Gran Premi Monster Energy De Catalunya
FIM MotoGP World Championship
Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, Spain
June 10, 2017
Qualifying Results (all on Michelin tires):
From Qualifying Session Two:
1. Dani PEDROSA, Spain (HONDA), 1:43.870
2. Jorge LORENZO, Spain (DUCATI), 1:44.201
3. Danilo PETRUCCI, Italy (DUCATI), 1:44.220
4. Marc MARQUEZ, Spain (HONDA), 1:44.320, crashed twice
5. Aleix ESPARGARO, Spain (APRILIA), 1:44.348
6. Hector BARBERA, Spain (DUCATI), 1:44.381
7. Andrea DOVIZIOSO, Italy (DUCATI), 1:44.451
8. Jonas FOLGER, Germany (YAMAHA), 1:44.600
9. Maverick VIÑALES, Spain (YAMAHA), 1:44.620
10. Alvaro BAUTISTA, Spain (DUCATI), 1:44.740
11. Scott REDDING, UK (DUCATI), 1:44.852
12. Andrea IANNONE, Italy (SUZUKI), 1:44.928
From Qualifying Session One:
13. Valentino ROSSI, Italy (YAMAHA), 1:44.661
14. Johann ZARCO, France (YAMAHA), 1:44.681
15. Jack MILLER, Australia (HONDA), 1:44.829
16. Loris BAZ, France (DUCATI), 1:44.919
17. Cal CRUTCHLOW, UK (HONDA), 1:45.162, crash
18. Karel ABRAHAM, Czech Republic (DUCATI), 1:45.641
19. Tito RABAT, Spain (HONDA), 1:45.741
20. Pol ESPARGARO, Spain (KTM), 1:45.887
21. Sam LOWES, UK (APRILIA), 1:48.803
22. Bradley SMITH, UK (KTM), no time recorded
23. Sylvain GUINTOLI, France (SUZUKI), no time recorded
More, from a press release issued by Team Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS:
Miller primed for hot and fast race in Barcelona
In heat wave conditions Team Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS Jack Miller qualified fifteenth for Sunday’s seventh round of the MotoGP World Championship in Barcelona.
A repeat of the energy sapping weather and scorching hot track temperatures, which topped 50 degrees for qualifying, are forecast for the 25-lap race.
This will place a premium on tyre endurance and much of Miller’s work with his crew today focussed on race set-up on his Honda RC213V, especially to boost front-end feel.
Miller set a platform for a strong race with the tenth fastest time in race trim during the FP4 session in advance of qualifying. Miller’s qualifying lap of 1’44.829 was almost 1.5s faster than his FP4 time as he focussed on maximising the potential of the new Michelin front tyre.
Tito Rabat is focussing on continuing his recent string of strong races despite being disappointed with his performance to qualify 19th on the grid. Rabat finished 11th in both the Italian and French Grands Prix.
For qualifying and tomorrow’s race the final chicane at the 4.655km Barcelona Circuit has been changed back to the layout used for Formula One, after safety concerns were raised by riders with the revised chicane used for Friday practice.
Jack Miller: 15th – 1’44.829
“I feel better on the bike than I did in Mugello last weekend and I’m getting to grips with this new front tyre and making progress in every session to adapt the set-up. It is not an ideal situation because I missed the test here a couple weeks ago. I would rather be further up the grid but there are positives with my race pace and the key will be managing the tyre life, the performance drops quite a lot after just a few laps in these hot conditions.”
Tito Rabat: 19th – 1’45.741
“I am very disappointed with my qualifying result, I tried so much to be faster but it was impossible. I felt comfortable on the bike but I made a mistake to wait for a rider to go for a faster time so, I didn’t achieve my full potential. Now I will now focus on the race and try to score points as I have in the past two races.”
Michael Bartholemy: Team Principal
“Similar to Mugello last weekend we are struggling to find the ideal set-up for Jack at this track in the hot conditions, but things improved with his front feeling in qualifying and FP4 this afternoon. This is important for the race distance tomorrow. With Tito we know if he has someone to follow it is easier for him but he was alone for his second qualifying run. I am confident that Jack can fight for the top ten and Tito can score points in the race.”
More, from a press release issued by Monster Yamaha Tech 3:
Rapid Folger qualifies as top Yamaha in Catalunya – Focused Zarco ready for tomorrow
Jonas Folger delivered a strong qualifying performance today at the Gran Premi Monster Energy de Catalunya and will begin the race from the third row of the grid. The young German just missed out on Q2 by only 0.023 in FP3, yet he thoroughly impressed in the ultra-competitive Qualifying 1 session by storming to a superb lap time that saw him top the Q1 standings. Then, in the second shootout, Folger quickly laid down his pace and eventually finished 0.380 back from the front row and now he confidently looks on to tomorrow.
Whilst Johann Zarco will launch forward from 14th after a determined performance in the nail-biting Q1 shootout. The fast French rider waited until the last part of the practice before taking to the track and charging forward. Eventually, his best time was just 0.060 back from second and as a result, he will begin his quest to seal a strong finish tomorrow from the 5th row.
Jonas FOLGER
Position: 8th – Time: 1’44.600 – Laps: 5
“I am really happy with what we achieved today and I am fully confident for the race. Q1 went very well and I was almost slightly surprised by my lap time! I tried to do the same thing in Q2 but it was harder because maybe I pushed too much and so I started to experience some issues. In addition, I was a bit tired after the first qualifying, which made it more difficult. However, I am pleased because we have been strong throughout the weekend so far and we have good balance. I feel positive about the track and the YZR-M1 so I am sure that we can have a really solid day tomorrow.”
Johann ZARCO
Position: 14th – Time: 1’44.681 – Laps: 4
“Today was tricky but I am certain that we can close the weekend positively tomorrow. This morning, I was not able to ride as quickly as I wanted and needed to, and we experienced the same issue that we did on the first day. Then, I had quite a fast crash so I had to use FP4 to get my confidence back up. We kept working on the bike, but this weekend the feeling has been difficult to find and I was not able to feel super strong. However, the qualifying went well because I used only one set of tyres, and I didn’t want to spend a lot of energy in case I made it into Q2. I was competitive and I just missed out on the second qualifying, but it was really competitive in Q1. I will start from 14th, but this is not the end of the world. We need to remain calm in order to have a positive race. I think that some of the other riders will struggle, so being strong and focused will make the difference.”
More, from a press release issued by Pull&Bear Aspar Team:
Another top ten start for Álvaro Bautista
Pull&Bear Aspar rider makes Q2 for second successive Grand Prix and will start tenth, with teammate Karel Abraham in eighteenth
MotoGP qualifying at the Grand Prix of Catalunya ended with Dani Pedrosa on pole for the second time this season. The Catalan rider is clearly enjoying riding at home; his previous pole in 2017 coming at Jerez, where he went on to win. Alongside him for the first time on the front row this season will be Ducati rider Jorge Lorenzo, who will start second after lapping three tenths shy of Pedrosa today. The in-form Italian Danilo Petrucci, who was on the podium in Italy, will start from the front row in Barcelona after qualifying third. Marc Márquez will start fourth, with Aleix Espargaró fifth and two of the main candidates for the title, Maverick Viñales and Valentino Rossi, back on the third and fifth row respectively.
Álvaro Bautista will start from tenth position on the grid after having achieved direct access to Q2. The Pull&Bear Aspar rider crashed just before the end of fourth free practice and damaged the bike he was planning to use for qualifying. As such he went into Q2 with his other bike and could not quite reach his maximum. Despite this, he finished just eight tenths off pole and with good feelings for the race tomorrow. His teammate Karel Abraham will start from the sixth row of the grid and is satisfied with the work completed throughout the day today. The Czech rider struggled in a recent test here and has been keen to highlight the steps forward taken this weekend together with his technical team.
10th Álvaro Bautista 1:44.740: “Nobody likes going into qualifying on the back of a crash. I was running worn tyres to check the pace we would have tomorrow in the race. I was setting some consistent laps and trying out some traction control and power delivery settings. I crashed and it was impossible to use that bike for qualifying. I did not feel the same with the other, and I could see that I could not take it to the limit. Anyway, I’m confident for the race. It will be difficult to manage tyre consumption but my feeling is good. It will be a hard race and if we stay consistent to the finish it will be positive. My first goal is to finish, as I said in Italy, and if I have the same feeling as there then we can get a good result. The track is very critical and if you push more than necessary, you are taking a gamble.”
18th Karel Abraham 1:45.641: “I can’t be disappointed or angry with qualifying because I think we did a good job. Of course, we wanted to make a better lap time and it’s ironic that I am faster through the first three sectors than another rider who has done a 44.9, which would be a dream time for me. I’m struggling in the final sector so if we can get this right we will be in a much better position. There have been a lot of crashes this weekend and I can also feel the tyre performance dropping after a couple of laps so we have to make sure we don’t push too hard tomorrow because there is a high risk of making mistakes.”
More, from a press release issued by Aprilia Gresini:
ALEIX ESPARGARÓ TAKES APRILIA TO THE SECOND ROW WITH THE FIFTH BEST TIME
GREAT PERFORMANCE BY THE SPANISH RIDER, ALSO FAST IN TERMS OF RACE PACE
On the second day of practice in Barcelona, Aprilia has confirmed the RS-GP’s continuous trend of improving performance. It has been an extremely positive weekend thus far, culminating in the qualifiers today where Aleix Espargaró earned a spot on the second row of the starting grid with the fifth best time. The Spanish rider had already shone in FP3, finishing fourth, and in FP4 he took sixth place in race configuration. The Spaniard’s result is the best in qualifying for Aprilia since their return to MotoGP.
The confidence in the Aprilia Racing Team Gresini garage stems first and foremost from the good feedback gathered in view of the race. The Catalan track has little grip and the high asphalt temperatures will condition management of the 25 laps scheduled for tomorrow. In this area, Aleix and his team worked well, demonstrating an encouraging pace that makes him a candidate to be one of the key players in the Spanish race.
It was an unlucky day for Sam Lowes, hindered by some technical issues that conditioned FP3 and qualifying for him. The English rookie will have to settle for the seventh row, despite the good consistency he demonstrated with used tyres.
ALEIX ESPARGARO’
“I am happy, especially with the feeling I have on the bike for the race. Qualifying was very tight. I had expected something more with the soft tyre, but on both flying laps I lost a few tenths in the first sector. In any case, fifth place is fantastic. It will definitely make life easier in the race. I have a good pace and on this track with such little grip, anything could happen. I am motivated and positive. I am expecting a good Sunday.”
SAM LOWES
“It’s a pity. We really had a lot of problems today. It is disappointing because yesterday was my best day in MotoGP, whereas today I wasn’t able to go out in FP3 and in the qualifiers because of some technical problems. Right now I need to stay on the track as much as possible. I am making progress and to be honest, in terms of race pace the situation is quite good.”
More, from a press release issued by Ducati Corse:
Jorge Lorenzo on front row for the Catalan GP after qualifying second at the Montmelò circuit. Andrea Dovizioso, seventh, will start from row 3
Jorge Lorenzo put in a superb performance in qualifying to conquer the front row of the grid for the Catalan GP with second-fastest time he recorded today at the Montmeló circuit. This morning the Spanish rider had been sixth fastest in the FP3 session, the only one decisive for direct access into Q2 because of the modifications made to the last chicane after yesterday’s practice. Lorenzo lapped in 1’44.201 on his first run in Q2 and tomorrow will share the front row with poleman Dani Pedrosa and with a competitive Danilo Petrucci, who was third on a 2017 Pramac Racing Team Desmosedici GP.
Seventh quickest time and a row 3 slot went to Andrea Dovizioso, who set a time of 1’44.451 on his second run in Q2. The Italian rider had also guaranteed his place in the second qualifying session thanks to fifth-quickest time this morning in FP3.
The race, over 25 laps (116.375 km), is scheduled to get underway tomorrow at 14.00 CET.
Jorge Lorenzo (Ducati Team #99) – 1’44.201 (2nd)
“Today finally we were able to do a really good qualifying session and for the first time I start from the front row on a Ducati. Montmeló is a circuit that I like a lot, and above all it allows me to express myself to the maximum over one lap. In this afternoon’s free practice session we improved the bike a lot and we were able to make it more stable and keep up quite a fast pace. For tomorrow it will be very important to have good grip with the rear tyre in the last part of the race. I’m happy with today’s result and tomorrow morning in the warm-up we’ll try and make some final modifications to put us in a position to fight for a good result in the race.”
Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team #04) – 1’44.451 (7th)
“Today was an intense and demanding day, but in the end I’m pleased with the way we worked because we were able to improve my feeling and it was very difficult because of the very low grip. There are a lot of holes on the track, and many riders crashed today, and so it wasn’t easy at all. We have a good race pace even though we weren’t able to demonstrate it with our times, because in FP4 we decided to lap with a used medium rear tyre, unlike our adversaries, and now only the race can tell us what our real position is. In qualifying I didn’t have a perfect feeling with the soft tyres but despite this I set a good time. I think that if we get a good start we can have a say in the outcome of the race tomorrow.”
More, from a press release issued by Octo Pramac Racing:
Gran Premi de Catalunya – Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya – Qualifying
Fantastic front-row start for Petrux in qualifying for CatalanGP. Scott 11th with great confidence on the race pace
An extraordinary day for Octo Pramac Racing. Just six days after the fantastic podium at Mugello, Danilo Petrucci returns to celebrate at the parc fermeè of the Grand Prix de Catalunya after winning his first career front-row start. Very positive news also from Scott Redding who will start 11th.
Following the great result on Friday’s free practices (5th place) Petrux repeats on Saturday’s qualifying, first winning the direct qualification to Q2 then lapping with a very good race pace in the FP4 finished 1 tenth of a second from the third lap-time of Marc Marquez. In the second run of the Q2 Petrux makes another masterpiece pushing hard while lapping alone. His P3 is celebrated in the garage of Octo Pramac Racing and by his team at the park fermeè.
Scott Redding just missed a bit of luck on his second time attack to gain at least the third row. The English rider finished with the time of 1’44,852, two-tenths of a second from the ninth position of Maverick Vinales. Extremely positive indications come also from the FP4 that Scott ended up in eighth place, 141 milliseconds behind the second time of Andrea Iannone.
3th – Danilo Petrucci – 1’44.220
“It was a very good qualifying, perhaps even unexpected because the asphalt is not in good conditions as it is very slippery. Since yesterday we have been very fast with soft tires. We will have to improve tomorrow on race distance. The second half of the race will really be very difficult. We will start from a better position than Mugello so I hope to manage to save the rubber at the beginning. I want to make a good start to try to stand in front. I’d like to end up in the top five”.
11th – Scott Redding – 1’44.852
“All thing considered I’m happy about how things went in the weekend so far. To be honest I expected something more from qualifying but I was not lucky, especially when I was doing a very good crono behind Marquez but he did crash. I had the potential to do third row but still am satisfied. We did out best and the race pace is good. Tomorrow will be a very difficult race but I am very confident”.
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More, from a press release issued by Movistar Yamaha:
MOVISTAR YAMAHA SEARCH FOR GRIP IN CATALAN QUALIFYING
Movistar Yamaha MotoGP’s Maverick Viñales will be starting tomorrow‘s Gran Premi Monster Energy de Catalunya from ninth place on the grid after battling his way through Q1 to enter Q2. Teammate Valentino Rossi lines up in 13th for the seventh round of the MotoGP season held at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.
Montmeló (Spain), 10th June 2017
Movistar Yamaha MotoGP’s Maverick Viñales fought hard today in the first qualifying session at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya to secure a place in the top2 and gain promotion to the top12 shoot out for pole position. He finished in ninth place in the final qualifying results. Teammate Valentino Rossi came just short to proceed to Q2 and will start tomorrow’s Gran Premi Monster Energy de Catalunya from 13th on the grid.
The track was returned to the 2016 Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya race layout, so only the FP3 results would determine which riders would secure a place in Q2. As the Factory Yamaha teammates finished outside the top10 in the morning free practice session, they had to take part in Q1.
Viñales had a relatively easy pass through Q1 to promote to Q2. He was out of the box early, ahead of the field, and immediately moved up to second on his first flying lap. He returned to the box with six and a half minutes remaining.
When the Spaniard resumed his attack, he was still sitting in second position and set a 1’44.934s, improving his time if not his place, but the lap was fast enough for him to hold onto a place in Q2 until the end of the session.
The home rider didn’t waste a minute at the start of the second session to get a flying lap in and shortly held second place, before being pushed back to fourth as the riders behind him crossed the line. Unable to better his time on the next two tries, he rode into pit lane with less than seven minutes to go.
A minute later, Vinales headed back out on track for another go. He found himself in eighth place, but was ready to fight back with a personal best lap, taking fifth. Two minutes then remained to advance his position, but he had to settle for ninth, on the third row on the grid, with a best time of 1’44.620s.
In Q1, Rossi waited for the first group of riders to get out on track before he left pit lane and took fifth place on his second flying lap. He quickly returned to the pits with less than six minutes on the clock for a tyre swap.
The Italian was eager to improve on his second stint, though he had only four minutes left to put in two more laps. He was pushed back to seventh as the pace quickened, but soon moved up to fourth on his next attempt. He had time for one more go and was looking threatening, only to miss out on an entry into Q2 when he bettered his placement in the rankings to third with a 1’44.661s. He will start tomorrow’s race from the fifth row on the grid.
MASSIMO MEREGALLI
TEAM DIRECTOR
We tried different settings and various tyre options with both Maverick’s and Valentino’s bike during FP3 and FP4, but none of the options gave us the expected improvement. With this in mind, Maverick‘s achievement of coming through Q1 shows how hard he‘s pushing. Valentino put in a couple of strong laps towards the end of the first qualifying session, but unfortunately he just missed out on Q2 by 0.040s and will be starting from 13th place. We still have a lot of work to do for tomorrow, we will be working hard this evening to come up with solutions that we can test in the warm up, which will be crucial to prepare for the race.
MAVERICK VIÑALES
Compared to yesterday we improved the bike a little bit, but for us the problem isn‘t the bike, but rather a combination of factors. I‘ve tried many set-ups today and nothing was working, not even our basic set-up. I was just going to try to do my best and that‘s what I did. I aim to make a good start tomorrow and then I will try my best again.
VALENTINO ROSSI
We had some good ideas for today, so I expected to be more competitive, but it‘s a little bit like the situation in Jerez, with a lack of grip we suffer a lot with the tyres and the qualifying was bad. I was also unlucky I lost the entry into Q2 by just one position, so for sure it‘s difficult because the pace is not fantastic. It will be a hard race for everybody because the tyres seem to struggle to produce grip, especially in the hot conditions it will be hard, but we will try something else tomorrow morning and we‘ll see.
More, from a press release issued by LCR Honda:
FRUSTRATING DAY FOR CRUTCHLOW IN CATALONIA
LCR Honda rider Cal Crutchlow endured another frustrating day at the Catalan Grand Prix on Saturday as he qualified on the sixth row for Sunday’s race at the Circuit de Barcelona. The Briton experienced more difficulties with his Honda RC213V throughout the day and now faces a tall order to come away from the seventh round of the MotoGP World Championship in Spain with a positive result.
Crutchlow went 12th fastest in this morning’s FP3, but that would be as good as things got on a baking hot day in Barcelona. A fall at the end of the first qualifying session ended his hopes of advancing to Q2 as he lost the front end of his bike, leaving him down in 17th position on the grid. However, it was a similar story for other Honda riders with three-time world champion Marc Marquez crashing no fewer than four times on Saturday.
Marquez’s factory Honda Team-mate Dani Pedrosa qualified on pole for Sunday’s race, with Jorge Lorenzo and Danilo Petrucci completing the front row.
Cal Crutchlow – 17th
(1’45.162 – lap 2 of 7)
“It’s been a difficult weekend so far, there’s no doubt about that, to be 17th on the grid is not ideal. Funnily enough, I’m actually quite happy, the qualifying position doesn’t reflect where we are at all. I had an issue in qualifying on the first run, so I came in to change the tyre and go out on a second run and then I had no brake on the first lap and crashed on the second”
“I wasn’t the only guy to crash today, we’ve had eight Honda crashes on the left-hand side so there’s not a lot to say. We just have to try and manage the situation and get out of here with a positive result. The only (Honda) guy that seems to be able to manage the tyre is Dani (Pedrosa) because he is a lot lighter than me and Marc (Marquez). Our bike seems good over race distance though, so we just have to look forward to that tomorrow.”
More, from a press release issued by Team Suzuki ECSTAR:
FOURTH ROW FOR IANNONE IN CATALUNYA QUALIFYING
Andrea Iannone: 12th – 1’44.928 / +1.058
Sylvain Guintoli: 22nd – 1’45.912 / FP3
Qualifying day at the Catalan GP circuit did not go as well as was expected by Team SUZUKI ECSTAR. Andrea Iannone struggled to fully take advantage of the Q2 session and ended in 12th place, while his teammate Sylvain Guintoli was not able to take part in the Q1 due to health problems.
Today’s practice sessions took place with a different layout to the circuit compared to yesterday. The Safety Commission decided to abandon the new layout of the chicanes (corners 14 and 15) and go back to the 2016 layout, after a request from the riders. As a result, only the FP3 session of this morning counted to determine the access to Q1 and Q2.
In these conditions Iannone performed well in the morning and got the 1’44.656 that allowed him direct access to Q2, having achieved the 7th best time.
More troubles for Sylvain Guintoli, who couldn’t take part in the Q1 session due to some physical problems: An adverse reaction to a standard medication made him weak and the Team took the decision not to take any risks, giving him time to recover without lapping for the grid place.
Davide Brivio – Team Manager
“We couldn’t make to most of today, as we wanted to in the Q2 with Andrea. He made positive improvements and we thought we would have a better performance, but in the end we couldn’t do better than the fourth row. It’s not the ideal position, but the race will be long and we’ll try to do our best. Unfortunately Sylvain couldn’t even take part to the Q1: he had a standard medical treatment right before FP4, which triggered an adverse reaction that made him feel poorly, so we decided not to take any risks and to allow him to rest, in order to be ready and fit for tomorrow’s race. It´s going to be a tough one, very long and hot, and we still have some question marks; I believe our competitors do as well. We’re going to try to make some improvements in warm-up and recover as many positions as we can.”
Andrea Iannone
“Overall I am satisfied with today. It’s a shame for the qualifying because in FP3 I lapped faster than in qualifying, but the conditions were different. With these hot temperatures, we lost grip at the front, despite what we gained at the rear. The problem is that getting more grip in the rear means that it pushes harder to the front, so I lose some confidence when entering the corners. However my feeling is positive, but the race will be very tough because it´s going to be long and hot. I think we have a good chance for a positive performance in the first half, and then everything will depend on the tyre drop. It will be important to preserve tyres for the end of the race, but I also want to make up some positions.”
Sylvain Guintoli
“It’s a pity that I wasn´t able to take part in the qualifying, as we made solid improvements in the sessions and I felt positive of a good performance. I went for a painkiller treatment to my arm, right before the FP4, which is a procedure I have done times in the past, but unfortunately something went wrong and had an unexpected reaction to the medication. This caused me to feel very dizzy and together with the team we decided not run in qualifying. I’m now already recovering and I hope I will be ok for tomorrow.”
More, from a press release issued by Repsol Honda:
Pedrosa takes stunning pole at sunny Catalunya, Marquez fourth
Dani Pedrosa delivered an astonishing performance this afternoon in the Catalan sunshine, taking pole position for the second time this year.
Dani started the day by setting the second-fastest time in the FP3 session before going on to top the standings in both FP4 and qualifying. He was the only rider able to crack the 1’44” barrier, setting a 1’43.870 time that earned him his 30th pole in MotoGP and the 48th of his career.
Marc Marquez also showed a brilliant pace over the day, ending FP3 in first, FP4 in third, and finally settling for fourth in qualifying despite two crashes in the session.
Dani Pedrosa 26
POLE POSITION 1’43.870
“I’m very happy because taking pole is always very difficult, and doing it in front of your home fans is just amazing. Last year we struggled a lot in qualifying, while this season we’ve already earned two poles, so I wish to thank my team for the good work. We’ve worked really hard on this aspect, and we’re getting better and better. The conditions were quite difficult today, especially for the tyres as it was very hot and the grip wasn’t the best. We tried to manage the situation as well as possible, working a lot on the setup to improve tyre life. The tyres will be the key to the race tomorrow; it’d be great to have the same feeling from today, but we’ll wait and see. We’ll just remain focused and be prepared to do our best.”
Marc Marquez 93
4TH 1’44.320
“Fourth on the grid, four crashes—today was a bit challenging for us, but in reality we’re not so bad. We started the day very well; I felt very comfortable in FP3, but then I crashed in FP4 and everything followed from that. We were able to prepare the bike for the qualifying session, but the feeling wasn’t exactly the same; when the temperature gets so high, the front tyre moves a lot. But I was at my home GP, so I just gave it my all and tried 100%. I crashed, but in the end we’ll start from fourth, which isn’t that bad. I think if I’m able to keep calm and ride more smoothly, we’ll be okay. I look forward to having a great race tomorrow, and to fighting for the podium.”
More, from a press release issued by Reale Avintia Racing:
Fantastic sixth place for Barbera in qualifying for the Catalan GP
The second day of practice and qualifying for the Catalan Grand Prix was staged on a revised layout today, with a return to last year´s configuration used after a new chicane created for 2017 was dropped following a Safety Commission meeting on Friday.
The switch back to the F1 chicane used during Saturday and Sunday in 2016 was declared the safest option for tomorrow´s 25-lap race.
The changes didn’t affect on the impressive speed demonstrated by Reale Avintia Racing team rider Hector Barbera, who was 10th in FP3 this morning, which secured him a place in the all-important Q2.
A positive performance in FP4 when he worked on race pace was followed by a superb qualifying display. The Spanish rider set the sixth fastest lap time, which is his best qualifying of 2017 and his best grid position since the Brno race last August. A second row start means Barbera is confident he can celebrate his 250th Grand Prix start with a top 10 finish tomorrow.
Loris Baz will start tomorrow’s race from the 16th place on the grid, but the Frenchman is satisfied after fighting in Q1 with riders like Valentino Rossi, Maverick Vinales, Johann Zarco, Jonas Folger and Cal Crutchlow, so he was satisfied with the final outcome. He has shown promising race pace and tomorrow the Reale Avintia Racing rider hopes to be able to score some crucial World Championship points.
Hector Barbera | 1’44.381 | P6
“Tomorrow I’ll reach 250 races in the World Championship, but every race feels like the first one for me. I’ve been here for 16 seasons and I’m 30 years old, so I’ve been enjoying more than half my of life in the paddock, and that is why I feel privileged. I have lived beautiful moments, the best of my life and others very hard, like being without bike for the following season, or the most recent example were the first five races this year that was like a nightmare for me. That is why this sixth place has come at the best moment and tomorrow I hope to celebrate my 250th race with a great result. I am going to give my best. The race will be difficult with so much heat and there will be many crashes as we have seen today. The race pace I have is good, and although my finger hurts a little after the crash yesterday, I think we can do very well. ”
Loris Baz | 1’44.919 | P16
“We could not expect much more from Q1. Sometimes you end up higher and with a bad taste in the mouth, but today now I’m happy with this 16th place. If you look at the people who missed Q2, they have all achieved a few victories and podiums and that’s why we have to be happy. I couldn´t do more and I went absolutely to the limit of the bike, so tomorrow we will see the rhythm of the others. With a good start, being smart and finishing the race, we can do well tomorrow. I feel the circuit is better with the other chicane, but it is not perfect. At least there is less chance of creating chaos tomorrow in the first lap.”
More, from a press release issued by Dorna:
Home run: Pedrosa in a class of his own for pole
Repsol Honda rider top on home turf as teammate Marquez crashes out
Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda Team) took a stunning pole position in the heat haze of the Catalan GP, storming clear of the field by three tenths to return to the top for the second time this year. Compatriot Jorge Lorenzo (Ducati Team) shot into second for his first front row start in red – after also proving second fastest on Friday – as two of the home heroes led the charge. Third was an incredible front row for Mugello podium finisher Danilo Petrucci (Octo Pramac Racing), as the Italian kept his momentum from a stunning home race last time out.
Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) was one of the key headline makers, as the reigning Champion will head the second row but suffered a spate of crashes on Saturday. His final fall in Q2 took him out of contention for pole, with Marquez looking to wipe the slate clean overnight before trying to hunt down the win.
The sun shone more on Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini) in fifth as his impressive pace from the morning continued into Q2, with another home hero just behind him in sixth – Reale Avintia Racing’s Hector Barbera.
Mugello winner Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team) heads up row three, ahead of Q1 graduates Jonas Folger (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) and Maverick Viñales (Movistar Yamaha MotoGP) after a tough day for the Yamahas.
Alvaro Bautista (Pull&Bear Aspar Team) completed the top ten and was another multiple crasher on Saturday – rider ok – with Scott Redding (Octo Pramac Racing) and Andrea Iannone (Team Suzuki Ecstar) in P11 and P12 respectively.
The headlines were also thick and fast in Q1, as nine-time World Champion Valentino Rossi (Movistar Yamaha MotoGP) missed the cut only marginally to start P13, ahead of rookie sensation Johann Zarco (Monster Yamaha Tech 3). Cal Crutchlow (LCR Honda) lines up P17 and was another crasher.
The Catalan GP has already shown a fair share of drama, and the lights haven’t even gone out for the race yet. See how the story concludes on Sunday at 14:00 (GMT +2).
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More, from a press release issued by KTM:
QUALIFYING CATALANGP: PROMISING RACE PACE FOR ESPARGARO, CRASH AND INJURY FOR SMITH
QUALIFYING 7th Rd. MotoGP 2017 – Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya (ESP)
Under scorching Spanish sun the three Red Bull KTM Grand Prix Teams fought hard in qualifying for tomorrow’s Catalan round for the MotoGP World Championship. Birthday boy Pol Espargaro rode in front of his home fans to be 20th but the race pace he discovered in FP4 today is encouraging from a technical point of view. Team mate Bradley Smith had a high side during FP4, the bike landing on his little finger that has meant he has gone to hospital in Barcelona to see if he is able to ride tomorrow. Portugal’s Miguel Oliviera will head the third row of the Moto2 grid, while in the tremendously tight Moto3 class, an incredible two seconds covered the top 27 on the grid but it was Juanfran Guevara who stormed to a front row start on his KTM giving him a clear view down to turn one when the lights go green.
MotoGP
With two new chassis available to both Bradley Smith and Pol Espargaro at the Circuit de Catalunya, technical progress has been made today in scorching conditions where the ground temperature was again high for the second weekend on the bounce at 50 degrees celsius. Qualifying in 20th, Espargaro had some turning problems in some corners but made great progress during FP4 when he ran the KTM RC16 bike with a race set up in preparation for tomorrow. It was an unlucky afternoon for Smith who had a high side at turn 2, the bike landing on his left little finger necessitating a visit to hospital first here at the track and then in Barcelona with specialist surgeon Dr. Mir to see what the true extent of the damage is before seeing if he is able to ride tomorrow in the race.
Espargaro: “We have improved a lot from yesterday; one second. Overall the bike feels much better even if we are missing some strengths in turning into the corners. Tomorrow we’re not quite which front tyre to use; the hard or the medium because with one we have one problem and with another we have another problem, but the guys are working so hard with the new chassis that has improved the whole package. We are all pushing for the good results, but those results don’t come overnight but on the flip side we are working hard for the race and through the Monday and Tuesday test. Here at ‘home’ there is more pressure but I think the pressure helps a rider do a better result and today it’s my birthday so it’s a good compromise!”
Tom Jojic (Crew Chief Bradley Smith): “We tried a whole bunch of big things to try to get on top of our main problems. He started to feel positive and better so in FP4 we went with the harder tyres trying to understand what’s going to happen in the race and he felt a bit better than FP3 so that was good. Unfortunately Bradley high sided through Turn 2 and his left hand was trapped under the handle bar and he’s got a damaged little finger on his left hand – the one that’s damaged already. In the medical centre they cleaned it and gave it an X-Ray but they want to clean it properly so they’ve asked him to go to a hospital in Barcelona where they will clean it and then decide what the best course of action for tomorrow is from there.”
Sebastian Risse (Technical Director MotoGP): “Today we saw some good moments such as during FP4 looking at the race pace we seem to be good with the lap time – not so far away in Pol’s case. With Bradley we struggled to find a rhythm for different reasons but then he crashed and now he’s injured, so it was anything but smooth. For the race pace tomorrow it will not be the same at the beginning than at the end and what we can achieve looks promising as we believe we can catch up more as the race goes on. It’s a different game you play on Sunday.”