Pole position for Pedrosa in Mugello thriller
On a day that provided three scintillating qualifying sessions at the ninth MotoGP™ round at the Gran Premio d’Italia TIM at Mugello under hot and sunny conditions, it was Repsol Honda Team’s Dani Pedrosa who put in a record-breaking lap to take pole position for tomorrow’s premier-class race ahead of Jorge Lorenzo and Héctor Barberá.
A new track record in the low 1.47s held off the charge of Yamaha Factory Racing’s Lorenzo, who had been setting the fastest lap until the final seconds, when a bike problem caused him to pit before completing the lap. He stated afterwards that he lost engine power in the last few turns, yet the team had not discovered the root of the problem. Completing the front row is Pramac Racing Team’s Héctor Barberá, who silenced some of his critics by recording his first-ever front row in the MotoGP class.
Row two is headed by another Desmosedici in the form of Ducati Team’s Nicky Hayden, who continues to have good outright pace on the softer option rear tyre. Lining up next to him is Repsol Honda’s Casey Stoner in fifth, who entered the pits a couple of times in the final part of the session as he struggled with chatter and set-up on his bike. Monster Yamaha Tech 3’s Cal Crutchlow occupies sixth, despite having crashed at turn 12 with 13 minutes left in the session.
His teammate Andrea Dovizioso leads the third row in seventh, and did well to avoid a near crash towards the end, as he was pushing for a faster time. LCR Honda MotoGP’s Stefan Bradl was able to improve on his weekend’s form by finishing in eighth. Lorenzo’s teammate Ben Spies will start from ninth, after suffering a crash in the same place as Crutchlow, after switching to the softer rear tyre.
Ducati’s Valentino Rossi completes the top ten, as he could not get his bike to work on a track he has won at nine times in his career. He sighted that his main problem was lack of front-end feel on corner entry. San Carlo Honda Gresini’s Álvaro Bautista qualified down in 11th after suffering his third crash of the weekend in the morning practice.
CRT top spot went to Power Electronics Aspar’s Aleix Espargaró in 12th, after he had shown the most consistent pace of the new bikes all weekend. NGM Mobile Forward Racing’s Colin Edwards, who had been evaluating a new Suter chassis today, qualified in 19th.
1 Dani Pedrosa 1’47.284 SPA HONDA Repsol Honda Team
2 Jorge Lorenzo 1’47.423 SPA YAMAHA Yamaha Factory Racing Team
3 Hector Barbera 1’47.545 SPA DUCATI Pramac Racing
4 Nicky Hayden 1’47.671 USA DUCATI Ducati Team
5 Casey Stoner 1’47.689 AUS HONDA Repsol Honda Team
6 Cal Crutchlow 1’47.749 GBR YAMAHA Monster Yamaha Tech 3
7 Andrea Dovizioso 1’47.751 ITA YAMAHA Monster Yamaha Tech 3
8 Stefan Bradl 1’47.857 GER HONDA LCR Honda MotoGP
9 Ben Spies 1’48.149 USA YAMAHA Yamaha Factory Racing Team
10 Valentino Rossi 1’48.502 ITA DUCATI Ducati Team
11 Alvaro Bautista 1’48.894 SPA HONDA San Carlo Honda Gresini
12 Aleix Espargaro 1’49.387 ESP ART Aspar Team MotoGP
13 Randy De Puniet 1’49.450 FRA ART Aspar Team MotoGP
14 Michelle Pirro 1’50.263 ITA HONDA San Carlo Honda Gresini
15 Yonny Hernandez 1’50.610 COL BQR-FTR BQR
16 James Ellison 1’50.812 GBR ART Paul Bird Racing
17 Mattia Pasini 1’50.953 ITA ART Speed Master
18 Ivan Silva 1’51.242 SPA BQR-FTR BQR
19 Colin Edwards 1’51.348 USA SUTER NGM Mobile Forward Racing
20 Danilo Petrucci 1’51.473 ITA IODA Ioda Racing Project
Pons 40 HP Tuenti’s Pol Espargaró recovered from a heavy crash in this morning’s Moto2™ practice to claim pole position for tomorrow’s race at the Gran Premio d’Italia TIM at Mugello ahead of Marc Márquez and Andrea Iannone in a tightly fought qualifying session.
Espargaró left it right until the end to post the fastest lap of 1.52’389, which moved Team CatalunyaCaixa Repsol’s Márquez into second, after the championship leader had lead up until the final minute. Despite JiR Moto2’s Johann Zarco setting the third fastest time of the session, he will start from 18th on the grid tomorrow, after being handed a 15 spot grid penalty by Race Direction. Zarco had been at fault for taking out Espargaró in the morning practice as he went into turn one too hot and slid into the Spaniard, which was subsequently ruled as riding in an irresponsible manner. His team did not lodge an appeal.
This moved Speed Master’s Andrea Iannone up into third, putting an Italian on the front row of the grid, much to the delight of the home fans. NGM Mobile Forward Racing’s Alex de Angelis put in yet another strong performance on his FTR machine to line up fourth, alongside Interwetten-Paddock’s Tom Lüthi in fifth. Lüthi had been the pace setter earlier in the day, yet could not repeat his feat in the afternoon. Tech 3 Racing’s Bradley Smith completes row two, despite crashing out on his final hot lap.
Marc VDS Racing Team’s Scott Redding qualified seventh, narrowly ousting Espargaró’s teammate Esteve Rabbat into eighth. Italtrans Racing Team’s Takaaki Nakagami rounds out row three, while Mapfre Aspar Team’s Nico Terol had a good session at the Italian circuit as he finished tenth.
There were numerous crashes throughout the session with Tech 3’s Xavier Siméon, Came IodaRacing Project’s Simone Corsi, Redding’s teammate Mika Kallio and Cresto Guide MZ Racing’s Mike Di Meglio, S/Master Speed Up’s Alessandro Andreozzi, SAG Team’s Marco Colandrea, Thai Honda PTT Gresini Moto2’s Ratthapark Wilairot, and Kiefer Racing’s Max Neukirchner all coming off their bikes. Neukirchner was the only rider to suffer an injury, hurting his right hand. His condition will be assessed before warm-up tomorrow morning.
It was Blusens Avintia’s Maverick Viñales who came out best in a hard-fought Moto3™ qualifying session at the Gran Premio d’Italia TIM to take pole position ahead of Sandro Cortese and Alex Rins.
Just as it had looked as if Red Bull KTM Ajo’s championship leader Cortese was going to take pole position, Viñales put in a stunning lap in the final seconds to set a best time of 1.57’980, which sees him start from the front tomorrow. Cortese was over four tenths down, yet still a further four tenths in front of Estrella Galicia 0,0’s Alex Rins, who completes the front row after his best session this weekend so far.
Heading up row two is JHK Laglisse’s Efrén Vázquez, who cleverly used a slip-steam to power into fourth, ousting Cortese’s teammate Danny Kent into fifth. Kent had been the main challenger to Viñales throughout the practice sessions, yet was not quite able to replicate that form in the afternoon. Completing the row in sixth is the highest Italian qualifier in the form of San Carlo Gresini Moto3’s Niccolò Antonelli. Antonelli, who had been one of the fastest riders this morning, will be hoping to get a good start tomorrow in front of his home crow.
AirAsia-SIC-Ajo’s Zulfahmi Khairuddin starts in seventh, ahead of Team Italia FMI’s other local favourite Romano Fenati. Fenati, who had also been fast in the morning session, will no doubt be slightly disappointed with qualifying, yet confident of a good race tomorrow. RW Racing GP’s Luis Salom and Mapfre Aspar Team Moto3’s Héctor Faubel complete the top ten.
Moto FGR’s Jasper Iwema crashed towards the end of the session injuring his right leg, whilst Andalucia JHK Laglisse’s Ivan Moreno suffered a heavy crash at the end of the session going into turn one. He was immediately taken to the Clinica Mobile to undergo checks. Both have been pronounced fit to race tomorrow.
— HRC Report
Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda RC213V) won an enthralling duel for pole position at sweltering Mugello this afternoon, beating title rival Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha) by a fraction of a second. Casey Stoner (Repsol Honda RC213V) had a more difficult time, ending the session fifth quickest.
The Pedrosa versus Lorenzo battle lit up the final stages of the hour-long outing, after Lorenzo had dominated the opening 50 minutes. Pedrosa then went ahead by less than two tenths, only for Lorenzo to counter-attack two minutes later and regain the advantage by a similar margin. With three minutes remaining Pedrosa once again moved in front by five hundredths, and then stretched the advantage to 0.139s. Lorenzo looked like he might have the speed to regain pole, until his machine suffered an electrical glitch during his final run.
The pair will be joined on the front row tomorrow by Hector Barbera (Ducati), who was delighted with his first premier-class front-row start. Barbera’s new-found speed helped make history: the first all-Spanish front row in the elite category.
Pedrosa – who earlier this week renewed his contract with Repsol Honda – is currently on fantastic form, having won last Sunday’s German Grand Prix to move to within 14 points of championship leader Lorenzo. It seems like the Spaniard’s title challenge has shifted into top gear, though he is fully aware that Lorenzo has a very strong race pace and will be difficult to beat tomorrow.
Stoner ended today in the middle of the second row, 0.405s off pole. Winner of three GPs so far this year, the Australian is having a few problems getting through Mugello’s sweeping corners and so far has been unable to match the pace of his two title rivals. Stoner has tomorrow morning’s warm-up session in which to try some more solutions as he works to close the gap on the front-runners.
Stefan Bradl (LCR Honda MotoGP RC213V) enjoyed another good qualifying session, the German MotoGP rookie holding third place with just 12 minutes to go. As the pace increased he slipped to eighth, 0.573s behind Pedrosa, but he is very confident of a good race, having increased his confidence in the front end, a vital asset for Mugello’s numerous high-speed corner entries.
Alvaro Bautista (San Carlo Honda Gresini) has made some good progress recently, but has had a torrid time here, sliding off on three occasions during the first three practice sessions. He ended qualifying in 11th position as he worked to regain some confidence around this challenging circuit.
Michele Pirro (San Carlo Honda Gresini FTR-Honda) was third fastest CRT rider in 14th position. He also fell this morning, but came back strongly this afternoon to close the gap on the two CRT men in front of him.
Pol Espargaro (Pons 40 HP Tuenti-Kalex) claimed a heroic Moto2 pole position, denying Marc Marquez (Team CatalunyaCaixa Repsol-Suter) of a third consecutive pole by just 0.069s. It was a remarkable performance from Espargaro who had a heavy fall in this morning’s practice session after he was taken out by Johann Zarco (JIR Moto2 – Motobi) at turn one.
Zarco was third fastest in qualifying, his best-ever in Moto2, but Race Direction relegated him to 18th on the grid for his part in the incident with Espargaro.
Local star Andrea Iannone (Speed Master – Speed Up) ended the session a mere 0.054s behind Zarco, which left him just off the front row. But due to Zarco’s punishment he will be promoted to third place for a front-row start tomorrow.
The lap times were typically very, very close in Moto2 with the fastest 20 riders separated by just 1.353s. The second row is led by Alex De Angelis (NGM Mobile Forward Racing – FTR) who will be looking to repeat his first 2012 podium that he achieved last Sunday. He will be joined on row two by Thomas Luthi (Interwetten-Paddock-Suter) and Bradley Smith (Tech 3 Racing – Tech 3). Scott Redding (Marc VDS Racing Team-Kalex) leads the third row.
Maverick Vinales (Blusens Avintia – FTR Honda) stormed to another brilliant Moto3 pole position, overcoming title rival Sandro Cortese (KTM) at the very last moment. The Spaniard timed his attack perfectly to better Cortese by an impressive margin of 0.421s. It was a welcome performance following his difficult ride in last weekend’s rain-lashed German GP in which he finished just outside the points, thus relinquishing the title lead to Cortese. This is Vinales’ fourth pole of the year.
Alex Rins (Estrella Galicia 0.0 – Suter Honda) made it two Spanish teenagers on the front row, the 16-year-old taking third place, 0.841s down on 17-year-old Vinales. It is Rins’ first front-row start since he took pole at the Spanish Grand Prix in April.
Row two was another two Hondas on the outside with a KTM in the middle: fourth fastest Efren Vazquez (JHK T-Shirt Laglisse – FTR Honda) just ahead of Cortese’s team-mate Danny Kent and 16-year-old Niccolo Antonelli (San Carlo Gresini – FTR Honda), riding in his first home Grand Prix.
Spanish GP winner Romano Fenati (Team Italian FMI – FTR- Honda) will start from the third row in what is also his first home GP.
Dani Pedrosa, Repsol Honda: pole position – 1m 47.284s
“We definitely made another step forward today and to get the pole position here is great, although to always be on the front row is what really matters to me. We had a good practice in the morning and managed the timing well in qualifying to be on track when everybody started to improve the lap times. It will be a very hard race for sure. It’s very hot out there and the race pace will be also very high looking at the lap times this afternoon. I’m quite happy with the set-up of my bike, we’ve had better grip today and I’m pretty confident, but we have to keep very focused and push at the maximum because Lorenzo has an incredible pace.”
Casey Stoner, Repsol Honda: 5th – 1m 47.689s
“This weekend we’re just missing something, especially in the longer corners. We just can’t get the bike to turn, we can’t stop the rear chatter in the exit and in the end we can’t put the lap together. We’re losing some tenths in each sector, if we get the bike sorted for one sector then everything should come together easily but it’s been a difficult weekend so far. We still have tomorrow morning to improve our set-up and sort out a few of our weaker points, if we do then we might be in with a chance. I’m not too worried about the second row. We’ll
hopefully get a good start, see what we can do and try to hang with the guys at the front, but honestly at the moment Jorge and Dani are on a different level.”
Stefan Bradl, LCR Honda MotoGP: 8th – 1m 47.857s
“We definitely improved the overall package compared to yesterday and both sessions were pretty good for us, especially qualifying. Yesterday we struggled too much and I was looking for more front confidence on this track which I like very much. This morning we took the first step forward and for qualifying I felt much more comfortable, going faster with less physical efforts. Actually we are strong on soft tyres and on race tyres too and I am really confident for tomorrow because we did a good job today.”
Alvaro Bautista, San Carlo Honda Gresini: 11th – 1m 48.894s
“Again it wasn’t an easy day today because I had another strange crash no sooner had I gone out this morning. We were still having problems with the brakes and we practically lost the entire
session. I came back in and this afternoon everything was working well. At that point I did as many laps as I could on used tyres to work on our race pace, which is decent, but I just didn’t
have the confidence still to push for a fast lap so I’ll have to make do with a fourth row start. We’ll try to get a good start tomorrow and try to finish off a difficult weekend in a positive way.”
Michel Pirro, San Carlo Honda Gresini: 14th – 1m 50.263s
“It was a shame that we had another crash this morning on the final lap, which caused quite a bit of damage to our number one bike. With so little time available we preferred to use the
other bike for qualifying and even though I didn’t have the same feeling I was able to reduce the gap to the Aprilias. They are still too far ahead for our liking, but the guys will have a
close look at the data tonight and no doubt give me a good bike for the race tomorrow. Once again they have done an amazing job and skipped lunch to make sure I had two bikes available. I want to give them and the sponsors a result to be proud of tomorrow.”
Moto2 rider quotes: Pol Espargaro, Pons 40 HP Tuenti-Kalex: pole
position, 1m 52.369s “It’s been a difficult day. After the crash this morning I was a little confused and angry, but the team and I kept our focus and carried on working to find a good set-up for the race. I’m happy because I have an incredible team now – they work so hard to give me the best bike.”
Marc Marquez, Team CatalunyaCaixa Repsol-Suter: 2nd, 1m 52.438s
“I am feeling quite confident about the race, even though we haven’t yet found the perfect settings for this track. The first part of the session went well for us, but later on it was very, very difficult to find a clear track, because there were so many riders waiting for a tow. Tomorrow morning we will try some more adjustments to be bike, trying to make the bike so I can ride a fast pace more comfortably.”
Johann Zarco, JIR Moto2 – Motobi: 3rd, 1m 52.781s
“I think maybe I was a little lucky at the end of qualifying because I got a very good lap during which I could fully focus on following the correct lines. This is my first year in Moto2, so I am still learning the best lines and learning how to use the bike in the best possible way. This morning I was behind Pol when he overtook two riders into turn one. I also overtook those two riders, so I went into the corner so fast. I tried to brake but finally I made contact with Pol and then I was a bit worried that he had really hurt his foot. I have been given a penalty for this and I accept it. I was very happy to see Pol go so fast in qualifying because it showed he is in good physical shape. I have to be clever in the race because I don’t feel so easy on the bike.”
— Yamaha Report
Yamaha Factory Racing rider Jorge Lorenzo was denied pole position by a technical issue in this afternoon’s qualifying for the Grand Prix of Italy tomorrow at the Mugello circuit. Lorenzo has so far dominated in all sessions and had been looking to complete the set with pole position until a technical issue caused a loss of power on the last corner of the last flying lap. As a result he will start tomorrow’s race from second position on the grid having qualified just 0.139 seconds behind pole man Dani Pedrosa.
Team mate Ben Spies endured a frustrating qualifying session this afternoon. Having found a set up to deliver competitive pace on the hard tyres the Texan crashed mid session and was forced to switch to his second bike. A vibration in the brakes on the second machine left him unable to challenge the front guys, leaving him in ninth position on the third row for tomorrow’s race with a best lap 0.865 seconds off pole.
Jorge Lorenzo / Position 2nd – Time: 1.47.423 – Laps 24
“In the lap before the last I felt a loss of power in some corners. On the final lap I was red until the last corner then I felt the power drop much more so I had to enter the pits and stop. I made some good laps, although not completely perfect and I felt I could make a better one. It’s going to be a very tough race for everyone so we have to stay calm and save some energy for the end.”
Ben Spies / Position 9th – Time: 1’48.149 – Laps 23
“During the qualifying we changed to the soft tyre and tried a different rear shock at the same time, I’m not sure if that was the problem but I lost the front and we crashed. When we got to the back up bike we still had plenty of time but something got picked up on the brake rotor, dirt or rubber or something and the brakes were vibrating horribly so I couldn’t brake as late as I needed to. We did the best we could and the bike is working really well so I think we could have dipped into the 47s on the soft tyres.”
Wilco Zeelenberg – Yamaha Factory Racing Team Manager
“A very good qualifying session, we had great pace again. The track was a lot hotter than the morning and Jorge was the only one able to do 47s on the race tyre. Unfortunately when we came to the time attack we had an electrical problem; that meant we couldn’t complete the hot lap. We are front row and we’ve solved the issue so it won’t happen again.”
Massimo Meregalli – Yamaha Factory Racing Team Director
“Qualifying started pretty well, but unfortunately didn’t finish the same way. A crash compromised the final results, and then we couldn’t improve on the best lap time Ben could do on the hardest time due to some vibration on the second bike. We have to be positive because the bike set up is working well and I am optimistic for good results. Jorge was impressive again, unfortunately he wasn’t able to complete the last hot lap but his pace is pretty clear.”
Crutchlow and Dovizioso hunt Mugello podium
Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team riders Cal Crutchlow and Andrea Dovizioso will start tomorrow’s Gran Premio d’Italia TIM confident they can battle for a podium after impressive qualifying performances in scorching hot conditions at the Mugello track today.
Crutchlow will start the 23-lap race from inside the top six for the eighth time in nine races in 2012 after he bounced back brilliantly from a late crash to set a best time of 1.47.749.
The British rider had shown his superb speed earlier in the session when he powered his Monster Yamaha Tech 3 machine into the top two. Confident he could significantly improve on his 1.48.107 he was pushing hard on Bridgestone’s soft compound rear tyre when he crashed unhurt at Turn 12 with just over 12 minutes left on the clock.
The 26-year-old dashed back to the pits and proving the tumble hadn’t knocked him out of his fast and consistent rhythm, Crutchlow produced a superb last lap of 1.47.749 to secure sixth place on the grid. He was just over 0.2s away from the top three and is confident he will be battling for a maiden podium.
Dovizioso was only 0.002s slower than Crutchlow and he will need another aggressive start to the race after qualifying on the third row for the fourth successive race.
In each of those races though Dovizioso has fought for the podium and is optimistic he will be in the hunt for a third successive rostrum in front of his passionate home support tomorrow.
Dovizioso was unable to demonstrate his true potential after being prevented from getting the maximum performance out of his soft rear Bridgestone rubber in the decisive final minutes. The Italian encountered a minor rear brake issue and then came upon a slower rider as he tried to improve his pace of 1.47.751.
He then produced a phenomenal recovery from a big front-end slide and he will start in seventh place but the former 125cc World Champion is confident he can launch a serious challenge for the rostrum.
Cal Crutchlow / Position 6th – Time: 1’47.749 – Laps 22
“I’m a little bit disappointed because I made a silly mistake pushing too hard too soon on a brand new front tyre. Maybe it hadn’t reached optimum working temperature but it was a stupid mistake and it cost me at least the front row. I’m confident I could have battled for pole but I only had one new front tyre for qualifying and I crashed on it immediately. The small technical problem yesterday meant I couldn’t get the bike back to the pits, so I had go out on the spare machine on completely new rubber. After the crash today all I had was an old front tyre and I did my fastest lap with 27-laps on it. I just couldn’t push at all on the front and it definitely cost me the front row. I used the new rear tyre as best as I could but I’m sure I could have fought for pole. I’m looking forward to the race and will be aiming for the top five. Looking at Lorenzo’s pace it will be hard to fight with him but I’m definitely looking at scoring some good points for the Championship.”
Andrea Dovizioso / Position 7th – Time: 1’47.751 – Laps 25
“I am quite happy because my race pace is fast and consistent and we have done a good job in that area again this weekend. Each session I have improved my feeling with the bike but I feel we still have some margin with the front of the bike because I feel quite at the limit. Right at the end of the session I nearly crashed so we need to try and improve the bike to help the lap time come easier. The start will be very important as once again I have to start from the third row of the grid. But in the last few races when that has been the case I have fought for the podium, so I am not hugely worried. I think I can be lapping in the low 48s tomorrow but in the heat it will be a tough race. Lorenzo seems to be a bit faster than the rest of us but I am sure I can fight with the others and I would love to give the Italian fans another podium.”
— Ducati Report
Nicky Hayden posted the fourth-best lap time in qualifying for the Italian Grand Prix at Mugello. The American made two clean attempts for fast laps near the end of the session, and in both cases he was well into the 1 minute, 48 second range, finishing just over one tenth of a second off the front row and less than four tenths from pole.
Valentino Rossi, meanwhile, wasn’t able to take advantage of the soft tyre, and his time, which was good for tenth on the grid, came when he was on the hard tyre.
Nicky Hayden (Ducati Team) 4th (1:47.671)
“That was exciting. I don’t think anyone left anything on the table today, which is the way that qualifying should be. My goal was to be in the 47s and in the top five, and we accomplished that, which is good. On the other hand, to be so close to the front row here at Mugello makes me wish for just that little bit more. Still, fourth on the grid isn’t a bad starting spot here at Mugello. We picked up a couple of things today, and we’ve steadily made the bike a bit better. Compared to yesterday, I was quite a bit quicker with the hard tyre this afternoon. It’s going to be an extremely hard race, because at these temperatures, tyre wear could be difficult. Anyway, I’m really looking forward to the race tomorrow. Hopefully I can do a good result that this team, these fans and I can all be proud of. I’m expecting a wild one tomorrow.”
Valentino Rossi (Ducati Team) 10th (1:48.502)
“It didn’t go very well, which is a shame. The biggest problem was that I didn’t improve at all with the soft tyre, while the others lowered their times a lot. It’s too bad because we’re not so far off with the hard tyre. With the soft, I had a lot of chatter, to the point that I couldn’t take advantage of it. Anyway, the hard tyre is what will be used in the race, so we could go a little better. Of course I’ll have to start tenth, from the fourth row, so I’ll have to make some passes. We’re pretty fast in the first part of the track, but we lose a lot in T4. We’ll see what we can do.”
— Bridgestone Report
Bridgestone slick compounds available: Front: Soft, Medium, Hard. Rear: Medium, Hard* (Asymmetric)
Bridgestone wet tyre compounds available: Hard (Main), Soft (Alternative)
* The hard compound rear slick tyre is available in both regular and special constructions at Mugello this weekend.
Weather: Dry. Ambient 30-31°C; Track 49-50°C (Bridgestone measurement)
Repsol Honda’s Dani Pedrosa produced a spectacular final lap in qualifying at Mugello today to set a new circuit record of 1:47.284 and claim his second pole position of the season.
Qualifying for the Italian Grand Prix was extremely close, with the top-five qualifiers covered by just four-tenths of a second and three riders, Pedrosa, Factory Yamaha Racing’s Jorge Lorenzo and Pramac Racing’s Hector Barbera setting times quicker than the new circuit record that Lorenzo set this morning during FP3. In a day that was dominated by Spanish riders, another Spaniard, Power Electronic Aspar’s Aleix Espargaro was the top CRT qualifier and will start twelfth on the grid for tomorrow’s race.
Track conditions for both of today’s sessions were dry, with the morning cloud cover keeping track temperatures down in the mid-30°C mark for FP3, before the skies cleared for qualifying to send track temperatures soaring to 50°C. For most teams, the first half of qualifying was used to fine-tune a race setup on the harder rear slick before the softer rear slicks were brought out with approximately twenty minutes left as the focus switched to setting quick lap times in the fight for grid positions. All riders set their fastest qualifying time using a combination of the harder front and softer rear slicks and overall the pace in qualifying was considerably quicker than last year, with the top eight riders lapping faster than last year’s pole position time.
The MotoGP™ riders will be back on track for Morning Warm Up tomorrow at 0940 local time (GMT +2) while the twenty-one lap race gets underway at 1400.
Shinji Aoki – Manager, Bridgestone Motorsport Tyre Development Department
“Track conditions today were good with track temperatures reaching a top of 50°C in qualifying and the extra rubber laid down during today’s sessions helping to improve grip levels. Tyre performance throughout the day was positive with very consistent lap times recorded during longer runs on the harder rear slicks, while the extra edge grip of the softer rear slick enabled riders to set incredibly quick times in qualifying, with a new circuit best lap time almost eight-tenths quicker than the previous mark being set.
“We analysed the rear tyres from the race simulations undertaken by riders from the factory and satellite teams yesterday and today, and are happy to report they completed their long runs on the standard construction harder rear slick without any problems. Almost all the riders on works bikes were able to test the special construction rear slick today and once again the feedback on this option was promising, with some riders now considering to use it for the race if track temperatures tomorrow are similar or warmer than they were in qualifying. Also, it seems that based on today’s sessions some CRT riders may also opt for the standard construction harder rear slick tomorrow to ensure more consistent grip throughout the race.”
