight at the front of the field. We will give our all, as always, to make sure we‘re ready for the battle.
MAVERICK VIÑALES
I think today was good. We worked quite hard and tried to find a good set-up. Honestly, the right side of the tyre is really good, but when I go onto the left side I suddenly have a lot of wheelspin. We have to check it out this night and work really hard for tomorrow‘s warm-up. We still have to decide on the tyre options. We did many laps on the medium tyre and the lap times weren‘t so bad, so we have to continue like that. Like we did today, we have to work a little bit more than we usually do during the warm-up, so I think tomorrow it‘s important to find a good set-up, especially for the left side.
VALENTINO ROSSI
I think today wasn‘t so bad, because we worked a lot and improved the feeling with the bike. My pace is not bad. We still have to work, especially on the corner entry. I‘m not fully happy about the results in the qualifying. I will start from the third row, which is always difficult and I think we could have done better, but we‘re still working on it. We‘re not at 100% yet, we need to improve.
More, from a press release issued by Team Suzuki ECSTAR:
BRILLIANT SECOND ROW FOR IANNONE IN TOUGH SPANISH GP
Andrea Iannone: 5th – 1’38.744/+0.495
Takuya Tsuda: 23rd – 1’40.386/+1.467 (Q1)
After a rough start to the weekend, today Andrea Iannone was in better form on the GSX-RR and clocked an impressive 1’38.744 in Q2 that gives him the 5th place in tomorrow’s grid. Test rider Takuya Tsuda made solid progress, and although he will start from the back of the grid, his qualifying time is remarkable.
In the morning Iannone had already improved from yesterday, although his feel for the bike was not at its best yet. He had to make it through Q1 in order to enter Q2, but in the end found a healthy and reassuring confidence with the bike. As a consequence he achieved 5th place in the classification. The result is not only important for the race but especially for his confidence.
Solid progress was also made by Takuya Tsuda, Suzuki’s test rider, currently riding in place of injured Alex Rins. His performances grew better and better with every session, and he is doing a great job giving important feedback to the engineers.
Davide Brivio – Team Manager
“Today we can be happy for Andrea’s improvement from to yesterday. He feels a lot better on the bike. He got back his touch and now he feels confident to push himself. We were also able to improve the electronics, which yesterday gave us some trouble. I have to thank our group of engineers that made a good job. Thanks to this, finally today Andrea gained more confidence. Starting off from the second row is a powerful incentive and provides great motivation for a racer. Tomorrow during the warmup we will try to make some small fine tuning, and then I believe that Andrea has the chance to do well in the race and keep pace with the leading pack. Also with Tsuda, we made solid progress throughout the whole of the weekend. His qualifying time is not bad at all, and we’re happy for the progress he made so far in MotoGP. Tomorrow he will compete in his very first World Championship race and we´re just hoping he can enjoy it.”
Andrea Iannone
“I think we did a great in qualifying today. I’m very happy because yesterday we had a very difficult start and we managed to recover. The bike had a bad feel to it yesterday, but we did a great job and worked it out in the right way so we could have a better performance today. This is among the main strengths of Suzuki. Our group reacts very well. They never give up, and we always improve a lot. It is important for us to start from the second row. In previous races I always had a good pace in the race, but had to pay for the bad starting position, so the second row is a good chance to have a positive race. The top three riders are really strong, but we will try our best.”
Takuya Tsuda
“It was really my first time to have experienced a “time attack,” the competition for lap times, with soft tyres in MotoGP class, so I’d been trying to look for the limit, lap by lap. In the end, I understood that I could push more, but the time was not sufficient for me to give the better performance, unfortunately. I expected that the level of MotoGP would be high, but it was even higher when you join in with them there, and everything was very impressive. I’m not happy to start from the very last, but I would like to learn more in the race, and will try to overtake as many riders as possible, and use this experience to develop our bike after I return home.”
More, from a press release issued by Reale Avintia Racing:
Baz and Barberá improve their feeling on the second day at Jerez
Reale Avintia Racing riders Loris Baz and Hector Barbera will start tomorrow’s Spanish Grand Prix from the seventh row of the grid after qualifying in 20th and 21st place today.
Loris Baz finished the day quite angry because he was not able to recover the good feeling he had during the private test in November where he was second with a best lap of 1’39.184. Obviously, the track temperature was not the same and Michelin introduced new tyre compounds since then, but Baz still expected to be stronger in the 15 minutes qualifying session today. He now will test some modifications during the warm-up session and he is confident to score points in tomorrow’s 27-lap race.
Although it does not reflect in his grid position, Hector Barbera ended the day with quite positive feelings following the drastic changes made last night on his Ducati Desmosedici GP16. His team worked to modify his riding position on the bike to improve the feeling with the front, which was his biggest nightmare since the season started. He expects to confirm these positive feelings tomorrow and build his confidence for the future.
Loris Baz | 1’39.824 | P20
“Today was a difficult day for me. The bike is really hard to ride and we are still missing one second from the pace we had during the winter test here. The feeling is a problem when I try to push harder, the bike does not want to turn and it has been tough so far. We will see if we can improve during the warm-up, but I don’t know if it will be enough to have the pace to avoid being at the back of the field.”
Hector Barbera | 1’39.906 | P21
“This was a tough session. We modified the set-up of the bike, but I don’t get feedback from the front tyre. Since I got on this bike I’ve never been comfortable. This morning we changed my position on the bike and I started to get a better feel for the front end. I hope this change will make a difference for the race result. We will never give up. We have already bottomed out and from where we are now, we can only go up. I want to say big thanks to my team and to my sponsors for there work and mainly for understanding this situation.”
More, from a press release issued by Ducati Corse:
Row 3 start for Jorge Lorenzo in Spanish GP, after the Spanish rider goes eighth quickest in qualifying at Jerez. Andrea Dovizioso will start from fourteenth place on row 5
Jorge Lorenzo will start tomorrow’s fourth round of the MotoGP World Championship – the Spanish Grand Prix at the Jerez de la Frontera circuit in Andalusia – from the third row of the grid.
At the end of this afternoon’s Q2 session, the Ducati Team’s Spanish rider set the eighth quickest time of 1’38.910, around six-tenths of a second away from the best time of polesitter Dani Pedrosa.
There will be a row 5 start on the other hand for Andrea Dovizioso, the Italian rider unable to get out of Q1, which he concluded in fourth place with a time of 1’39.255.
In the morning’s FP3 run, which was held on a dry track and with an air temperature of 20°, Lorenzo was second fastest behind Pedrosa, thus gaining automatic access into the second qualifying session, while Dovizioso was classified in sixteenth.
After the early afternoon’s FP4 session, which finished with Lorenzo fourth and Dovizioso seventh, the two Ducati Team men then went out on track for the qualifying sessions which determined the starting-grid for tomorrow’s 27-lap race.
Jorge Lorenzo (Ducati Team #99) – 1’38.910 (8th)
“Overall today’s sensations were good and for the first time this season I had a pace that was similar to those riders ahead of me. To be honest, in qualifying I hoped to improve on this morning’s result a bit, but for some reason I didn’t have good grip with the rear tyre and was unable to accelerate well out of the corners. At any rate for me today was one of the best days I have had in this first part of the season from every point of view, and this is really good news for us. It means that we are maintaining good progression and tomorrow we’ll see if we can come away with a good result in the race. The most important thing is my consistency and that I feel strong on the bike.”
Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team #04) – 1’39.255 (14th)
“Today was a bit of a difficult day, even though I’m actually satisfied with my race pace, which this afternoon was in line with the fastest riders: to be honest, I didn’t expect that and so I have a good feeling about the race. I think that my grid position does not respect the speed we showed in FP4, but unfortunately this starting position could condition my race. I’m really sorry for the team but now I will have to try and get a good start, not lose too much time at the start and try and make up places rapidly.”
More, from a press release issued by Dorna:
Untouchable: Pedrosa takes a stunning pole in Jerez
Repsol Honda rider heads the grid for the first time since Sepang 2015
Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda Team) took an incredible pole position in qualifying for the Gran Premio Red Bull de España, taking to the top in the final minutes of the session and teammate Marc Marquez unable to depose him on his last lap. Pedrosa was fastest on Friday and on Saturday in FP3, and is on the charge at his first home race of the year – where he is already a multiple winner. Behind Marquez is Cal Crutchlow (LCR Honda), completing the front row in a Honda 1-2-3.
Movistar Yamaha MotoGP rider Maverick Viñales took fourth to head up the second row ahead of Q1 graduate and comeback king Andrea Iannone (Team Suzuki Ecstar), with rookie Johann Zarco (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) in sixth.
Fourteen world titles start the Spanish GP from the third row, with Championship leader Valentino Rossi (Movistar Yamaha MotoGP) in seventh just ahead of Ducati Team’s Jorge Lorenzo only 0.002 back. Jonas Folger (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) is ninth in another solid showing for the German rookie.
Jack Miller (Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS) backed up his Friday pace with direct entry to Q2 and a top ten start despite a crash, with Scott Redding (Octo Pramac Racing) in eleventh and Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini) in P12.
Danilo Petrucci (Octo Pramac Racing) starts P13 from Q1, ahead of Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team) and a stunning display from Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Pol Espargaro to complete the top fifteen, just ahead of teammate Bradley Smith.
The lights go out for the incredible Spanish GP at Jerez on Sunday at 14:00 (GMT +2) – with Pedrosa on pole for the first time since Sepang 2015.
Alex Marquez home free for first record-breaking pole
EG 0,0 Marc VDS rider leads his teammate in a 1-2 despite last minute flat
2014 Moto3™ World Champion Alex Marquez (Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS) will start his home GP at Jerez from his first ever pole position with a new record, leading teammate and Championship leader by Franco Morbidelli by 0.046 to make it a clean sweep as fastest in every session so far. The rider from Cervera also suffered some contact ahead of his final lap in the session, with Tech 3 Racing’s Remy Gardner clipping the Spaniard’s rear wheel and giving him a flat tyre. Dominique Aegerter (Kiefer Racing) took a stunning front row for Suter in P3, getting back at the front in Moto2™ after solid pace all weekend and a top five in the race last time out.
Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM Ajo) was impressive once again to head up the second row, with veteran Mattia Pasini (Italtrans Racing Team) in fifth and compatriot Francesco Bagnaia (Sky Racing Team VR46) taking P6 as top rookie.
Xavi Vierge continues his stunning form on the Tech 3 Racing machine in P7, ahead of Championship contender Takaaki Nakagami (Idemitsu Honda Team Asia). Marcel Schrötter (Dynavolt Intact GP) took ninth despite a crash, with Axel Pons (RW Racing GP) another crasher but completing the top ten.
Luca Marini (Forward Racing Team) lines up in P11, ahead of a tough session for Tom Lüthi (CarXpert Interwetten) as the Swiss veteran aims to move forward. Simone Corsi (Speed Up Racing), Fabio Quartararo (Pons HP 40) and Hafizh Syahrin (Petronas Raceline Malaysia) lock out the fastest fifteen.
Marquez aims for his first Moto2™ win at 12:20 local time (GMT +2) in front of his home crowd.
Martin smashes the lap record in Jerez
Second in the Championship and starting from another pole position
Jorge Martin (Del Conca Gresini Moto3) broke Jack Miller’s record from 2014 in qualifying for the Gran Premio Red Bull de España, setting a 1:46.004 on his penultimate run on clear track to top the timesheets by over four tenths. Compatriot Aron Canet (Estrella Galicia 0,0) lines up in P2, with Texas winner Romano Fenati (Marinelli Rivacold Snipers) completing the front row.
Last year’s polesitter Nicolo Bulega (Sky Racing Team VR46) heads up the second row in fourth, ahead of a career best for Marcos Ramirez (Platinum Bay Real Estate) in fifth. Niccolo Antonelli (Red Bull KTM Ajo) locks out Row 2.
Tatsuki Suzuki (SIC58 Squadra Corse) was another putting in a best ever as he starts in seventh, ahead of Sky Racing Team VR46’s Andrea Migno. Championship leader Joan Mir had crossed the line to take an initial P4 for Leopard Racing, but then had that laptime cancelled for exceeding track limits and will instead start in ninth on the third row.
Darryn Binder (Platinum Bay Real Estate) impressed in P10, ahead of some more established names: Fabio Di Giannantonio (Del Conca Gresini Moto3) and Juanfran Guevara (RBA BOE Racing Team) in P11 and P12.
After a tougher start to the season, Jerez has looked sunnier for Mahindra and qualifying proved no different, as Albert Arenas (Mahindra Northgate Aspar) put in a solid lap to start P13 in his home race, ahead of Enea Bastianini (Estrella Galicia 0,0) and top rookie Ayumu Sasaki (SIC Racing Team) completing the top fifteen.
Philipp Oettl was one crasher in the session, and the Südmetall Schedl GP Racing unfortunately suffered a broken collarbone – therefore forced to sit out the rest of the weekend.
Racing starts at 11:00 (GMT +2) in the Spanish GP on Sunday, with Moto3™ out first.
More, from a press release issued by KTM:
SPANISH SUNSHINE BRINGS KTM’S BEST QUALIFYING IN MOTOGP
QUALIFYING 4th Rd. MotoGP 2017 – Circuito de Jerez (ESP)
Qualifying for the Spanish MotoGP was very productive for the Red Bull KTM Factory Racing team today with 15th and 16th position for Pol Espargaro and a Bradley Smith aboard their KTM RC16s. It’s the best qualifying so far for the Austrian prototype bikes in only the fourth race for KTM in MotoGP, ultimately with times set by both riders just over one second back from pole position. In Moto2 and Moto3 Miguel Oliveira and Nicolo Bulega were the fastest KTM riders in qualifying with both on 4th postion on the grid tomorrow. The first race of Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup 2017 was won by Rory Skinner.
MotoGP
Qualifying for the Spanish MotoGP was very productive for the Red Bull KTM Factory Racing team today with 15th and 16th position for Pol Espargaro and Bradley Smith aboard their KTM RC16s. It’s the best qualifying so far for the Austrian prototype bikes in only the fourth race for KTM in MotoGP, ultimately with times set by both riders just over one second back from pole position.
Espargaro: “All the team is doing such a big effort but I want to remember the guys back in the factory who are not on TV, working hard behind the scenes.
What we are doing is thanks to them as factory and race team work so hard together to get a result that some people thought would not happen. In FP4 we were 9th, run at the same time of day as the race, but my time was done with a tyre that was not so new so I think this time is quite good for a longer run, but the effort and the things the team is doing is unbelievable.”
Smith: “This last week has been a really good step for our project which is a big thanks for everyone involved because there’s been a lot of time and effort gone into the upgrades, so a huge thanks to everyone here and at KTM Motorsport in Munderfing, Austria. Here at Jerez, we’ve had good feelings and made steady progress session by session. We had some fast split times this morning that lit up red on the timing screens, which was a first for us, so everything is going in the right direction. It was very exciting in qualifying to finish the closest we’ve ever been to the pole, just 1.1 seconds off, so I feel good. We’ll make some progress in the warm up to check the final tyre decisions, but overall a fantastic day for KTM.”
Sebastian Risse (Technical Director MotoGP): “We’ve had a very exciting weekend with big technical steps being taken quickly after a very short testing period. Sure, this brings risk into a race weekend but it worked out very well indeed. I think we can be very happy about where we are after this qualifying result – we could see the potential of the riders and the bike throughout the whole weekend. It is an important step forward. Now let’s prove this in the race and see what is the next step forward.”
Moto2
In Moto2 the KTM bike again has wowed the paddock and pit lane with a fourth place starting position for Miguel Oliveira. Team mate Richard Cardus, who is standing in for the injured Brad Binder, will start from 18th just 1.2 seconds back from pole position.
Oliveira: “Thanks to the test we did here in March, we had a good references for the setup and for the KTM, so we have been calmer since the start of the GP weekend. We were practically able to repeat the time set in testing, although today I was only one tenth slower. We are happy, we will start from fourth position and we have a good pace, so tomorrow we will give everything to get a positive result. The objective before starting here was the Top 5, and that continues to be the case although there is no doubt that we will fight for the podium.”
Moto3
Meanwhile in the hugely competitive Moto3 class, Niccolo Antonelli will start 6th with his team mate Bo Bendsneyder having problems with a set up that didn’t come together (after successful testing here) to start 24th. KTM won the Moto3 race here last year with Brad Binder who not only started the race from the back of the grid, but won his first ever race as he made his way towards winning the Moto3 World Championship. Fastest rider on the KTM RC250 GP bike in qualifying was Nicolo Bulega from Sky Racing Team VR46.
Bulega: “Considering that the start is not one of my strengths, being in the second row is always a big advantage for the race. I’m happy, maybe I could improve my best lap time, but I struggled a bit with chattering and, in my last attempt, I found some traffic. I can not wait to get on the track tomorrow.”
Antonelli: “I felt pretty good today. I am happy to have taken this second row here in Jerez, because in the test we did not do too well and now I have been able to improve the time I did then. It has been difficult, but we have succeeded. We knew we had to improve in order to be up at the front in the race, and now I just have to give my all to get the best possible result. I don’t know if there will be many riders in the front group, but I hope not. My goal will be to be at the front and finish as high up as I can.”
Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup
Rory Skinner and Ai Ogura were set for an intense final lap in the first Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup race of the season only to have the race stopped with a Red Flag. Though Ogura was leading at the time, the results were taken at the end of lap 14 when Skinner was in front. Hence the 15-year-old Scot stood on top of the podium ahead of two 16-year-old Japanese with Kazuki Masaki having taken third.
“I had a good rhythm going and had in the back of my mind the thought that I would save the tyres a bit if I could but I didn’t really build a big enough advantage and the gap varied a bit, I made a couple of mistakes and I then knew that Ai was catching. I wasn’t worried because I knew I could go with him after he came past and do something on the last lap. In Rookies Cup you can’t really make a plan but if it had come down to the classic Jerez last corner that would have been OK, ” concluded Skinner who scored his first Rookies Cup victory to start his third season.
Races: April 23, 2017 – Moto3 11:00 | Moto2 12:20 | MotoGP 14:00 | Red Bull Rookies Cup 15:30 CET
Results Qualifying MotoGP Circuito de Jerez 2017
1. Dani Pedrosa (ESP), Honda, 1:38.249 min
2. Marc Marquez (ESP), Honda, +0.049 sec
3. Cal Crutchlow (GBR), Honda, +0.204
4. Maverick Vinales (ESP), Yamaha, +0.428
5. Andrea Iannone (ITA), Suzuki, +0.495
Other KTM
15. Pol Espargaro (ESP), KTM, +1.033
16. Bradley Smith (GBR), KTM, +1.072
Results Qualifying Moto2 Circuito de Jerez 2017
1. Alex Marquez (ESP), Kalex, 1:42.080 min
2. Franco Morbidelli (ITA), Kalex, +0.046 sec
3. Dominique Aegerter (SUI), Suter, +0.232
4. Miguel Oliveira (POR), KTM, +0.329
5. Mattia Pasini (ITA)), Kalex, +0.518
Other KTM
18. Ricard Cardus (ESP), KTM, +1.243
Results Qualifying Moto3 Circuito de Jerez 2017
1. Jorge Martin (ESP), Honda, 1:46.004 min
2. Aron Canet (ESP), Honda, +0.437 sec
3. Romano Fenati (ITA), Honda, +0.514
4. Nicolo Bulega (ITA), KTM, +0.651
5. Marcos Ramirez (ESP), KTM, +0.696
Other KTM
6. Niccolo Antonelli (ITA), KTM, +0.753
8. Andrea Migno (ITA), KTM, +0.831
10. Darryn Binder (RSA), KTM, +0.856
24. Bo Bendsneyder (NED), KTM, +1.497
Results/Standings Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup 2017 after 1 of 13 races
All riders on KTM RC250 RB bikes
1. Rory Skinner (GBR), 26:11.605 min, 25 points (14 laps)
2. Ai Ogura (JAP), +0.325 sec, 20
3. Kazuki Masaki (JAP), +2.991, 16
4. Filip Salac (CZE), +3.014, 13
5. Aleix Viu (ESP), +3.223, 11
More, from a press release issued by LCR Honda:
IMPRESSIVE CRUTCHLOW TO START FROM FRONT ROW IN JEREZ
LCR Honda rider Cal Crutchlow will have his sights set on another podium finish, or better, after securing a place on the front row for Sunday’s Spanish Grand Prix. The Briton has already featured on the podium in Argentina this term and will fancy his chances of another big result after qualifying in third place at Jerez on Saturday.
It proved another excellent day for Honda as the Japanese manufacturer locked out the front row for tomorrow’s race courtesy of Crutchlow, Marc Marquez and Dani Pedrosa – who will start from pole. The LCR Honda man was always amongst the pacesetters during the free practice sessions despite focusing much of his efforts on testing for Honda.
But Crutchlow then stepped up a level in qualifying as he finished just two tenths behind polesitter Pedrosa and that despite later revealing he had been stung repeatedly by a wasp that had managed to get inside his leathers.
Cal Crutchlow – 3rd
(1’38.453 – lap 6 of 9)
“It a was very good today. Obviously we’re pleased with the Honda lock out of the front row, it’s good for Honda and my team. We did a good job today, now we have to try and continue that tomorrow.
“It’s been a busy weekend for me, testing things for Honda, but we are trying our best – both me as a rider and the team. Now we have to look forward to the race tomorrow and see what we can improve tonight. Then we’ll see what we can do in the warm up and race.
“I didn’t really know what was happening, but it (the wasp) started to sting me many times on my arm so I had to stop! If it was a race, of course I wouldn’t stop, but in these conditions I had to stop immediately to try and get it out.”