Grand Prix of Qatar

FIM MotoGP World Championship

Losail International Circuit

Doha, Qatar

March 25, 2017

Final Grid Positions Based On Combined Free Practice Results (All on Michelin tires): 

1. Maverick VIÑALES, Spain (YAMAHA), 1:54.316

2. Andrea IANNONE, Italy (SUZUKI), 1:54.848

3. Marc MARQUEZ, Spain (HONDA), 1:54.912

4. Johann ZARCO, France (YAMAHA), 1:55.008

5. Andrea DOVIZIOSO, Italy (DUCATI), 1:55.042

6. Scott REDDING, UK (DUCATI), 1:55.085

7. Dani PEDROSA, Spain (HONDA), 1:55.113

8. Jonas FOLGER, Germany (YAMAHA), 1:55.208

9. Cal CRUTCHLOW, UK (HONDA), 1:55.211

10. Valentino ROSSI, Italy (YAMAHA), 1:55.414

11. Danilo PETRUCCI, Italy (DUCATI), 1:55.435

12. Jorge LORENZO, Spain (DUCATI), 1:55.461

13. Alvaro BAUTISTA, Spain (DUCATI), 1:55.581

14. Loris BAZ, France (DUCATI), 1:55.624

15. Aleix ESPARGARO, Spain (APRILIA), 1:55.634

16. Jack MILLER, Australia (HONDA), 1:55.959

17. Karel ABRAHAM, Czech Republic (DUCATI), 1:56.003

18. Alex RINS, Spain (SUZUKI), 1:56.179

19. Tito RABAT, Spain (HONDA), 1:56.368

20. Hector BARBERA, Spain (DUCATI), 1:56.725

21. Sam LOWES, UK (APRILIA), 1:56.854

22. Pol ESPARGARO, Spain (KTM), 1:57.116

23. Bradley SMITH, UK (KTM), 1:57.654

More, from a press release issued by Dorna:

Viñales on pole after qualifying cancelled

MotoGP™ grid for the #QatarGP decided by practice times after bad weather sets in

After overnight rain, a storm and too much standing water on track at Losail International Circuit, the original timetable for Saturday at the #QatarGP saw some adjustments before the decision was taken by Race Direction to cancel track action for the day.

Conditions were deemed too dangerous to enable riders to get out on track – with little chance of improvement as rain and lightning began again.

Therefore, it’s combined times after the end of FP3 that will decide the grid ahead of Sunday’s racing.

That means Maverick Viñales (Movistar Yamaha MotoGP) will start from his first pole for Yamaha, with Team Suzuki Ecstar’s Andrea Iannone and reigning Champion Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) joining him on the front row.

The second row is: top rookie Johann Zarco (Monster Yamaha Tech 3), Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team) and Scott Redding (Octo Pramac Racing) in sixth.

The third row – so from P7 to P9 – is Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda Team), Jonas Folger (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) and Cal Crutchlow (LCR Honda).

Nine-time World Champion Valentino Rossi (Movistar Yamaha MotoGP) heads up Row 4 in tenth, ahead of Danilo Petrucci (Octo Pramac Racing). Jorge Lorenzo is in 12th on his debut with the Ducati Team.

Warm Up will be extended tomorrow for MotoGP™, Moto2™ and Moto3™, with each session given a new length of 30 minutes.

Maverick Viñales, P1: “It’s been very strange, and strange that it rains in Qatar! From FP1 I’ve felt really good and I did a great laptime, riding much faster than qualifying from last year so we are happy we can ride like that and have a good pace for tomorrow. We want to try to make our own pace, make some last adjustments in the Warm Up, it will be important to end that with a good feeling. Try to make the race and hope the weather can be good. It was difficult today, it wasn’t ok for wet tyres or dry tyres – it was too risky to go out. For me it’s safety first and it’s tricky conditions. The plan to prepare the race – full tank, used tyres – was for FP4. So we’re disappointed we couldn’t do that and we’ll try tomorrow. For everyone who can’t do the work they want, it’s always a bit disappointing.”

Andrea Iannone, P2: “For us it’s important to start from the first row and it’s the best for tomorrow. But it’s difficult for us because we don’t know what will happen in the race. Maverick and Marc have good pace we saw from the test, and we have to recover. Tomorrow we’ll try our best in the first lap and in the race. But the practice before is also important because we need the information to improve. Today safety is more important and it’s too dangerous to go out on track. It’s the same for everyone and the most important thing now is tomorrow.”

Marc Marquez, P3: “Today it’s important because it’s time to prepare for the race. For us, yesterday we tried a lot of things. On the first day I felt good with one base, yesterday I tried a lot of things and today was the time to look at it all and prepare for the race. But it’s the weather and we can’t do anything. It’s too dangerous because it’s been heavy rain all night and this morning so we’ll see tomorrow. Starting on the front row for me is a good result – it’s not the best way to achieve it – but it’s a good result and tomorrow we’ll try to fight for the podium. Warm Up will be important – but here we’ve done more than 300 laps this weekend, and during the test. Everyone knows what the possibilities are for the race – and we know a podium would be a great result for us. I don’t know if the grip will change a lot for us tomorrow or not. I think for us in MotoGP the grip will be ok because before we have the Moto3 and Moto2 races. But I hope they can dry the track, and that the weather keeps stable until tomorrow – and we’ll see how the grip is. We can find the feeling again, and then start the season well.”

Intermediate class grid formed from FP3 combined, Morbidelli parts first

Qualifying cancelled, with grid decided by combined timings

Franco Morbidelli (EG 0,0 Marc VDS) will start from pole in Moto2™, ahead of teammate Alex Marquez. Tom Lüthi (CarXpert Interwetten) is in P3.

Fourth is Takaaki Nakagami (Idemitsu Honda Team Asia), with Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM Ajo) and Danny Kent (Kiefer Racing) joining him on Row 2

Dominique Aegerter (Kiefer Racing), Xavi Vierge (Tech 3 Racing), and rookies Francesco Bagnaia (Sky Racing Team VR46) and Fabio Quartararo (Pons HP40) complete the top ten.

Jorge Martin’s first position on grid for Moto3™ based on practice

Lightweight class to line up based on combined times after FP3

Jorge Martin (Del Conca Gresini Moto3) starts from pole ahead of Philipp Oettl (Südmetall Schedl GP Racing) and Romano Fenati (Marinelli Rivacold Snipers).

Bo Bendsneyder (Red Bull KTM Ajo) and teammate Niccolo Antonelli head Row 2, joined by Joan Mir (Leopard Racing) in P6.

Andrea Migno (Sky Racing Team VR46), Aron Canet (Estrella Galicia 0,0), Juanfran Guevara (RBA BOE Racing Team) and Marcos Ramirez (Platinum Bay Real Estate) complete the top ten.

More, from a press release issued by Pull&Bear Aspar Team:

Rain halts play as qualifying is canned in Qatar

Grid to be decided on free practice positions as Álvaro Bautista and Karel Abraham prepare to line up thirteenth and seventeenth

A heavy rainstorm that hit Qatar earlier today caused sufficient disruption at the circuit to prevent any of the three categories from taking part in qualifying this evening. As such tomorrow’s grids will be decided by the combined classification from the three practice sessions that have taken place so far, meaning Maverick Viñales will start from pole position with Andrea Iannone and Marc Márquez alongside him on the front row.

Pull&Bear Aspar riders Álvaro Bautista and Karel Abraham were left frustrated tonight after not getting the opportunity to improve on their free practice positions, which means they will start from thirteenth and seventeenth respectively. Tomorrow evening’s activity will consist of a thirty-minute warm-up session at 4.50pm local time with a 22-lap race scheduled to start at 9pm.

13th Álvaro Bautista 1’55.581:“The conditions tonight didn’t allow us to ride the track in the wet to see what it was like under the floodlights. We weren’t able to ride in the dry either because there were rivers running across the track and it wasn’t safe. In the end the grid is decided by free practice. Obviously I would have preferred it for qualifying to go ahead so that I could push into Q2 and get a good position on the grid. It is always hard to start from thirteenth when you have better race rhythm than the guys in front of you, who perhaps just managed one good lap. It will be important to assess the track conditions tomorrow night and we’ll see if we can race. Then it will be a case of getting into our rhythm, staying patient and trying to put together the best possible race in whatever conditions we find.”

17th Karel Abraham 1’56.003:“I am frustrated because I will be 17th on the grid but in every session, I have been higher up. Unfortunately, on the combined times I am 17th so it’s annoying but that’s the way it is. To be honest I was watching what was going on with the track today and it was really dangerous. Some parts of the track were completely dry and other parts had rivers running across. There was standing water in the gravel traps and from a rider’s perspective it was very dangerous. It is a shame for us because we could have done better, also I feel we could have rescheduled qualifying for tomorrow instead of having a warm up but this is the decision of Race Direction, which we must respect and accept. We have some things we want to try tomorrow so hopefully it doesn’t rain because we have seen today that it presents a big safety issue and it is not safe to ride. The forecast is not bad so hopefully it is correct!”

More, from a press release issued by Octo Pramac Racing:

Qualifying canceled due to rain. Scott and Petrux will start from 2nd and 4th row

Qualifying for the first event of the 2017 MotoGP season have been canceled. Following the heavy rain fell in the afternoon at the Losail circuit in Doha, Qatar, the track conditions were deemed too dangerous and as a result the Race Direction took the most sensible decision in order to protect rider’s safety.

The grid of the Grand Prix of Qatar was then determined on the combined standings of the three free practices held on Thursday and Friday.

As a result Scott Redding will start from the second row thanks to his fantastic Friday when he managed to finish sixth overall after topping the quickest time-lap in FP2.

Petrux instead will start from the fourth row following his eleventh position in FP3, just 21 milliseconds from the Top 10.

More, from a press release issued by Repsol Honda:

Marc on front row, Dani seventh in Qatar after QP cancellation

All of this evening’s sessions at Losail were cancelled due to safety conditions, when large amounts of standing water—left by an overnight rain and a long lunchtime downpour—didn’t dry off throughout the afternoon and evening.

Consequently, grid positions for tomorrow’s 22-lap race will be based on combined free-practice times, meaning that Marc Marquez will start from the front row thanks to his third-best lap time (1’54.912”, set in FP1), while Dani Pedrosa will from 7th seventh place based on his 1’55.113” mark, set in FP3 and just two tenths off a virtual front-row start.

Tomorrow’s warm-ups will be extended to 30 minutes, with the MotoGP session scheduled to start at 4:50 p.m. and the race at 9:00 p.m. local time.

Marc Marquez

3RD (BASED ON FP COMBINED CLASSIFICATION)

“Starting on the front row is good for us, though this wasn’t the best way to achieve that result. I would have liked to have time today to work more for the race, but you can’t control the weather and we must think about safety first. It was too dangerous to ride, as it had rained quite heavily both overnight and this morning. In the end, we’ve done more than 300 laps on this track, when you consider the recent test and this week; that means everybody already has the setup and his own pace, and everybody already knows where he is for the race. On our side, we know that a podium would be a great result for us and we’ll try to go for it. We’ll have a longer warm-up and we’ll see how the grip and everything is. Probably for the MotoGP race it will already be okay, as Moto3 and Moto2 will race before us, but we’ll see. I hope that the track will be dry enough and that the weather is stable.”

Dani Pedrosa

7TH (BASED ON FP COMBINED CLASSIFICATION)

“I think that the decision of cancelling the sessions today was right, as safety always comes first. That said, I was hoping to do qualifying and to have the chance to improve my lap time, as I knew that otherwise I would have to start from seventh place. In the warm-up tomorrow, we’ll see how the track is; that will be our main concern, to see how dirty it is, how much sand there is, and how much of it will remain for the race. The tyre choice is more-or-less done, and it will be important to be able to make them work well. I don’t think there will be an opportunity to try something with the setup, because the conditions will prevent us from having the right references. We’ll wait and see how the real conditions are tomorrow, and we’ll do our best.”

More, from a press release issued by Movistar Yamaha:

VIÑALES EARNS POLE AS WET CONDITIONS PUT A DAMPER ON QATAR QUALIFYING

The Movistar Yamaha MotoGP Team leave the Losail International Circuit this evening without being able to ride, due to track conditions being too dangerous, but captured its first pole position of the 2017 MotoGP season.

Doha (Qatar), 25th March 2017

The Movistar Yamaha MotoGP Team was disappointed to be unable to head out of the pit box on the third day of the Grand Prix of Qatar weekend. Due to heavy thunder and rain last night and this morning, standing water at the Losail International Circuit didn‘t allow any track action to take place today.

Riders Maverick Viñales and Valentino Rossi were looking forward to getting a feel for the conditions in an extra 20-minute Free Practice session, before putting a final hand to their bikes’ race settings in FP4 and entering the Q2. However, safety concerns caused by the mixed track conditions, standing water at places where the riders are at maximum lean angle, and the reflection of the glaring floodlights on wet tarmac caused the additional practice session to be cancelled.

With the weather remaining uncertain, the teammates had no other option than to wait for either a dry race line to form, so they could go out on slicks, or for the rain to start in earnest, allowing them to put on the wets. When there was still no sign of improvement in the weather conditions and the state of the track after 20:15pm (GMT+3) Race Direction was forced to call off all action for the evening.

With no track-action being done today by any of the MotoGP riders, Viñales and Rossi have secured first and tenth place on the grid respectively, based on their placement in the combined Free Practice 1-3 results. They now look forward to return to the Losail International Circuit tomorrow to continue proceedings, starting the 30-minute warm-up session at 16:50 (GMT+3) and the race at 21:00 (GMT+3).

MASSIMO MEREGALLI

TEAM DIRECTOR

This is a very disappointing turn of events, not just for us, but for everyone involved and especially the fans, who are looking forward to starting off the season in full force. However, there was nothing to be done about today‘s situation. With the circuit surface not being suitable for either wet or dry tyres, the best cause of action is to cancel the qualifying sessions and continue the normal racing schedule tomorrow. It‘s a pity that we couldn‘t use today‘s session time to our advantage, but on the bright side we get to congratulate Maverick with his first MotoGP pole position at only his first Grand Prix weekend with Yamaha. The decision to use the combined free practice standings is less fortunate for Valentino, who will start from tenth place, but we know his great capacity to cut through the field during the race. Tomorrow the warm-up session will be crucial to prepare for the race, because for sure the conditions of the track will be completely different than at the start of the event.

MAVERICK VIÑALES

The conditions were tricky today and finally I think they made the right decision, because it was totally impossible to ride. The conditions were mixed, there was a lot of water on the track, so I think they made the correct call. In the end, we didn‘t ride for the show, but rider safety comes first. Today it wasn‘t hard to stay focused, I was in the box the whole time. Seeing the images, it would be difficult to go out on track with that much standing water, so I was trying to stay focused in case we would go out and try, but it was better that we didn‘t try it today, because it was quite tricky. We will try to check our race pace and the bike in the warm-up, try to get a good feeling and the best confidence with the bike going into the race.

VALENTINO ROSSI

For us, personally – we are a little bit slow and behind – so having less time on track is a problem, but that‘s the way it is. We couldn‘t do it any other way, because the track didn‘t have the conditions required for us to try. I think in a full wet or dry session I could have improved my position on the grid, which is the bigger problem, because I‘m in the fourth row. To modify the bike, we will have a half-hour warm-up tomorrow. Even though it isn‘t exactly held in the night, we will try to understand and afterwards we will discover if I’ll have enough pace to make it a good race.

More, from a press release issued by Monster Yamaha Tech 3:

 Rain causes qualifying to be cancelled – Zarco to begin race from head of the second row and Folger from 8th

The Monster Yamaha Tech3 team riders did not experience any action today in Qatar due to continuous rain which prevented the riders from taking to the track because of safety concerns. Despite the efforts of the dedicated staff at the Losail International Circuit, it was not possible to clear the streams of water that crossed the track. The grid positions will be based on the combined practice times that were recorded in the three free practice sessions. As a result, Johann Zarco will kick off his first MotoGP race from 4th on the grid with Jonas Folger launching from 8th. There will be an additional ten minutes in each warm-up session, with the race schedule remaining as planned.

Johann ZARCO

Position: 4th

“Today we didn’t do qualifying and our grid positions will be based on the combined practice times. As a result, I am happy about the work that I have completed since the first session on Thursday. We knew that the weather in Qatar this weekend could complicate things so I spoke with my crew about how to be as fast as possible in the practices. I am pleased that this strategy worked for me but I was lucky yesterday when I did my lap time because I followed Maverick and I learnt a lot of things. Tomorrow I will launch from the head of the second row and it’s a good opportunity to kick off the season in a positive way. My target is to finish the race in a strong position and I would like to start well from 4th and remain with the front guys like Maverick and Marquez so that I can gain some knowledge from them. If I stay close to the leading group for at least half of the race, I can achieve a solid result.”

Jonas FOLGER

Position: 8th

“It’s a shame that we couldn’t ride today, but I will begin the race in a good position after the positive lap time that I set in FP2. Having said that, it’s a shame that I have to wait a bit longer to experience the qualifying, but safety comes first and I think that race direction made the best decision. I’m really looking forward to starting my MotoGP career after such a successful winter test season so I will give my all to get a strong result tomorrow.”

More, from a press release issued by Team Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS:

Qatar MotoGP qualifying cancelled after Doha deluge

Team Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS riders Jack Miller and Tito Rabat were unable to participate in any track action in Qatar tonight after the opening MotoGP qualifying of 2017 was cancelled following torrential rain that left the Losail International Circuit in an unrideable condition.

Pouring rain battered the Losail International Circuit earlier today, which meant the scheduled FP4, Q1 and Q2 sessions were delayed while race organisation worked tirelessly to clear large patches of standing water that had gathered at numerous points around the 5.4km track.

The weather disruption initially meant a revision to tonight’s schedule, with Miller and Rabat on standby for a 20-minute practice session at 6pm to evaluate wet conditions for the first time in Qatar.

That session was cancelled though due to the unusually variable track conditions, with parts of the surface fully dry, parts damp, and other parts completely underwater.

Every effort was taken to ensure some track action commenced tonight, and it was hoped at 8.30pm local time that the 30-minute FP4 would get underway. But Race Direction decided to cancel all action shortly after 8pm, with the track unsafe to begin proceedings.

Grid places for tomorrow’s season opening 22-lap race have been decided based on the standings at the end of Free Practice, meaning Miller starts his second season with Team Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS from 16th. Rabat’s 2017 campaign will kick off from 19th on the grid.

As a result of tonight’s disruption, tomorrow’s 20-minute Warm-up session will be extended by 10 minutes to make up for the lost set-up time this evening.

Jack Miller: 16th – 1’55.959

“I’ve got a lot of arm pump from riding today! Seriously though, it was the correct decision to cancel the action tonight on safety grounds. We all want to put on a show for the fans here and at home, but the track wasn’t in a good condition for riding. My grid position is not ideal and I’m sure I could have been higher if qualifying had taken place, but I’ve been in worse situations and I’m confident I’ve got the speed to have a good race tomorrow.”

Tito Rabat: 19th – 1’56.368

“I feel very tired after a very hard day. Joking aside, Race Direction took the right decision to cancel tonight’s action. It was too dry to go out on rain tyres but if you go out on slicks then the wet patches would have made it very risky. The positive is that I have saved a lot of energy for tomorrow’s race. I am looking forward to a strong Warm-up session to give me some confidence going into the race. Let’s just hope we don’t have a repeat of the rain we saw today.”

More, from a press release issued by Ducati Corse:

25 March 2017

MotoGP 2017 – Round 1 – Qatar

Track conditions lead to Day 3 of Qatar GP action being cancelled. Riders line up on grid for tomorrow’s race according to combined free practice times: Dovizioso on row 2 and Lorenzo on row 4

The heavy rain that fell this afternoon at the Losail International Circuit made the track unfit for action today, especially because of pools of standing water in some parts of the circuit which remained for a few hours.

After postponing the start of track action several times, the Race Direction then decided to finally cancel today’s sessions in all categories.

The Qatar GP starting grid was therefore decided on the basis of the combined classification for the three free practice sessions, and so the two Ducati Team riders, Andrea Dovizioso and Jorge Lorenzo, will start the race respectively from rows two and four.

Tomorrow’s warm-up, extended to 30 minutes, will start at 16.50 (local time) and the opening GP of the season gets underway at 21.00.

Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team #04) – 1’55.042 (5th)

“Unfortunately the conditions we encountered today did not allow us to test in the wet and not even to do the work that we had scheduled in case it was dry. In any case it was the right decision to cancel practice because today we didn’t have the conditions to lap safely with slicks. At this point, we will use the time available tomorrow in the warm-up to choose which tyre to use in the race and try and be as ready as possible.”

Jorge Lorenzo (Ducati Team #99) – 1’55.461 (12th)

“It was a real pity not to have been able to do any laps today, because I wanted to continue to work on the settings and improve my feeling with the bike: with these conditions however it was really not possible to go out onto the track. Now we can only make the most of the half-hour warm-up tomorrow afternoon to make a further step forward and be as ready as possible for my first race with Ducati. Let’s hope the weather is milder than today and that we can have a race in normal conditions in the dry.”

More, from a press release issued by Reale Avintia Racing:

Qatar Grand Prix Qualifying Practice cancelled due to the track conditions

The forecasted heavy rains finally arrived today at the Losail International Circuit and the qualifying sessions in all three classes were cancelled due to the track conditions. Tomorrow’s Qatar Grand Prix starting grid is now based on the combined standings from yesterday’s practice sessions, with Reale Avintia Racing riders Loris Baz and Hector Barbera in 14th and 20th position.

During the evening, the organization tried everything they could to keep the Grand Prix program running as scheduled, but although some parts of the track were completely dry, there was a lot of water in several other areas of the 5,4km circuit. Finally, the Race Direction made the decision to cancel the Qualifying Practice in all three classes.

Loris Baz | 1’55.624 | P14

“There is not much to say about today. We spent the evening waiting for the news of the Race Direction, but finally it was not possible to go out, neither in wet or dry conditions. I think they have made the best decision. The track was not in good conditions to ride our bikes and we will see what happens tomorrow.”

Hector Barbera | 1’56.725 | P20

“It’s a pity because for me it would have been important to be on the bike today. I lost the three-day test because of my injury and it would have helped to do more kilometres on this track before the race. But it was dangerous to go out in these conditions, and safety comes first. So we have to accept the decision of the Race Direction.”

More, from a press release issued by Team Suzuki Press Office:

IANNONE 2ND ON QATAR GRID AFTER QUALIFYING CANCELLED

Team Suzuki Press Office – March 25.

As a result of the treacherous track conditions, today’s FP4 and Qualifying sessions were cancelled and tomorrow’s grid for the opening MotoGP race of 2017 at Qatar will be decided by the combined classification from FP1, FP2 and FP3, which means that Team SUZUKI ECSTAR’s Andrea Iannone will start from second place with his Suzuki GSX-RR and Alex Rins from 18th.

The heavy rain that hit Losail in the morning flooded the circuit for the entire day. Despite the efforts of the circuit’s personnel, it was impossible to have consistent conditions of the tarmac throughout the 5.4km, with many wet patches still affecting the grip by the time the FP4 session was planned.

Iannone´s fastest lap yesterday, which gave him second place in combined classification, turned out to be even better than expected; he is finally able to start from the first row for tomorrow’s race. His pace still has to be evaluated-more, but there will be time in tomorrow’s warm-up, which has been extended by 30 minutes because of today’s weather issues.

Rins had worse luck, as he couldn’t improve on the 18th position he scored in the combined classification. His progressive improvement yesterday led to higher expectations for today’s sessions, which would have allowed him to get at least a top-15 place on the grid. However, this will be another chance for him to get some solid experience.

Davide Brivio – Team Manager:

“We must be realistic, and we are happy for Andrea’s first row position, but at the same time it’s a shame that we couldn’t improve Alex’s position. Today we’ve lost a good chance to test and work on the bikes. Yesterday, with Andrea, we did a great performance, but we also needed to confirm it; it looks as if he got back some confidence with the bike, a good feeling, but we need evidence. Also, we need to transfer this feeling into the machine´s race configuration. We missed this chance and we will have to try to take advantage as much as possible of tomorrow’s warm-up. Also for Alex it is a pity, because we wanted to try to improve his starting position but there was no chance. Also, we need to do some small work to find that 100% feeling. On one side, we are happy for the first row position; on the other we missed the opportunity to improve on the position. It is what it is. We will try to take advantage as best as we can at tomorrow’s warm-up. We are positive for the race, if Andrea continues with a sense of the bike, he can have a good race starting from the second spot on the grid. With Alex, we are really curious to see how his first experience with a MotoGP bike will be.”

Andrea Iannone:

“I’m happy about starting from the first row of course, but at the same time we needed the session to work on the machine. Yesterday we were able to make many improvements and my feeling is positive, but it would have been better to have this time to make further checks and tests. We had some ideas to improve in some areas, and I believe this could have been useful for the pace, to gain two-or-three tenths – that is always welcome. Anyhow, the race is another business and I really can’t wait to start. The first row is a good opportunity for me. I will try to fully take advantage of it.”

Alex Rins:

“Tomorrow we will try to have fun overtaking! It was a bit of shame that the session was cancelled and there is no qualifying tomorrow due to track conditions. We will try in the warm-up to test all the stuff we have not been able to check today. Then, I think that in the race as we start so far back, if we are able to leave behind a number of riders, we can learn a lot. Today we had a good test plan with the front end of the bike which I did not feel very comfortable with, but I’m sure everything will be perfect for the race. I think with the 30-minute warm-up we will have time to make-up some of the lost time.”