Marc Marquez added another entry to his record of incredible success racing in America by bouncing back from a crash during qualifying Saturday to secure pole position at the Red Bull Grand Prix of The Americas at Circuit of The Americas (COTA), in Austin, Texas.
Marquez immediately jumped to the top of the order with a 2:04.134 on his first flying lap during the short, 15-minute Qualifying Two session. On the next lap, Marquez lost traction in Turn 13, and in spite of his best efforts to perform another one of his legendary saves, he crashed his Repsol Honda RC213V.
The four-time and defending MotoGP World Champion got back to his pit box quickly and went back out on his back-up bike. Then after a warm-up lap, Marquez ripped off a 2:03.658 to secure his first pole position of 2018 and his sixth consecutive pole position at COTA.
On Sunday afternoon, Marquez will be going for his sixth straight MotoGP race win at COTA, his 10th straight MotoGP race win in America, and his 12th straight World Championship race win among all classes in America.
Marquez’s session was not without controversy, however, as the Spaniard was on his out lap for his second run when he inadvertently ruined a fast flying lap of Maverick Vinales. The incident is under investigation, according to MotoGP Race Direction.
Vinales kept his head down for another lap and managed to secure the second spot on the grid with a 2:04.064 on his Movistar Yamaha YZR-M1. Vinales was briefly on pole position until Marquez’s lap bumped him to second. Vinales’ next-best qualifying position so far in 2018 was ninth in Argentina.
The third and final spot on the front row was earned by Andrea Iannone, who was the fastest rider on Friday and turned a 2:04.209 on his Team Suzuki ECSTAR GSX-RR in qualifying. Iannone’s next-best qualifying result so far in 2018 was 11th in Qatar.
Johann Zarco’s 2:04.210 on his Monster Yamaha Tech 3 YZR-M1 left him fourth, 0.001 second short of the front row. Movistar Yamaha’s Valentino Rossi’s strong form continued in qualifying and his 2:04.229 put him fifth and right among the crowd hoping to challenge Marquez on Sunday. Joining Rossi on the second row is Jorge Lorenzo, who was the top Ducati rider and sixth-fastest overall (his best qualifying result of the season) with a 2:04.294.
Second through fifth on the grid were covered by less than 0.1 second.
Argentina race winner Cal Crutchlow qualified seventh with a 2:04.456 on his LCR Castrol Honda, Qatar race winner Andrea Dovizioso was eighth with a 2:04.865 on his factory Ducati GP18, and injured Dani Pedrosa completed row three with a 2:04.963 on his Repsol Honda.
Row four includes Alma Pramac Ducati’s Danilo Petrucci (2:05.058), Iannone’s Suzuki teammate Alex Rins (2:05.260) and Red Bull KTM’s Pol Espargaro (2:05.829).
Update: Following the qualifying sessions, the FIM Stewards Panel levied sanctions against Marc Marquez and Pol Espargaro. Both riders were ruled to have been “riding in an irresponsible manner being slow on the racing line and disturbing another rider,” according to FIM. Each rider was assessed a penalty of three grid positions. As a result, Marquez will start from the fourth position on the grid and Espargaro will start from 15th in the grid.
FIM MotoGP World Championship
Circuit of The Americas
Austin, Texas
April 21, 2018
Qualifying Results (all on Michelin tires):
From Qualifying Two:
1. Marc Marquez, Spain (Honda), 2:03.658, crash
2. Maverick Vinales, Spain (Yamaha), 2:04.064
3. Andrea Iannone, Italy (Suzuki), 2:04.209
4. Johann Zarco, France (Yamaha), 2:04.210
5. Valentino Rossi, Italy (Yamaha), 2:04.229
6. Jorge Lorenzo, Spain (Ducati), 2:04.294
7. Cal Crutchlow, UK (Honda), 2:04.456
8. Andrea Dovizioso, Italy (Ducati), 2:04.865
9. Dani Pedrosa, Spain (Honda), 2:04.963
10. Danilo Petrucci, Italy (Ducati), 2:05.058
11. Alex Rins, Spain (Suzuki), 2:05.260
12. Pol Espargaro, Spain (KTM), 2:05.829
From Qualifying One:
13. Takaaki Nakagami, Japan (Honda), 2:05.457
14. Tito Rabat, Spain (Ducati), 2:05.686
15. Bradley Smith, UK (KTM), 2:05.761
16. Hafizh Syahrin, Malaysia (Yamaha), 2:05.873
17. Franco Morbidelli, Italy (Honda), 2:05.943
18. Jack Miller, Australia (Ducati), 2:05.966
19. Aleix Espargaro, Spain (Aprilia), 2:06.035
20. Tom Luthi, Switzerland (Honda), 2:06.222
21. Alvaro Bautista, Spain (Ducati), 2:06.296
22. Scott Redding, UK (Aprilia), 2:06.370
23. Karel Abraham, Czech Republic (Ducati), 2:06.537
24. Xavier Simeon, Belgium (Ducati), 2:06.726
More, from a press release issued by Monster Yamaha Tech 3:
Zarco strikes back with fourth in Americas GP qualifying – Syahrin to tackle Texas from sixth row
Johann Zarco showed his brilliant talent again on qualifying day at the Circuit of the Americas. The Monster Yamaha Tech3 rider upped his pace in every outing, following some tricky practices on Friday on his way straight to Qualifying two. During the all-important timed session, the French star was nearly three seconds faster than on Friday morning and snatched fourth position in order to head the second row on Sunday.
On the other side of the Monster Yamaha Tech3 garage, Hafizh Syahrin improved well over the course of his second day at the ultra-demanding Texan track. The Malaysian MotoGP rookie started Q1 with the fastest lap time and eventually ended up in P6 to bolt forward from the sixth row when the green lights will go out for the third race of the season at 14:00 local time tomorrow.
Johann Zarco
Position: 4th – Time: 2’04.210 – Laps: 7
“I’m really happy, because yesterday has been quite difficult. This morning, I was glad to find dry conditions, so I was able to push a lot in case of rain. Finally, I got a good lap time for the qualifying and now in this session, I used two medium tyres, because we don’t have some extra grip with the soft ones, it’s almost even worse. This disturbed me a bit yesterday and also today, it was quite strange. Anyway, we were able to manage it well and it’s great to be competitive. Fourth position is a good base for the race, so tomorrow I’m going to push for the podium and I really hope I have the pace to do so. I want to rest myself and try to keep the pace until the end of the race.”
Hafizh Syahrin
Position: 16th – Time: 2’05.873 – Laps: 5
“I felt really good in Qualifying one and had a good rhythm, but to be honest, I was quite disappointed in the end, because I did a mistake in my strategy to take reference of the riders in front trying to catch them. In the last lap, I didn’t see the chequered flag, otherwise I think I could have been better. Anyway, it’s ok. I’m really happy with the bike. Now we’re looking forward to tomorrow, we try to have a good setup for the race, because I still lose a bit too much grip with the used tyre and aim to have a good race rhythm, so we’ll see.”
More, from a press release issued by Team Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS:
Morbidelli ups the pace in Texas
Team Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS rider Franco Morbidelli set his fastest time of the weekend so far to qualify 17th for the Grand of The Americas.
Morbidelli’s time of 2’05.943 came on his final run in the Q1 session.
However the young Italian is still searching for the ideal race set-up for his Honda RC213V to maximise his potential at the 5.5km, 20-turn COTA layout.
After morning rain showers both qualifying and the FP4 session were run on a dry track providing crucial set-up time for Sunday’s 20-lap race.
Morbidelli was 12th fastest in FP4 having found a set-up direction to improve traction but was frustrated not to capitalise on this in qualifying.
Morbidelli’s teammate Tom Lüthi was slowed by traffic just as he was primed for a final time attack in Q1 and the Swiss rider feels he can put in a strong race in round three of the 2018 MotoGP World Championship.
Franco Morbidelli: 17th – 2’05.943
“In terms of race pace we have improved the set-up and I think we have good direction for the race so I’m happy about that. We have made a good step to improve rear grip and to try to understand the best tyre choice for the race. I think it could be possible for me to race the soft rear tyre tomorrow, but we will see after warm up.”
Tom Lüthi: 20th – 2’06.222
“In qualifying I felt good, we had improved the turning and I found some more traction and I came in for a tyre charge to go for a final fast run. But it was frustrating because I came across some traffic and this destroyed my lap and it is disappointing because I feel I could have done a 2’05 lap today, so now I’ll go for that in the race.”
Michael Bartholemy: Team Principal
“Up until the FP4 session we have been struggling to find the ideal set-up for both riders but now I feel we have a good direction for the race and hopefully the next step can help both Franco and Tom go for some points tomorrow.”
More, from a press release issued by Angel Nieto Team:
BAUTISTA CONFIDENT ABOUT RACEDAY FIGHTBACK
Ángel Nieto Team rider, together with teammate Karel Abraham, intend to move their way up the field on Sunday at COTA
Pole position for the 2018 Grand Prix of The Americas went to Marc Márquez, for the sixth consecutive year. He has been dominant at the track since 2013, and not even a crash today could keep him from taking the top spot. Maverick Viñales was four tenths slower, and Andrea Iannone five tenths. The front row of the grid at the Circuit of The Americas will thus feature three different manufacturers in search of victory in the race tomorrow.
Álvaro Bautista is confident of his ability to make a comeback in the race tomorrow, after taking twentieth place qualifying at the Grand Prix of The Americas. The Ángel Nieto Team rider lost time on his fastest lap when he went wide to avoid colliding with another rider, but he ended the day with a feeling of improvement and aims to continue with that tomorrow. Karel Abraham was only able to complete a pair of laps of the American track, after crashing out at the fast Turn 10. The Czech rider escaped uninjured but sore. He will also target a raceday fightback on Sunday at 2pm local time.
21st Álvaro Bautista 2:06.296: “After today, I feel confident and I believe that in the race we can improve considerably on our grid position. I don’t know if I can get into the Top 10, but that might be the goal tomorrow. We will try to give everything, because today we saw improvement and I hope to be more competitive. We tried some modifications to the front that have given us some more confidence. I lost some time in qualifying on my hot lap, because I had to go wide to avoid crashing into another rider. I almost crashed on two occasions; it’s something that happens when you ride at the limit but you have no contact with the tyres. Tomorrow in the warmup we will try to test the medium tyres to see if they might be an option for the race, because I think they can be consistent over a long distance.”
23rd Karel Abraham 2:06.537: “Today was a tough day. We tried to push but we didn’t get a good result. My first lap in qualifying was good, but on the second, at Turn 10, I lost the front end and I fell at a very high speed. I am pretty sore, as it was a heavy fall. We couldn’t get a good position for tomorrow, but we will not stop fighting in the race to get the best possible result.”
More, from a press release issued by Aprilia Gresini Racing:
THE ALTERED CONDITIONS OF THE ASPHALT PUT ESPARGARÓ AND REDDING IN DIFFICULTY
Demanding day at the COTA for Espargaró and Redding. The Aprilia riders, who had done two good practice sessions yesterday, found completely different grip conditions today. The lack of feeling conditioned preparation for the qualifiers, forcing both to go through the Q1 selection session.
For Aleix, the greatest difficulties were due to the balance of the RS-GP, with a troublesome chattering and poor grip. Despite using different tyres in terms of compound, the Spanish rider was unable to be incisive and will have to settle for the first spot on the seventh row of the starting grid.
The poor grip make the day difficult for Scott Redding as well. After a good start in FP3, and with the goal of doing a time attack in the later portion of the session to try for a top 10 spot that would have meant going straight through to Q2, the British rider’s plans were spoiled by the arrival of a light rain shower. Subsequently, in FP4 and in the first qualifying session, Scott was unable to find the same feeling, finishing with the twenty-second best time for a spot on the eighth row.
ALEIX ESPARGARO’
“It was a very strange day. Yesterday we were fast, but today I hardly recognised my bike. We gave it our all in qualifying, but in spite of it we were not able to get close to the top ten, which is a goal that we knew was within our potential. The lack of grip and strong chattering at the front end slowed me down today. We’ll try to figure out why these problems came up so we can get back in the right direction. After all, the potential is there. Yesterday I was able to be fast and Scott was also competitive.”
SCOTT REDDING
“In FP3 I felt very much at ease. I had managed to improve with the medium tyre, but just as I was ready to put on the soft tyre, confident that I would be able to do a good time, it began to rain. In FP4, after the rain, I struggled because of the lack of grip, both on the front and on the rear, and it was the same in Q1, where our performance was below our expectations. Aleix also struggled in qualifying, I think because of the same problems, so now we will need to analyse the data well in view of the race tomorrow.”
More, from a press release issued by Alma Pramac Racing:
Red Bull Grand Prix of The Americas – Qualifying
#AmericasGP Quali. Petrux gets a solid Top 10 following a superb Q1. Jack 18th after Fp4 crash
After Friday’s difficulties, the Alma Pramac Racing rider managed to find confidence in Saturday’s qualifying at the Circuit of the Americas. Danilo Petrucci fought well in Q1 and qualified for Q2 then winning a valuable Top 10. Jack Miller found a great feeling in the morning with his “bike-1” but a crash at the end of Fp4 forced him to use in the Q1 the second bike with a different set up.
Petrux was satisfied at the end of his qualifying session, especially in the light of the problems experienced in free practice. The rider of Terni pushes to the maximum in Q1 and gets the qualification to Q2. On the last lap of the second run he seems to be able to earn a few more tenths but, due to a bit of tiredness, he makes a small mistake in the third sector.
The crash in the Fp4 did not allow Jack to use the bike with which he had gone fast throughout the session (7th time). The Australian rider tried his best but couldn’t find the right feeling and had to settle for the sixth row in the starting grid of the Gran Prix of the Americas.
P10 – Danilo Petrucci 2’05.058
“I can say that I am satisfied with this result. If I have to be honest this Top 10 makes me as happy as the first row in Qatar because it comes after a very difficult Friday. I want to thank my entire team for the work they have done. Maybe tomorrow we can’t fight for the Top 5 but I think we’re in a position to be in the Top 10”.
P18 – Jack Miller 2’05.966
“We made a good step forward in the FP4s by working a lot on the geometry of the bike. We managed to improve the pace and this gave me great confidence. The feeling with the bike has improved a lot compared to Friday. I was convinced I could be competitive in qualifying. Unfortunately the crash at the end of the FP4 has ruined our plans”.
More, from a press release issued by Reale Avintia Racing:
Rabat confident for the GP of the Americas, Simeon continues to make progress
MotoGP GP of the Americas – COTA
A rainshower that came down on the Circuit of the Americas on Saturday morning made things complicated for Tito Rabat, who had planned to attack in FP3 with the aim of moving directly to Q2. But with lower track temperatures and conditions that were far from perfect, the rider of Reale Avintia Racing just managed to match his Friday times and could not improve. Later on in Q1, Rabat was one of the fastest riders and held third place after his first time attack. On his final assault on the two top spots, he had a big moment with a front end of his bike. He saved himself from crashing, but ran out of time to clock another fast lap. He will start from 14th place on the grid on Sunday full of confidence to be able to recover, since the track temperatures are expected to rise again and he has a good rhythm in dry conditions.
Xavier Simeon was satisfied with his performance on Saturday. Even though it does not reflect in his grid position, the Belgian rider found a much better set-up and felt comfortable aboard his Ducati. En Q1, his tyre choice could have been better, but nevertheless he expects to be able to put up a fight in the race and to keep learning in his third MotoGP race.
Tito Rabat | 2’05.686 | P14
“It was a difficult day and we suffered a lot in these conditions. We also went wrong with our tyre choice in the morning, because we thought we would be faster with the soft compound in cooler conditions, which was not the case. In FP4, we went out with the only tyres we still had available and it didn’t go well either. Then we found back to our speed in Q1 and I went fast, but in the end I wasn’t rewarded: The front end tucked away and I missed out on moving to Q2 by a few fractions of a second. But nevertheless, I am confident for the race because the summer heat that will return tomorrow suits us very well”.
Xavier Simeon | 2’06.726 | P24
“The second day was much more positive and the changes to my seating position on the bike helped me a lot to be more competitive. Everything seems to be easier now and I really hoped to do much better in Q1. We saw yesterday that several riders went fast with the hard rear tyre compound so we decided to go out with this tyre for my final run. But this was a mistake and with the softer compound we couldn’t get the maximum out of the bike either. But I am calm, because all of this adds to our experience in this category and we now know exactly what to do on Sunday. It will be a tough race, because this circuit is physically very demanding on a MotoGP bike”.
More, from a press release issued by Ducati Corse:
Second row start for Jorge Lorenzo, sixth in qualifying at Austin. Andrea Dovizioso, in eighth, will start from row 3 in the GP of The Americas
The Ducati Team riders will start the GP of The Americas, round 3 of the 2018 MotoGP world championship season, from rows 2 and 3 after qualifying at the Austin, Texas circuit.
Jorge Lorenzo was sixth quickest with a lap time of 2’04.294, less than a tenth of a second away from the third-placed man, and the Spanish rider will start tomorrow’s twenty-lap race from row 2.
Team-mate Andrea Dovizioso was a couple of places down in eighth, and the Italian will start the GP of The Americas, scheduled for 14.00 local time (21.00 CET), from the third row.
Jorge Lorenzo (Ducati Team #99) – 6th (2’04.294)
“I’m pleased because we were able to resolve some of our problems and in qualifying I did a really really good lap that allows me to start from the second row: after the way things were this morning, that wasn’t easy. It was a real pity that I missed out on the front row by one-tenth of a second, but in any case tomorrow we are starting from a good position. With new tyres my bike improves a lot, while on used tyres we are still struggling to keep a good pace. I hope the weather conditions improve tomorrow and the sun comes out so we can continue with the same setting that worked well today.”
Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team #04) – 8th (2’04.865)
“Today was a very productive day because the changes we made to the bike went in the right direction and we got a lot closer to the guys at the front. Now we can start to think about getting on the podium tomorrow, but I believe there are going to be a lot of us with the same idea. In any case the step we made today was an important one, even though I still don’t have a perfect feeling with my bike on this track.”
More, from a press release issued by Team Suzuki ECSTAR:
FRONT ROW FOR IANNONE AT CIRCUIT OF THE AMERICAS
Andrea Iannone: 3rd – 2:04.209 (+ 0.551)
Alex Rins: 11th – 2:05.260 (+ 1.602)
• 3rd on the grid for Andrea Iannone.
• Good pace from Alex Rins despite difficulties.
• Weather now set fair after mixed Day 2.
The second day of action at the Circuit of the Americas proved tricky as the predicted rain arrived and caused mixed conditions. However, Andrea Iannone and Alex Rins were still able to find useful settings and adjustments, and work with dry setups and tyres.
The morning FP3 session started dry, giving the opportunity for riders to improve on their Friday times and aim for direct passage into Q2. Team SUZUKI ECSTAR’s riders were able to maintain the strong pace they showed during FP1 and FP2, and this ensured they would fight it out in the final qualifying session.
Despite rain following FP3, Iannone and Rins could start the useful FP4 session with slicks and continue to try different dry tyre combinations.
Both riders were confident coming into the high pressure 15 minute Q2 session. Andrea Iannone was able to string together several fast laps, benefitting from his domination of the 4th sector, and he set a 2:04.209 – the 3rd fastest time – with 10 minutes to go. As the chequered flag came out the Italian, who was just half a second from the pole, was able to celebrate a crucial front row start for tomorrow’s 20 lap race. Meanwhile, Alex Rins’ precision riding earned him several good laps but the Spaniard lost his final ‘flying lap’ whilst setting a personal best in the first two splits, he completed the session 11th with a 2:05.260.
Davide Brivio – Team Manager
“Andrea has done a very good job and it’s really nice to be on the front row for tomorrow’s race. But I’m also happy because Andrea has been fast all weekend, always in the top positions. I hope tomorrow we’ll have good pace and stay close to the front. Andrea needs to come back to the top so I hope tomorrow will be the day for him. Alex found a few difficulties, and his position on the grid might make things more difficult in the race, but his pace is not so bad. In warm-up we can make some final adjustments with him and try to catch up as much as possible. So we’re looking forward to the race with both of them, and I hope it will be a good Sunday.”
Andrea Iannone
“My last front row was in Valencia last year, and I have a really good feeling with the bike now. We’ve worked really well this weekend, practice by practice, the engineers have done a great job and we were able to improve. We’re not completely ready for the race, we’ll certainly use warm-up tomorrow morning to fine tune some settings, but I think that’s the case for everybody. It will be a difficult race, especially as Marquez has such a high pace, but you can never say never and I will push and try everything! I’m happy to start from the front row. We’ve worked really hard in the last year and a half so I really want to bring a good result to Suzuki.”
Alex Rins
“I expected more from the qualifying, but the race is tomorrow. We will try to work hard to get the good feeling back and prepare for the race. Overall I can`t feel confident in different areas; the circuit, the tyres, myself. But I think we have a big margin to improve. Andrea did well, so at least we know the bike works well here, but we have to find out how to improve tomorrow.”
LATE UPDATE: After a post-qualifying investigation by Race Direction, pole-sitter Marc Marquez was penalised three grid places. This promotes Andrea Iannone to the 2nd place spot for tomorrow’s race.
More, from a press release issued by Movistar Yamaha:
FIRST PLACE START FOR VIÑALES AFTER EVENTFUL AUSTIN QUALIFYING
The Movistar Yamaha MotoGP Team continued the positive momentum on an overcast second day at the Circuit of The Americas (COTA). Maverick Viñales was in strong contention during qualifying and grabbed hold of second place. However, after the Q2 session, Race Direction imposed a sanction on Marc Marquez for compromising one of Viñales’ hot laps, which will move the Yamaha rider to the front of the grid tomorrow. Valentino Rossi also pushed hard during the Q2 session and secured fifth place on the grid for the Grand Prix of The Americas.
Circuit of the Americas (Austin, Texas), 21st April 2018
An eventful Q2 session at the Circuit of The Americas (COTA) this afternoon saw Movistar Yamaha MotoGP‘s Maverick Viñales secure second place on the grid for the Grand Prix of The Americas. However, he is set to gain a starting position for the race tomorrow, as Race Direction has decided to move Marc Marquez back three spots, as a penalty for compromising one of Viñales’ hot laps. Valentino Rossi was also flashing various red sectors and only just missed out on a place on the front row. He will start tomorrow‘s race from fifth position.
Viñales gave the majority of the Q2 riders a head start to ensure himself of some clear space on track. His first lap put him in fourth place, but he wasn‘t satisfied with his soft rear tyre and headed straight back into the pits with more than seven minutes to go.
He soon went back out, this time on a medium rear tyre. He was in eighth position, but he knew he had the speed to turn things around. He put his head down and was on a potential pole lap until he was held up by Marc Marquez. On his next try he moved up from tenth to second place, with a 2‘04.064s. He held on this position after the flag came out and finished 0.406s from first. However, due to Race Direction’s decision after Q2, Viñales will start tomorrow’s race from first position on the grid.
After a strong FP4 session by the Movistar Yamaha MotoGP Team, Rossi was also in the zone and he kept the momentum going in Q2. His first flying lap saw him shoot to the top of the timesheets. However, he ran wide in turn 1, which meant he wasn‘t able to further improve his time on his second try and the Italian headed to the pit box.
With five minutes left, he returned to the track, holding second place. As the times quickened at the end of the session, the Doctor was pushed back to fifth position. He immediately clocking a 2‘04.229s, moving him back up to second. Subsequently he flashed a red first sector on his last hot lap, but was unable to hold the advantage until the chequered flag, and he ended the session in fifth place, with a 0.571s margin to first. He will start tomorrow‘s race from the middle of the second row of the grid.
MASSIMO MEREGALLI
TEAM DIRECTOR
Though we expected different weather for today we are not complaining, because the dry track time allowed us to make another step. Maverick and Valentino are comfortable on their bikes and we feel optimistic for tomorrow‘s race, having secured a first and second row start. It was a pity that Maverick had to abandon one of his hot laps. Marquez was cruising on the race line, blocked Maverick, but our rider showed his professionalism when, on the next lap, he immediately went on from where he left off. Valentino was also in the mix throughout the Q2 session and I‘m sure he will also be fighting at the front tomorrow. We are in a good place at the moment, but we want to apply some last setting changes to make the final improvements, which could make all the difference, as we expect it to be a tough but competitive race for us.
MAVERICK VIÑALES
For sure I‘m very satisfied. It‘s been a long time since I was on the first row. I think tomorrow we can do a great race. I felt really good with the tyres, especially the rear. I think that tomorrow we still have a little room to improve. Race by race I‘m finding my own bike, my own style, and I still have a margin to push more. I‘m quite happy and tomorrow we‘re going to try to be even faster. I‘m very much focused on tomorrow. We had great pace in FP4 and we have to keep pushing. I think fighting for the victory will be difficult, but not impossible. I feel good and I feel good on the bike, so let‘s see. I think between today and tomorrow we can make another step.
VALENTINO ROSSI
I‘m quite satisfied about these two days, because I was fast all the time and I feel good with the bike. We are working in a good way. I thought I had the potential for a front row start, but I wasn‘t fast enough. Anyway, starting from the top-5 is OK for tomorrow‘s race. Now we have to fix some small details and we also have to hope that tomorrow we have sunshine and a dry race.
More, from a press release issued by Repsol Honda:
Red Bull Grand Prix of The Americas
MotoGP 2018 Round 3
Marquez takes pole position at Austin, but will start from fourth on the grid, Pedrosa grabs a third-row start
Today Marc Marquez took his sixth pole out of six GPs held at the Circuit of the Americas, and his first this season, but tomorrow he will start from fourth place on the grid after being sanctioned and given a three-place grid penalty.
A turn 13 crash from his second flying lap forced Marquez to rush back to the pit and jump on his second bike to defend his provisional pole. He managed that but didn’t realize that Maverick Vinales was coming fast behind him and found himself in the way. This was the reason for the penalty.
After fighting hard in this morning’s FP3 to keep a top-10 position in order to gain direct access to QP2, a recovering Dani Pedrosa pushed himself to the limit to grab an impressive third-row start, with the ninth-fastest lap time.
Tomorrow’s 2:00pm race will be the first of the seven rounds in the 2018 calendar that will be shortened in distance. The Americas GP will be reduced by one lap, from 21 to 20.
Marc Marquez 93
POLE POSITION 2’03.658
“Basically, today was good for us, as we were the fastest in qualifying and, most importantly, were able to keep a good race pace in FP3 and FP4. Of course qualifying was a bit hectic. I crashed and had to take my second bike for the second run. I went out, and unfortunately I didn’t expect Maverick to arrive behind me because I was focused on Andrea (Iannone), who was waiting ahead and who I knew could be very fast. I apologized to Maverick but I didn’t realize he was behind me until I heard his engine. So tomorrow I’ll start from fourth. It will be important to choose the right tyre; we’ve worked a lot on used tyres and I was able to be consistent during the practices, but this track is quite physically demanding and tomorrow the temperature should be higher, so we’ll see. We’ll try and remain fully concentrated.”
Dani Pedrosa 26
9TH 2’04.963
“Of course I’m quite satisfied because I honestly didn’t expect to be able to ride, as this track is very hard. I was able to qualify directly to Q2, so I was already super-happy at that point. This morning I had to make a big effort, and I felt more pain compared to yesterday. I was expecting rain today, which would have let me have a little bit less stress on the hand so that I could recover more easily for tomorrow. But unfortunately, it was dry, and I had to go. My position wasn’t so bad at one point in qualifying, but I wasn’t able to improve, so I lost some positions. Anyway, I’m more than surprised just to be riding. For tomorrow, we’ll see if we can get some help from the medicines and see if this will let me give more effort, because the race is long.”
More, from a press release issued by LCR Castrol Honda:
THIRD ROW FOR CRUTCHLOW IN TEXAS
Heading into Sunday’s Grand Prix of the Americas, the MotoGP World Championship leader Cal Crutchlow looks set to make another assault on the podium positions, after a positive weekend of practice at the COTA facility in Austin, Texas.
Running amongst the top positions throughout the weekend despite tricky track conditions, LCR Honda CASTROL’s Crutchlow will start the 20-lap race from the third row of the grid. The Brit had hoped for more during qualifying, but didn’t feel comfortable with the rear of his bike in the final push, eventually setting a best lap of 2’04.456 to sit seventh overall.
Cal Crutchlow – 7th
(2’04.456 – lap 6 of 7)
“Today was not a good day of qualifying for us, but for the rest of the practices I felt good – I was comfortable and confident with the changes and settings we made on the bike. In qualifying, the first run seemed to go well and I felt good with the machine and the tyres”.
“However, in the second run I felt good with the bike but I didn’t feel so good on the rear. Even though I was able to go faster, I just couldn’t get on with the tyre at all. We’ll investigate what happened and why we are seventh on the grid, because I think we should have been on the front row. Nonetheless, we look forward to having a good race tomorrow.”
More, from a press release issued by Red Bull KTM:
POL ESPARGARO IN Q2 FIRST TIME THIS SEASON AT RED BULL GRAND PRIX OF THE AMERICAS
QUALIFYING 3rd Rd. MotoGP 2018, Circuit Of The Americas (USA)
Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Pol Espargaro will blast away from 15th position and the fifth row of the MotoGP grid after making it through to the Q2 session at an overcast Circuit of the Americas today. The Spaniard was initially 12th but was penalised three places after being slow on the racing line disturbing another rider on a fast lap. Bradley Smith will start the third round of 2018 MotoGP from 14th spot for his best Saturday ranking of the year so far. In Moto2 Sam Lowes was second fastest on his KTM bike while John McPhee was the fastest KTM in Moto3 starting tomorrow from third postion on the grid.
MotoGP
MotoGP moved north across the Americas to arrive at the sweeping and fast undulations of COTA in Austin, Texas and the sixth Grand Prix to take place at the epic facility for what is the third round of nineteen in 2018. On a grey and occasionally damp day of Free Practice and Qualification both Pol Espargaro and Bradley Smith worked through some tricky conditions and across a bumpy and demanding track to refine the set-up of the KTM RC16 for the 20 lap distance starting at 21.00 CET tomorrow.
With his last attempt of the Q1 period Espargaro posted a 2.05.1 lap-time to earn his first passage into Q2 this year by less than a tenth of a second from Danilo Petrucci. Smith was not far away. On his second run the Brit logged a 2.05.7 for a decent 15th position and his highest Saturday classification of the season. Not long after the chequered flag had been waved to end the session Espargaro was deemed to have slowed down another rider and docked three spaces, dropping behind Smith and alongside his teammate on the fifth row.
Espargaro: “I think we made an amazing effort to make Q2 and we were very happy but I think what happened afterwards was not fair. We checked the images and I was not in the middle (of the track) and it is not comparable with other incidents today. I don’t really know what is going on but I don’t think it is fair we have to go back by three positions. We will go strong tomorrow. We made some good steps and the bike feels much better.”
Smith: “FP4 went great and the first couple of sectors were good but I did not leave enough space and did not expect to catch (Jack) Miller so easily. I made a couple of mistakes as well but I’m pleased with 15th and we’re a team so it was OK for Pol to ‘use’ me a couple of times out there: it is about time that we got into Q2. 15th is my best qualification this year and on race pace in FP4 we looked solid. We just need to keep that up for tomorrow. I think the grip is coming on this race track and this meant we could push forward more.”
Mike Leitner (Team Manager): “This track is very long, difficult and bumpy so it is very challenging. We were a little lost yesterday but today we made some good moves, especially for Bradley, and we are happy with his 15th because he did a good job. Pol made a massive step and went into Q2 and that is a highlight for us, particularly here. Now we have to focus on giving the guys the best racebike and then they have to manage. It is difficult to talk about decisions already made but as a Team Manager I don’t think what happened to Pol was correct; the FIM stewards see it differently. We have to accept the situation and just look to tomorrow.”
Races: April 22, 2018 – Moto3 18:00 | Moto2 19:20 | MotoGP 21:00 CET
More, from a press relase issued by Dorna:
Sparks fly in Texas: Marquez fastest but Viñales starts from pole
Things got pretty hot in Texas in qualifying for the Red Bull Grand Prix of the Americas, with drama first striking as reigning Champion Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) took a tumble at Turn 13 and was heading back to the garage on the back of a scooter as his rivals started to threaten his provisional pole. But the number 93 was able to get back out, and set a sixth pole position at the Circuit of the Americas – closely followed by the man who seems set to try and challenge him on Sunday, Maverick Viñales (Movistar Yamaha MotoGP). It wasn’t done there, however…
Viñales, after an impressive show of race pace earlier in the day in FP4, came across a slower-moving Marquez on his first flyer on his second run and was forced to abandon the lap. Nevertheless, the Spaniard set the second quickest lap on a final push – and he’ll be starting from pole. After the incident between the two men was investigated by the FIM MotoGP™ Stewards, Marquez was given a three-place grid penalty and will therefore actually start from fourth.
Andrea Iannone (Team Suzuki Ecstar) – another man who has been key competition for Marquez in practice – set the third fastest lap and will be starting from the front row and now second place, with Johann Zarco (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) bumped back onto the front row to make it seven races in the row the Frenchman has lined up there.
He had Valentino Rossi (Movistar Yamaha MotoGP) for very close company on the timesheets; the Italian just 0.019 back and now starting fifth, next to Marquez now heading up Row 2. And it was just as tight for sixth and the final spot on the second row, as Jorge Lorenzo (Ducati Team) was only another 0.065 in arrears behind the ‘Doctor’. Three men certain to attack right from lights out, with 20 World Championships between them.
Championship leader Cal Crutchlow (LCR Honda Castrol) took seventh as he aims to keep his points lead on Sunday, and he’s just ahead of the man chasing him in the standings, Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team) – who’s won off the third row before.
Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda Team) completes that star-studded Row 3. The three-time World Champion is racing only a week and a bit after surgery on a broken wrist sustained in the Argentina GP, and not only gained direct entry to Q2, but took a third row start in another superhuman effort.
Q1 graduate Danilo Petrucci (Alma Pramac Racing), Argentina GP podium finisher Alex Rins (Team Suzuki Ecstar) and Pol Espargaro (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) completed the top twelve – with Espargaro having put in a stunner to come through Q1 and get KTM’s first visit to Q2 this season. Thereafter, however, the KTM rider was also given a three-place grid penalty, meaning Takaaki Nakagami (LCR Honda Idemitsu) will start P12.
It’s set up to be a stunner, with Viñales up top and Rossi and Marquez gunning from Row 2. Iannone already called it on Friday: “Anything is possible!”
Tune in for the Americas GP at 14:00 local time (GMT -5) on Sunday.
Masterful Marquez edges out Lowes
Alex Marquez (EG 0,0 Marc VDS) was on fine form in Moto2™ qualifying at the Red Bull Grand Prix of the Americas, taking his second pole position of the season on board his Kalex machine, with the former lightweight class World Champion over three tenths clear for the majority of the session. Only second place qualifier Sam Lowes (Swiss Innovative Investors) was able to get ahead of Marquez at any point during the session, however, the number 73 then came out for his final run to beat Lowes’ 2:10.744 by 0.156 seconds.
Lowes returns to Moto2™ this year from the premier class, and starts on the front row for the first time since Phillip Island 2016 – can the Brit repeat his 2015 win at the Circuit of the Americas, his first GP victory? World Championship leader Mattia Pasini (Italtrans Racing Team) was the only other man to get under the 2:11.000 bracket, his time of 2:10.993 on his final run was enough for him to grab third on the grid. Qatar race winner and Sky Racing Team VR46 rider Francesco Bagnaia will start from fourth on the grid, the Italian consistently in the top six throughout the session and looked set to join the front row on his final lap until a small mistake cost him.
The fastest rookie yet again was reigning Moto3™ World Champion Joan Mir, who claimed fifth place on the grid – his best Moto2™ qualifying by 12 places. Rounding out the second row was the impressive Luca Marini (SKY Racing Team VR46), his sixth place is also his best qualifying of the year so far.
Xavi Vierge (Dynavolt Intact GP), fresh from his Argentina podium, spearheads the third row of the grid in seventh, with his teammate Marcel Schrötter a slender 0.019 behind him in eighth. Fabio Quartararo (MB Conveyors – Speed Up Racing) was able to get himself into the top ten late on, he’ll start ninth ahead of Isaac Viñales (SAG Team) in tenth.
Friday’s quickest man Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM Ajo) had to settle for P12 after a more difficult session.
Tune in for the Moto2™ race at the COTA on Sunday, with the lights going out at 12:20 local time (GMT -5).
Perfect ten: Martin takes pole in mad dash to slicks
Jorge Martin (Del Conca Gresini Moto3) set his tenth pole position on Saturday at the Red Bull Grand Prix of the Americas, with a drying track seeing late switches to slicks throughout the field and the Spaniard coming out on top by an impressive 0.496. He was ahead of Championship leader and key rival Aron Canet (Estrella Galicia 0,0), with John McPhee (CIP – Green Power) completing the front row as the Brit blasted up the timesheets and was top KTM.
The session began on wets before the rain began to abate and the first man to try slicks was a brave Philipp Oettl (Südmetall Schedl GP Racing) – initially over six seconds clear of the field before they caught on and headed into pitlane. But the heroics didn’t quite pay off as they did for Alma Pramac Racing’s Jack Miller in Argentina – with enough of the session remaining to allow the majority to switch.
But the grid has set us up for a stunner on Sunday, with the experienced trio at the front chased by a Row 2 featuring Tatsuki Suzuki (SIC58 Squadra Corse) as he gets back to full power following injury, podium finisher Fabio Di Giannantonio (Del Conca Gresini Moto3) and the ‘Beast’ Enea Bastianini (Leopard Racing), expected to mount a title challenge.
Then comes a superstar performance in qualifying from rookie and reigning FIM CEV Repsol Moto3™ Junior World Champion Dennis Foggia (Sky Racing Team VR46) in seventh, ahead of former Asia Talent Cup and Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup Champion Ayumu Sasaki (Petronas Sprinta Racing) in eighth. Marco Bezzecchi (Redox PruestelGP), the Argentina GP winner, completes the third row – with Jaume Masia (Bester Capital Dubai) another rookie stunner in P10, just edging early gambler Oettl.
It’s an exciting grid for Sunday’s race, with a few names looking to mount a fight back – including Niccolo Antonelli (SIC58 Squadra Corse) in P19 and Gabriel Rodrigo (RBA BOE Skull Rider) in P12, off the front row for the first time this year.
The lights go out for the lightweight rodeo at 11:00am local time (GMT -5).