News 19 Oct 2019

Marquez claims first-ever Motegi MotoGP pole position

Image: Supplied.

Defending champion Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) got the business done in Q2 at the Motul Grand Prix of Japan, setting a 1m45.763s to claim his first-ever MotoGP pole position at Motegi.

Behind the Spaniard is Petronas Yamaha SRT duo Franco Morbidelli and Fabio Quartararo, 0.181s splitting the leading trio.

The Saturday morning rain had cleared for qualifying and after a damp start to FP4 proceedings, the Twin Ring Motegi was dry for both Q1 and Q2. In the second part of qualifying, unsurprisingly it was Marquez who was straight in with the fast times.

On his first flying lap the number 93 edged out Jack Miller (Pramac Racing) by just over a tenth but on his next lap, Marquez propelled himself to over a second ahead of his rivals, with Quartararo getting within 0.8s after a couple of rapid laps.

Morbidelli and Miller then exchanged P2 in quick succession to reel Marquez back in, but the ruthless eight-time Champion then moved the goalposts further – 0.567s his advantage at this point before fresh Michelin rubber was put in.

The Yamahas of Quartararo and Maverick Vinales (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) were then looking fierce as the duo took turns in being Marquez’s closest competitor. They couldn’t get within two tenths of the Repsol Honda though, as another Honda rider then pushed himself onto the provisional second row.

That man was Q1 graduate Cal Crutchlow (LCR Honda Castrol), with Morbidelli then pouncing onto the front row. Red sectors then appeared for Crutchlow and Miller, but the two would both lose time in the latter half of the lap. Marquez was then matching his best time and sure enough, he found tenths in the final split to improve his time.

Quartararo was lacking just 0.090s on his final flying lap but couldn’t quite find enough time, the Frenchman slotting in behind teammate Morbidelli on the front row as the two Petronas machines shadow Marquez, the Italian claiming his equal-best MotoGP Q2 result.

No-one could beat Marquez today as he now boasts a premier class pole position at every circuit on the current calendar, another nice little record for the number 93. Fourth place for Vinales means there’s a triple M1 threat coming the way of the champion on Sunday afternoon.

Crutchlow produced a sterling job to stick his LCR Honda Castrol RC213V in the middle of the second row, that’s the Briton’s best qualifying result since being on the front row in America, with his good friend Miller lining up alongside him in P6 as the leading Ducati rider.

The two red factory Desmosedicis lineup seventh and eighth in Japan, Dovizioso leading teammate Petrucci from the third row, with Aprilia Racing Team Gresini’s Aleix Espargaro impressing again on the RS-GP to claim P9.

Both the Spaniard and Valentino Rossi (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) set the same time, as the two Team Suzuki Ecstar machines of Q1 graduate Alex Rins and Joan Mir complete the Q2 pecking order at the Japanese GP.

In Moto2, Luca Marini (SKY Racing Team VR46) secured his first pole position of the season in sensational fashion after going over a second faster than anyone else in Q2 at the Motul Grand Prix of Japan.

On a damp track, the Italian was untouchable as he heads to two FlexBox HP 40 machines of Augusto Fernandez and Lorenzo Baldassarri on the front row. Australian Remy Gardner (ONEXOX TKKR SAG Team) will start out of 10th position on the grid.

SIC58 Squadra Corse’s Niccolo Antonelli toughed it out at the Motul Grand Prix of Japan to claim a third pole position of the season in his first race back after suffering a broken wrist and collarbone at the San Marino Grand Prix. Even more impressive was the fact that the Italian had to fight it out of Q1 too.

Although the rain had stopped falling at the Twin Ring Motegi, conditions still required maximum focus and attention. So much so that the four riders who progressed through from Q1 used the experience gained in that session to great effect. Antonelli led Estrella Galicia 0,0’s Alonso Lopez and teammate Tatsuki Suzuki.

Detailed results

News 18 Oct 2019

Quartararo fastest on Friday as Japanese MotoGP opens

Image: Supplied.

After finishing behind fellow Yamaha rider in FP1, Fabio Quartararo (Petronas Yamaha SRT) ousted Maverick Vinales (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) in FP2 to lead the way on Friday at the Motul Grand Prix of Japan.

It was Quartararo who led the way on combined times with a 1m44.764s from Vinales, while world champion Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) completed the top three on the opening day of action.

Three Yamahas topped the billing in FP1 at the Twin Ring Motegi as both Friday sessions were seemingly vital, both in terms of gaining a top 10 position for automatic Q2 entry and setting up for Sunday’s race with wet weather on the way on Saturday.

Vinales’ overall time was untouched for large parts of the second session, with Danilo Petrucci (Ducati Team) and Marquez the only big improvers inside the top 10 with half of FP2 gone.

With 10 minutes to go though, the soft rear tyres were starting to be put in. Fast lap-times were needed with FP3 predicted to be very wet, so the final few minutes of FP2 became a mini qualifying session for the MotoGP riders.

Riders such as Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team) were threatening P1, but Vinales came out and moved the goalposts even further, over half a second was the Spaniard’s advantage before Franco Morbidelli (Petronas Yamaha SRT), Dovizioso and Marquez all cut that gap back down to 0.4s.

However, another Yamaha was on the prowl as rookie sensation Quartararo hadn’t taken long to get accustomed to the Twin Ring Motegi on board his YZR-M1 as the Frenchman fired in a stunning time to go over three tenths clear, before running into the gravel at turn one to prematurely end his session.

That was pretty much all she wrote though, apart from a late personal best time from Valentino Rossi (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) launching ‘The Doctor’ into P5.

The nine-time world champion sat outside the top 10 after FP1, so it was a solid afternoon for Rossi as his time meant all four Yamahas sit inside the top six heading into qualifying day at the Japanese GP, with third fastest Marquez and fourth placed Dovizioso splitting the quartet.

Dovizioso was eighth in FP1 as he now boasts top Ducati honours so far in Japan, the Italian jumping ahead of Jack Miller (Pramac Racing), who sits seventh overall, exactly where he finished on Friday morning. The Australian suffered a crash at turn nine in the latter stages of FP2, but is safely inside the top 10.

Having finished P13 in FP1, Petrucci jumped up the timing screens in FP2 to claim eighth ahead of rookie Joan Mir (Team Suzuki Ecstar). The Spaniard finished inside the top 10 in both sessions on Friday and sits ahead of his 11th-fastest teammate Alex Rins.

Aprilia Racing Team Gresini’s Aleix Espargaro completes the combined top 10, climbing one place from his P11 in FP1 as everyone bar Espargaro’s teammate Andrea Iannone and Mika Kallio (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) improved on their FP1 times in the afternoon.

Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM Tech 3) had a fast off at turn 12 in FP2, thankfully the Portuguese rider was able to walk away to continue the rest of the session, but he did venture to the medical centre for a check-up after his day had finished.

Moto2 World Championship leader Alex Marquez (EG 0,0 Marc VDS) found a late lap of 1m50.647s at the Motul Grand Prix of Japan to topple Red Bull KTM Ajo’s Brad Binder after the South African had set the pace for the majority of the day.

Marquez ended the opening day in Japan 0.181s clear of Binder, with the second of the Red Bull KTM Ajo riders, Jorge Martin, completing the top three, a quarter of a second adrift.

ONEXOX TKKR SAG Team’s Remy Gardner was a lowly 19th overall. The Australian crashed out, not once, but twice in a hectic FP2 session. First, the front-end folded on him at turn 11, before the front once again tucked moments later at turn five having come down pit-lane in between.

Top spot in Moto3 on Friday at the Motul Grand Prix of Japan went the way of Andrea Migno (Mugen Race) after the Italian posted a 1m56.742s with his final lap of the session. The Italian ended a tenth clear of Leopard Racing’s Marcos Ramirez and Petronas Sprinta Racing’s John McPhee.

Detailed results