Gran Premio Red Bull de Espana

FIM MotoGP World Championship

Circuito de Jerez – Angel Nieto

Jerez de la Frontera, Spain

May 5, 2018

Qualifying Results (all on Michelin tires):

From Qualifying Session Two:

1. Cal Crutchlow, UK (Honda), 1:37.653

2. Dani Pedrosa, Spain (Honda), 1:37.912

3. Johann Zarco, France (Yamaha), 1:37.956

4. Jorge Lorenzo, Spain (Ducati), 1:37.969

5. Marc Marquez, Spain (Honda), 1:37.977

6. Alex Rins, Spain (Suzuki), 1:37.984

7. Andrea Iannone, Italy (Suzuki), 1:37.987

8. Andrea Dovizioso, Italy (Ducati), 1:38.029

9. Danilo Petrucci, Italy (Ducati), 1:38.086

10. Valentino Rossi, Italy (Yamaha), 1:38.267

11. Maverick Vinales, Spain (Yamaha), 1:38.281

12. Jack Miller, Australia (Ducati), 1:38.522

From Qualifying Session One:

13. Aleix Espargaro, Spain (Aprilia), 1:38.389

14. Takaaki Nakagami, Japan (Honda), 1:38.481

15. Franco Morbidelli, Italy (Honda), 1:38.544

16. Pol Espargaro, Spain (KTM), 1:38.598

17. Tito Rabat, Spain (Ducati), 1:38.610

18. Thomas Luthi, Switzerland (Honda), 1:38.752

19. Mika Kallio, Finland (KTM), 1:38.759

20. Alvaro Bautista, Spain (Ducati), 1:38.838

21. Bradley Smith, UK (KTM), 1:38.961

22. Hafizh Syahrin, Malaysia (Yamaha), 1:39.135

23. Karel Abraham, Czech Republic (Ducati), 1:39.146

24. Xavier Simeon, Belgium (Ducati), 1:39.708

25. Scott Redding, UK (Aprilia), 1:39.918

More, from a press release issued by Monster Yamaha Tech3:

Zarco grabs fabulous front row in Jerez – Syahrin shows huge determination

Monster Yamaha Tech3 star Johann Zarco delivered a stunning Qualifying performance today at the Jerez Circuit and was able to place the only Yamaha inside the top 3 for the Spanish Grand Prix. As the fast Frenchman secured the third spot with a superb lap towards the end of the short session, he’ll launch forward from the front row for the fourth time in as many races.

On the other side of the Monster Yamaha Tech3 garage, Hafizh Syahrin still struggled with the bruises he sustained in a bicycle crash on Monday, but gave his all to do the fastest lap during Q1 on his 24th birthday. The MotoGP rookie was riding through the pain barrier and will start the Spanish GP tomorrow at 14.00 local time from the eighth row of the ultra-competitive grid.

Johann Zarco

Position: 3rd – Time: 1’37.956 – Laps: 8

“I always ride at the maximum and I trust the bike, although FP4 was quite difficult today with used tyres, but the good thing is, if we struggle during the Free Practice we can prepare the race in a better way. Now in the heat I could not find the speed from yesterday, also this morning I was feeling good, but the temperatures make a huge difference. I have a decent feeling on the right side, so I tried to push hard. I’m really happy, it’s just coming and enjoy to be in the first row. I want to take this opportunity again to fight for the victory tomorrow.”

Hafizh Syahrin

Position: 22nd – Time: 1’39.135 – Laps: 8

“During the Qualifying, I tried my best with my pain and it was quite difficult to improve my lap time, but finally I put in all I have and in the end, we managed to get closer to the front. My position is pretty far, but we will see what happens tomorrow. I hope that I can keep up the pace for all 25 laps. You never know what can happen during the race. I will try my best and want to thank my team, because they always try something and find a great direction for me, which is positive. I’m also sorry a bit for them, because my body doesn’t feel so good, but I try to recover as fast as possible in order to be ready for the race.”

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

Morbidelli and Lüthi set to challenge for points in Spanish GP

With his fastest time of the weekend so far Team Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS rider Franco Morbidelli has qualified in 15th position for Sunday’s Spanish Grand Prix.

The young Italian rider went 0.2s under his previous best to claim his fifth row starting spot in sunny and warm conditions at Jerez.

The QP1 session was fiercely contested with Morbidelli only just missing out on the chance to progress through to QP2.

Just as impressive was the dramatic improvement by Swiss rider Tom Lüthi who went 0.6s under his previous personal best time to claim 18th on the grid for the 25 lap race.

Both Morbidelli and Lüthi feel they have the potential to finish in the points.

The Spanish Grand Prix is round four of the MotoGP World Championship.

Franco Morbidelli: 15th- 1’38.544

“Unfortunately I didn’t achieve my maximum potential in qualifying with a mistake at turn eight that cost valuable time. But I am fast and feel I can fight for some good points in the race although we are still looking to improve stability on corner exit. In FP4 we managed to find a good balance on used tyres so this is positive for the race.”

Tom Lüthi: 18th – 1’38.752

“Finally I did a good qualifying session, I had a precise feeling with the bike and improved my times. But I still need to improve my race rhythm, I lose time when the tyre drops after a few laps and hopefully we can find some solutions in the warm-up tomorrow morning. I’m looking forward to a strong race.”

Michael Bartholemy: Team Principal

“I am satisfied with qualifying from both riders after we struggled to find the ideal set-up on Friday. We made some good steps in FP3 this morning and we now have a good base, which is a step forward after a difficult weekend at the previous race in Texas. I think both Franco and Tom can challenge for points in the race.”

More, from a press release issued by Angel Nieto Team:

BAUTISTA FEELING OPTIMISTIC FOR HOME RACE

Ángel Nieto Team rider finds best feeling with his bike so far this season

The fourth round of the 2018 MotoGP World Championship will once again start with an Independent Team rider on pole position. After Johann Zarco in Qatar and Jack Miller in Argentina, today it was the turn of Britain’s Cal Crutchlow to seal top spot on the grid at the Circuito de Jerez – Ángel Nieto, with Dani Pedrosa and Zarco set to join him on the front row. Jorge Lorenzo was the top Ducati in qualifying, with his team-mate and current series leader Andrea Dovizioso in eighth.

Ángel Nieto Team rider Álvaro Bautista heads into his first home Grand Prix of the season with improved feeling on his Ducati, the Spaniard explaining that this is the best the GP17 has felt since the start of the season. He will look to continue the upward trend in tomorrow’s race, which he starts from the seventh row of the grid. His team-mate Karel Abraham will be directly behind him on the eighth row, after struggling with some rear grip issues during qualifying this afternoon.

20th Álvaro Bautista 1:38.838: “Today we tried some more changes to the bike to try and improve the front end and the general handling of the bike. We tried without wings for the first time but we didnt see a huge difference, it is a little more agile but there is no gain in traction, so that’s not the step we were looking for. This afternoon we went for a different set-up and the more laps I got in the more I could push. This afternoon we went faster than we have all weekend – it’s not a spectacular lap time but I felt good and hopefully from here we can improve further because the feeling was better than it has been all season. The race will be difficult with the heat and the lack of grip but as far as my pace is concerned I feel confident.”

23rd Karel Abraham 1:39.146: “We set a really good lap this morning and everything was going really well. This afternoon in qualifying I expected to be maybe half a second faster, this weekend we had that potential but unfortunately on the second lap I had a big problem with the rear and the tyre slid in the middle of the corner without the brake or the throttle, so that was really strange. I stopped in the box and changed the tyre but I felt that I couldn’t lean the bike or open the throttle without the rear sliding. I am disappointed because I think we could have qualified around fifteenth place today, which would have been a good result.”

More, from a press release issued by Aprilia Gresini:

A MATTER OF THOUSANDTHS

ALEIX ESPARGARÓ RIDES OUTSTANDING QUALIFIERS BUT MISSES Q2 BY 40 THOUSANDTHS. HE WILL START FROM THE FIRST SPOT ON THE FIFTH ROW

NINTH ROW FOR REDDING, HINDERED BY POOR GRIP

The outcome of Espargaró’s assault on Q2 was decided twice by thousandths of a second. In the morning in FP3, when he missed going straight through to the final qualifiers by 82 thousandths and then in Q1 when a pass on the decisive lap forced him into third place with a time of 1’38.389, just 40 thousandths behind Viñales, who took the spot that pushed him through Q2. Aleix is well aware of the potential to have an Aprilia RS-GP in the race tomorrow ready to make a play for his chances, partially because of the good pace achieved on used tyres in the last free practice session.

Scott Redding finished with a time of 1’39.918, hindered by a lack of grip today, and he will start from the ninth row.

ALEIX ESPARGARO’

“I am happy. The bike has improved a lot since yesterday. Even in the session this morning, we were close to the leaders and we missed going straight through to Q2 by a few thousandths. In the last free practice session, I maintained a very good pace with the used tyres. Then in Q1 I was just 40 thousandths short of going through, with a lot of strong riders like Dovizioso and Viñales and with a time that was not far from the ones on the front rows. Yes, I am satisfied and I think that tomorrow we’ll be able to do a good race. We worked well and my Aprilia has improved. We will need to have a good start and maintain a good pace. Especially in the second half, we will really be able to be competitive and aim for a good result.”

SCOTT REDDING

“We need to try and understand where our problems are coming from. I don’t have grip at the rear in any condition and I can’t push because things get worse. I don’t know if it’s a matter of working on the setup or on tyre choice. Right now the limit is insurmountable. In the morning, with lower temperatures, grip improves a bit, but in race conditions I really struggle to ride. I can’t find any excuses with the track because the other riders manage to be fast and even Aleix has improved a lot from yesterday, so the asphalt conditions are OK.”

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

Reale Avintia Racing riders ready for the Spanish GP

Both riders of Reale Avintia Racing team improved their lap times and the feeling with their Ducati Desmosedici bikes on the second day of practice for the Spanish Grand Prix and were satisfied with their progress. But nevertheless, Tito Rabat and Xavier Simeon expected to finish the crucial qualifying session with a better result.

Rabat has a very good race pace, which he showed it in FP4 where he finished seventh fastest and with a lot of confidence for the race.

For Simeon, the FP4 session was also very positive, as he felt very good on the bike. But just like his teammate, he has was not happy with his grid position.

The warm-up session on Sunday morning will be crucial to refine the set-up of the bikes and to be completely ready for the 25-lap-race, in which both are riders are determined to put up a fight, show their strong race pace and achieve a good result.

Tito Rabat | 1’38.610 | P17

“It’s been a difficult weekend so far, but we’ve found a method to go faster and that’s why I’m happy. We had a very good pace in FP4, where I was able to see many things riding behind Dani Pedrosa. We are refining setting issues so we can finish the race in a good position. In qualifying, I was pushing harder and I crashed, which was a pity for the team and for me as well. Tomorrow I hope to make a good start and to recover positions step by step. We are only 17th on the grid, but I am still happy with the work we’ve done and the progress we made.”

Xavier Simeon | 1’39.708 | P24

“This morning we made an important step and it gave me a lot of satisfaction, so I had high expectations for qualifying. My goal for this race is to get closer to the top 15 and we have shown that we can do this. But in qualifying, with the highest temperatures of the day, we had problems with tyre grip and it was very difficult to ride. I expected to do much better. I had a hard time repeating my best time of the morning. We need to solve this grip problem if we want to make a good race”.

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

Gran Premio Red Bull de España – Qualifying

#SpanishGP Quali – Precious P9 for Petrux after a crazy Q2. Jack will start from P12

The qualification for the Gran Premio Red Bull de España underlines the beauty of the MotoGP with eight riders – from Pedrosa’s second place to Petrucci’s ninth – in just 174 thousandths of a second. It was a positive Saturday for Alma Pramac Racing as Petrux and Jack confirmed the good feeling of Friday winning a valuable double direct qualification to Q2.

Danilo conquered Q2 with a great last lap in the Fp3 and lapped in the Fp4 with a promising race pace. Even in qualifying the rider from Terni was very incisive lapping at the levels of the Top 5 but he had to settple for ninth place only 102 thousandths from the second row and 140 thousandths from the front row.

After Friday’s free practice, Jack confirmed his good feeling with the Ducati Desmosedici GP at the Jerez circuit. The Australian rider easily took the Q2 and lapped in the Fp4 with a Top 10 race pace. In Q2, however, Jack wasn’t able to take that small step forward to gain a few places and he will start from row four tomorrow.

P9 Danilo Petrucci – 1’38.086

“It was an incredible qualifying session. I don’t remember such a tight gap between the top nine riders. The feeling is good anyway and this gives me confidence for tomorrow’s race. We are probably not yet at the Top 5 level on this circuit but we have taken important steps forward”.

P12 Jack Miller – 1’38.522

“I struggled a bit in qualifying. Maybe I wasn’t able to make the second soft tyre work well. We’ll work with the team to analyze the data and see where we can do better. All things considered it’s a good weekend so far. The race pace is not bad and the feeling with the bike is positive”.

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

POSITIVE PERFORMANCES ON A DAY OF VERY CLOSE MARGINS

Alex Rins: 6th – 1’37.984 (+ 0.331)

Andrea Iannone: 7th – 1’37.987 (+ 0.334)

• Big improvements for Alex Rins as he takes second row.

•Great pace from Andrea Iannone, especially in FP4.

•Both riders feeling comfortable and strong with the GSX-RR.

Saturday’s action provided a lot of entertainment for the vast Spanish crowds as extremely close margins and intense sessions dominated proceedings at the Circuit of Jerez – Angel Nieto.

The morning’s FP3 session was crucial as the riders battled it out to confirm their place in Q2. Andrea Iannone spent the majority of this session finalising his set-up and he showed strong pace throughout. Meanwhile, Alex Rins also made drastic improvements and dropped into the 1:38s. As FP3 drew to a close, Team SUZUKI ECSTAR’s riders found themselves close to the ‘drop zone’, but their hard work ensured their lap times were indeed good enough to give them direct passage into Q2.

In the FP4 session both riders were able to confirm again just how strong their pace is, with Andrea Iannone setting a 1:38.444 and Alex Rins a 1:38.820. These excellent laps gave Team SUZUKI ECSTAR a 1-2 at the top of the FP4 timesheet, this was the first time the team have had first and second in a session since 2015 (QP in Barcelona).

The afternoon’s Q2 session was predictably tight and frenetic, with very close margins between all the riders. Andrea Iannone chose to start on a medium-soft tyre combination, while Alex Rins opted for the hard-medium. Iannone showed his intentions early on with a very impressive 1:37.987 on his first flying lap, Alex Rins also put himself onto the provisional front row during the early part of the 15-minute session. After their final pit stop, the pair decided to stay with same tyre combinations they started with – with very few riders in the field selecting soft tyres. Iannone and Rins continued to push and set consistently quick laps, and as the chequered flag came out it would be a second row start with 6th place for the Spaniard, with his Italian team-mate just one place behind in 7th. Both riders were just three tenths of a second behind the pole time.

Davide Brivio – Team Manager

“We can be happy about today, because Andrea continued with his good feeling, the bike was fast this morning and he set the best time in FP4. The qualifying session was very close and in the end Andrea only finished 7th, but it was very tight and he was so close to the top. The good thing is that our pace is strong and I think we can have a good race. Alex made a big step since yesterday and grew in confidence this morning during FP3, where he was able to stay in the Top 10, then he also had very good pace in FP4 and he managed to qualify well. I think we can hope for a good race tomorrow with both of them, the grid positions could be better but they’re not so bad, so let’s see!”

Alex Rins

“Today has been really good, keeping up with the same work that we did yesterday. So, basically yesterday we focused on the set-up and today we focused on setting fast laps. It’s very close with many riders on a similar lap time, so the race will be interesting tomorrow and we have to see what we can do. We are working in a good way, the bike has a lot of potential, and I’m confident that I can be at my best tomorrow.”

Andrea Iannone

“I didn’t feel bad with the bike today, we improved a bit compared to yesterday – not a big step, but it’s always interesting to improve something. In any case, unfortunately qualifying didn’t go as I had hoped, the times were so close and there were many riders with very similar lap times, it was unbelievable! But we stayed with this fast group and we feel strong, so tomorrow we’ll try our best. I think all the brands are very close and I think tomorrow will be a great Sunday for the people watching at home or at the circuit!”

More, from a press release issued by Repsol Honda:

Dani Pedrosa qualifies second in Jerez, with Marc Marquez a close fifth

Dani Pedrosa put in an amazing performance today at the newly resurfaced Circuito de Jerez Angel Nieto to take second behind fellow HRC rider Cal Crutchlow, who also set the track’s new pole record.

Marc Marquez will start from the fifth spot on the grid. The reigning World Champion missed a front-row spot by just 0.021”, but his race pace was quite good in every practice session over the two days.

With temperatures expected to rise further tomorrow, both riders placed emphasis on tyre choice as one of the key factors for tomorrow’s 25-lap race, which will begin at 2 p.m. local time.

Dani Pedrosa 26

2ND 1’37.912

“I’m surprised and happy to be on the front row, which is always important here. I wish to thank my team for all the hard work this weekend. When you’re not 100% physically fit, it’s not easy to find the best feeling on the bike, but the team is helping a lot and I appreciate it. Now we have to focus on choosing the right tyre for the race, as we haven’t decided that yet. It looks like several riders have a good pace, so tomorrow we’ll have to focus a lot on ourselves and try to get a good start. The race this year will be two laps shorter and that’s important, but we must see what conditions we’ll have and what we’re able to do.”

Marc Marquez 93

5TH 1’37.977

“Honestly, I’m not satisfied with my qualifying. I’m actually referring to myself, as today I wasn’t able to find the ‘perfect lap.’ I set my fastest time in my first run, when I rode more smoothly and calmly; then I made many mistakes and couldn’t improve on it. On the other hand, the second row isn’t that bad, and we have a good pace. Of course the race won’t be easy as there are other riders—starting with my teammate—who are capable of keeping a good pace on a medium or hard rear tyre. It will be a long, tough race. Today was already quite hot, and it looks like the temperature will rise even more tomorrow. We saw many crashes in all the classes, as the track is becoming quite slippery, so we’ll have to adjust the setup to these conditions, choose the right rear tyre, and try to do our best.”

More, from a press release issued by Movistar Yamaha:

FOURTH ROW START FOR MOVISTAR YAMAHA TEAMMATES IN JEREZ DE LA FRONTERA

Movistar Yamaha MotoGP’s Valentino Rossi and Maverick Viñales will start tomorrow’s Gran Premio de España side-by-side from the fourth row of the grid, after securing 10th and 11th place respectively in today’s qualifying.

Jerez de la Frontera (Spain), 5th May 2018

Movistar Yamaha MotoGP riders Maverick Viñales and Valentino Rossi showed 100% commitment during today‘s FP3, FP4 and the qualifying sessions at the Circuito de Jerez – Ángel Nieto, but their efforts were not met by the desired results. They secured 10th and 11th place respectively on the grid for tomorrow’s Gran Premio de España.

Rossi took a little time to get underway at the start of the Q2 heat, but had trouble finding some clear space out on the track, which kept him from pushing to the maximum. By the time he was no longer followed, his tyre had dropped, so he headed back to pit lane after two hot laps for a tyre swap.

With a little less than six minutes left on the clock, he joined the track activities again. He found himself in 12th position, which spurred the Italian on to post some strong laps. His third try resulted in a 1’38.267s, which moved him up to provisional eighth place. He continued to look competitive on his next attempt, as he bettered his personal best time in the first two sectors, but in the end he came just short of making any progress up the rider order. He ended the session in 10th place, 0.614s from first.

Viñales finished the morning session outside the top-10 and had to take part in Q1. After two laps he put his head down and moved up to provisional third place, just outside the top-2, as he had towed a rival over the line with him. Aware that he was not riding alone, the Yamaha rider decided to go back to the pits. Upon his return, he was flashing red and orange sectors, posting a 1‘38.349s to promote to second place, which he held on to until the end of the session.

The Spaniard then only had a few minutes to get himself ready for Q2. As nearly all his soft tyres had been used in Q1, he started Q2 on a medium front and rear tyre. This tyre combination improved lap by lap, moving him up to seventh place by his third lap.

With seven minutes remaining the young fighter came back to the box to put in his final soft rear tyre. Heading out a short while later, there was just enough time for him to complete three more flying laps, and he didn’t hesitate to fully open the throttle. As the pace quickened, he clocked a 1‘38.281s, improving his time, but not his position. He was unable to move up the rankings in his next two attempts and qualified in 11th place, 0.628s from pole.

MASSIMO MEREGALLI

TEAM DIRECTOR

After the four challenging practice sessions yesterday and today, we knew the qualifying sessions would be tough. The performance level was really high today and in the end our riders are 0.3s from the front row. We will give all we have to bridge this margin for tomorrow. The warm up will be fundamental, because it’s our last opportunity to fine-tune the bike, but we have to be careful as the temperatures – and therefore the track conditions – will be totally different during the race. For this reason, we won’t take any big risks preparing elaborate changes, but we will be amending the settings according to today’s data, especially focusing on improving acceleration. Vale and Maverick will be starting from the fourth row and we expect that it will be a hard fight for them.

VALENTINO ROSSI

The feeling was very similar to yesterday. I wasn’t so bad in the morning with the cooler temperatures, but in the afternoon it became hotter and I suffered a lot with the tyres and it was difficult. It’s a shame because we tried to modify the setting of the bike a lot, but we were not able to improve. So I have to start from P10, which isn’t easy, and also my pace is not fantastic. We have to fix all the small details and we’ll see what happens.

MAVERICK VIÑALES

It was very difficult, the bike was sliding on the rear. We‘re going to try everything and tomorrow we‘re going to take the maximum amount of points. We have to stay focused and keep working. For sure I expect to improve tomorrow, compared to today. I will try to make a good start and be there from the beginning and we‘ll see if it works. It will be difficult, but we‘re going to try.

More, from a press release issued by Ducati Corse:

Ducati Team riders will start from rows 2 and 3 at Jerez. Jorge Lorenzo fourth and Andrea Dovizioso eighth on the grid in Spanish GP qualifying

Jorge Lorenzo will start tomorrow’s Spanish GP at Jerez de la Frontera from the second row of the grid after going fourth quickest in qualifying. The Mallorcan rider, who was fifth this morning in FP3 to go straight through into the afternoon’s Q2 session, just missed out on a front row start in third by 0.013s.

Andrea Dovizioso on the other hand will have to start round 4 of the championship from row 3. The Italian placed eleventh in the morning’s FP3 session and then topped the timesheets in Q1. In Q2 he set a time of 1’38.029, just a whisker away from his team-mate, but had to settle for eighth place on the grid.

Jorge Lorenzo (Ducati Team #99) – 4th (1’37.969)

“I’m very pleased, not only with my lap time but also with the way we’ve been working since we arrived here in Jerez. We did a great qualifying session and just missed out on the front row by a fraction. With the new parts that Ducati has brought here in Spain we have in part resolved our problems: the Desmosedici GP is not as nervous as before and I can get the best out of its strong points: we must continue in this way. The race is going to be very tight and complicated for everyone, but tomorrow I want to give my all. We must keep focussed and try and make a great start to get ahead of the leading group right from the start.”

Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team #04) – 8th (1’38.029)

“It’s a pity about the third row, but I’m very happy with the work of the guys in the team. We were in a bit of difficulty this morning but we were able to make the right decisions and improve the bike once again. Now we have good pace and can even think about fighting for the podium. It’s not easy to interpret the pace of our rivals because we don’t know who will use the hard or the medium tyres in the race, and not many riders have done comparative tests. In qualifying I went well but unfortunately I didn’t do a perfect lap and I will have to start in eighth place: however now we’ve resolved the situation with our pace, I reckon we can have a say in the outcome of tomorrow’s race.”

More, from a press release issued by Dorna:

Showtime in Jerez: Crutchlow takes pole, Marquez starts fifth

Pedrosa and Zarco join the Brit on the front row, Lorenzo heads up Row 2 and the reigning Champion gets shuffled back

Cal Crutchlow (LCR Honda Castrol) smashed the previous pole lap record at the newly-resurfaced Circuito de Jerez-Angel Nieto, taking pole position for the first time since the 2016 British GP at Silverstone in some style as he topped the session and then went even faster. Fellow Honda rider Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda Team) – the winner at Jerez in 2017 – put in another stunner to take second despite his ongoing recovery from a broken wrist sustained in Argentina, with Johann Zarco (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) in third to make it eight times in a row the Frenchman will be starting the race from the front row. Reigning Champion Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) lines up fifth.

It was a tense final shootout at the end of the session, and many eyes were on Marquez as the number 93 pushed and consistently lit up the first sectors red – and then just lost out before the line. Unable to improve on his initial fast lap, the six-time World Champion was pushed off the front row and then down to fifth as Jorge Lorenzo (Ducati Team) – the previous pole lap record holder – lit it up to take fourth and head up Row 2 at the venue at which he took his first podium for Ducati. It’s a big leap forward after a tough start to the season, with the five-time World Champion consistently the quickest Borgo Panigale machine for much of the weekend and only 0.013s off the front row.

Alex Rins (Team Suzuki Ecstar) and teammate Andrea Iannone, after topping FP4 in reverse order, line up sixth and seventh respectively – with the Hamamatsu factory a threat for the front throughout. Rins, who is racing in his first Spanish GP in the premier class after missing the event in 2017 due to injury, was only 0.007 off Marquez and just 0.003 ahead of Iannone.

Championship leader Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team) lines up eighth after he was left heading through – and going fastest in – Q1, but the gap was small once again, with the Italian only 0.042 off his compatriot ahead of him. Fellow Italian on Borgo Panigale machinery Danilo Petrucci (Alma Pramac Racing) completes the third row.

It was a more difficult day for Movistar Yamaha MotoGP, however. Valentino Rossi will line up tenth after just edging out his teammate by 0.014, with Maverick Viñales therefore lining up P11. Viñales, along with Dovizioso, was a graduate of Q1.

Jack Miller (Alma Pramac Racing) lines up twelfth ahead of Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini), who was just left behind in Q1 by 0.040 seconds, with some solid rookie performances from Takaaki Nakagami (LCR Honda Idemitsu) and Franco Morbidelli (EG 0,0 Marc VDS) completing the top fifteen.

There we have it – the grid for the Spanish GP. With Crutchlow on pole, master-of-Jerez Pedrosa in the middle of the front row and no-holds-barred Zarco just alongside, it will be a stunning start…not even counting lightning-fast starter Lorenzo in fourth, and the reigning Champion with a point to prove shooting through from fifth. The top twelve are covered by eight tenths…

Think you know what’s going to happen? Anything can. At 14:00 (GMT +2), it’s showtime.

Baldassarri beats Marquez to pole by less than a tenth

Less than a second covers the top 20 in a frantic Moto2™ qualifying session at the Spanish GP

Lorenzo Baldassarri (Pons HP40) sealed his first ever World Championship pole position at the Gran Premio Red Bull de España, setting a new pole lap record at the Circuto de Jerez – Angel Nieto circuit along the way. Home hero and 2017 winner Alex Marquez (EG 0,0 Marc VDS) battled hard to get his third pole position of the season, however the Spaniard missed out by just 0.071 in P2. Championship leader Francesco Bagnaia (SKY Racing Team VR46) was a further 0.068 seconds back in third, securing his second front row start of the season.

The top three were the fastest men on track for the majority of the session, as all of them lit up the sectors with red indicators throughout – with Baldassarri breaking the pole lap record after just 15 minutes. Meanwhile, there were a total of eight fallers at Turn 9 during qualifying, as track temperatures soared in southern Spain.

Sam Lowes (Swiss Innovative Investors), Jorge Navarro (Federal Oil Gresini Moto2), Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM Ajo) and Mattia Pasini (Italtrans Racing Team) – who fell again at Turn 2 shortly after – all took a trip through the gravel trap at the tricky right hander. All riders who fell during the session were ok.

Despite his late tumble, Navarro confirmed he has great pace this weekend by qualifying fourth on the grid, as 2016 Moto3™ Jerez race winner Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Ajo) secured P5. Reigning Moto3™ World Champion Joan Mir (EG 0,0 Marc VDS rider) – who is suffering with a stomach bug this weekend – launches from sixth on Sunday.

Xavi Vierge (Dynavolt Intact GP) heads the third row of the grid in seventh, with Sam Lowes lining up in P8, the former winner at the track failing to improve his time after crashing midway through the session. Romano Fenati (Marinelli Snipers Team) was once again inside the top ten in ninth, he starts ahead of Argentina race winner Pasini in P10.

Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM Ajo) has work to do from P14 on the grid, with the heroic Marcel Schr?tter (Dynavolt Intact GP) taking the checkered flag in P17 as he continues to recover from ligament damage in his shoulder.

The battle for victory tomorrow looks incredibly tight, who will come out on top? Watch the intermediate class race live at 12:20 local time (GMT +2).

Martin storms to Spanish GP pole, Canet P15

The Championship leader looked in formidable form, with Oettl and Di Giannantonio also on the front row

Jorge Martin (Del Conca Gresini Moto3) grabbed his 11th career pole position on Saturday at the Gran Premio Red Bull de España, with Philipp Oettl (Südmetall Schedl GP Racing) in second – earning his first front row since Qatar last year. Martin’s fellow Del Conca Gresini rider Fabio Di Giannantonio jumped up to third on his final run after some last-minute front-end changes; his first front row start of the season.

The session started with a huge crash for Darryn Binder (Red Bull KTM Ajo) at Turn 4 after colliding with the back of Livio Loi (Reale Avintia Academy) on the exit of the corner. Unfortunately, the South African dislocated his left shoulder and will miss tomorrow’s 22 lap race, declared unfit.

There was plenty of cat and mouse action going on throughout the session, with Martin initially coming back into the pits to escape the melee of riders. The Spaniard didn’t have it all his own way during the session though, with Oettl setting a scorching pace to go 0.531 seconds clear of the rest with 20 minutes left on the clock. However, with just over 10 minutes to go, Martin pounced – setting a 1:46.193 to go 0.153 seconds clear of the German.

Niccolo Antonelli (SIC58 Squadra Corse), meanwhile, was up at the sharp end again in qualifying, he’ll spearhead the second row in P4. His compatriot Marco Bezzecchi (Redox PruestelGP) continues his great start to 2018 in fifth, with Angel Nieto Team Moto3 rider Andrea Migno making it an all-Italian second row in P6.

The fastest rookie in Jerez qualifying was Alonso Lopez (Estrella Galicia 0,0), with P7 his best grid position so far this year and his previous form at the venue in the Moto3™ Junior World Championship coming to the fore. Enea Bastianini (Leopard Racing) lines up eighth for Sunday’s race, with teammate Lorenzo Dalla Porta rounding out the third row. Tatsuki Suzuki (SIC58 Squadra Corse) was the leading Japanese rider in P10, with fellow countryman Kaito Toba (Honda Team Asia) a solid 11th and SKY Racing Team VR46 rookie Dennis Foggia in 12th.

Makar Yurchenko (CIP – Green Power), despite a late crash, was able to qualify P13 after a good afternoon’s work for the rookie and some much improved form this weekend, with reiging Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup Champion Kazuki Masaki (RBA BOE Skull Rider) a slender 0.002 back in P14.

One of the biggest headlines was Aron Canet (Estrella Galicia 0,0) qualifying in 15th, the Spaniard with a huge task ahead of him on Sunday when the lights go out at 11:00 (GMT +2).

More, from a press release issued by LCR Honda Castrol:

CRUTCHLOW SCORES STUNNING POLE IN SPAIN

LCR Honda CASTROL’s Cal Crutchlow will start Sunday’s Grand Prix of Spain from pole position, boosting his hopes of a return to the podium positions at the Jerez-Angel Nieto Circuit this weekend. It is the first pole for the Briton and his team since his home grand prix at Silverstone in 2016 – where he went on to seal second place – but the 32 year-old will hope to go one better in the 25-lap race and claim a second victory of this season.

Crutchlow had been in and among the top positions throughout free practice, and then made an audacious strategy during qualifying – trying three flying laps in the quick-fire 15-minute session. The tactic paid off as he sat in pole after his second run, before going on to improve even further in the final moments and sit comfortably over a quarter of a second ahead of the next best, and in prime spot to challenge for more race glory.

Cal Crutchlow – 1st

(1’37.653 – lap 8 of 8)

“I’ve only been on the front row once since here in Jerez last year, so it’s nice to take a pole position. We’re here to race of course, and that’s the key point of the weekend, but after bad qualifying in the last two races it’s nice to make up for that and get the pole for my LCR Honda CASTROL Team.”

“I’m not sure these are the best conditions for our bike, honestly speaking. We have to manage the situation with the front tyre very carefully, but I think we did a good job overall today. We made the gamble with three tyres, although I might still have taken pole using just two if I’d needed.”

“I didn’t push enough with the first tyre. I just wanted to finish the lap and set a benchmark, so I wish I’d pushed a bit harder. Then with the second I found I had more grip than I thought.”

“We’ve done the hard work in the winter in the tests and I think it’s all paying off now. I hope for a good race tomorrow and an enjoyable race for myself and all the fans. I’m sure there’s going to be a good battle.”

More, from a press release issued by LCR Honda Idemitsu:

NAKAGAMI IMPRESSES IN JEREZ QUALIFYING

LCR Honda IDEMITSU rider Takaaki Nakagami followed up his best qualifying effort in the USA last time out with another positive performance in Spain on Saturday. The Japanese rookie will start Sunday’s Spanish Grand Prix from 14th place and the fifth row, after another positive weekend on board his RC213V.

Out in the first qualifying session, the 26 year-old just missed out on progressing to the qualifying final by less than two-tenths of a second. Considering the race pace he has built over the weekend at the Jerez-Angel Nieto Circuit he is hopeful of scoring his best result so far in his debut year amongst the MotoGP elite.

Takaaki Nakagami– 14th

(1’48481.691 – lap 7 of 8)

“I’m really happy for the whole LCR Honda team first of all because my team-mate Cal Crutchlow is on pole position and that’s good for us all. Congratulations to them!

“For myself I’m slightly disappointed because I just missed out on Q2 by about a tenth of a second. I’m really keen to get into that final, but I made a small mistake which cost me my chance. I’m improving with the softer tyre, because yesterday I struggled with using the soft in the rear, but day by day, session by session we are making steps.

“It’s going to be tough in the race because it is very tight between all the riders, and the conditions will be really hot – it’s going to be a long one! We need to think about tyre management, get a good start and try my best over the 25 laps. I hope we can get our best result.” 

More, from a press release issued by KTM:

SIXTH ROW FOR POL ESPARGARO AT SUN-SOAKED GRAN PREMIO RED BULL DE ESPAÑA

QUALIFYING 4th Rd. MotoGP 2018 – Circuito de Jerez (ESP)

Sunshine and hot conditions graced the second day of the Gran Premio Red Bull de España and Pol Espargaro will take up 16th place on the MotoGP grid for the fourth round of twenty in the 2018 campaign tomorrow. Mika Kallio and Bradley Smith both have slots on the seventh row for the 25 lap and 110km race distance.

MotoGP

Temperatures crept up after a cool start to the traditional Spanish fixture at the short, narrow and demanding Jerez circuit in Andalucía. Pol Espargaro initially turned heads with a bright 3rd place in the first Free Practice session on Friday but as the heat increased so lap-times dropped, and both the Spaniard, Bradley Smith and Mika Kallio (the Finn, in his first wildcard appearance of the year, was riding a updated version of the KTM RC16 that both #44 and #38 will test at the same track on Monday and Tuesday) could not significantly upgrade their pace. The trio tried their best to make the Q1 ‘cut’ but completed a busy afternoon of work and experimentation and settled with 16th, 19th (for Kallio) and 21st (Smith).

Espargaro: “We are missing a little something and maybe with Mika’s bike on Monday and Tuesday we will find it! It feels like we are at the maximum limit of the bike at the moment. I’m happy because we gave everything but we want much more at this Red Bull Grand Prix. We are always trying to find grip but we need to improve our turning.”

Smith: “We tried to do everything we could. It is a matter of seeing what we learn in the race tomorrow but also the test on Monday and where that next step can come from. We’ve even tried riding differently with someone carrying more corner speed and the other braking deeper…but the lap-time seems to be the lap-time. At this level, especially with one lap, that’s where we are struggling. Hopefully the race tomorrow is more consistent and we have the chance to get some more positions. I have seen on-track where the bike handles better so we need to be more patient and try and stay in the hunt.”

Kallio: “We knew it would be really tight, and for these positions between 10-20. I’m not too satisfied but we will see what we can do in the race; and I am more confident for that long distance rather than one lap and hopefully we can do something better. We have a slightly different engine configuration compared to the factory riders and there are many positive things that I can see when I am riding. We have been improving the bike quite a lot and it is easier to ride over a long distance. At the same time there are some points where we are struggling a bit more compared to the standard bike and I think that’s one reason why I couldn’t do better today. It is always like that: you gain in one area and you lose in another. We need to work more and I think we’ll have some ideas for Monday.”

Sebastian Risse (Technical Director MotoGP): “We started the Grand Prix with a big highlight in FP1 and this was an awesome result and pretty outstanding from what we have done so far. Although we could not maintain that level I think we are in a better position that what we held in the previous races this year in that we understand the tyres, the track and what we want. We have been making progress. Overall our status after qualification is not that bad and I hope we can improve tomorrow. It will be interesting to see how these tyres last over the race distance. We know a soft tyre will not last but it depends on how the riders handle the others. We’ll see what the race brings.”

Moto2 & Moto3

Red Bull KTM Ajo’s Brad Binder sits in the middle of row two of the Moto2 grid after clocking the fifth fastest lap-time in Qualification on the KTM Moto2. The South African has great previous form at the Andaluz circuit after claiming his maiden Moto3 victory in 2016 with a last-to-first performance. In the smaller cylinder category Philipp Oettl placed his Sudmetal Schedl GP Racing KTM RC250 GP into second spot for the first race to open proceedings at 11.00 tomorrow.

Binder: “Qualifying today was one of my best in Moto2 and, definitely, my best this year. I’m happy. I didn’t feel very good this morning; the conditions on track were very difficult and the bike was moving around a lot. The important thing is that in the end we managed to set a good time this afternoon, maintaining the same position from the beginning to the end of the session. There is a big difference between the qualifying session we had today and the three previous ones, so I’m happy. Tomorrow I will do everything possible to fight for the podium. I hope to be calmer at the start of the race, which I will begin from the second row. It is important to be aggressive, find my line as soon as possible and push hard in order to be up with the frontrunners within the first three laps. We have worked very hard and I think we can do well.”

Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup

Can Öncü confirmed his status as favourite for the 2018 Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup with an impressive victory on the KTM RC250 RB bike in the first race of the season in Jerez. The 14-year-old Turk had to work hard for it though, only getting the better of first timer Carlos Tatay, the 14-year-old Spaniard, with two immaculate final laps. It had been an eight-man battle for the lead and only the last quarter of the sixteen laps saw Tatay and Öncü get away. Czech 16-year-old Filip Salac closed them down though and chased them home with Deniz Öncü, twin brother of Can, taking a close fourth.

Öncü: “Yes that was a fun race. It was a clean race all the way, the guys were fast and we really enjoyed it. I had a great battle with Carlos and I think it will be even more fun tomorrow. I bet the pace will be quicker, the race will be tougher. I’m happy with the bike and I have to say thanks to everyone involved who gives us the chance to do this.”