Johann Zarco surprised everyone with an amazing second pole of his MotoGP career at the Twin Ring, Motegi in Japan. Danilo Petrucci starts the Japanese GP from the middle of the front row, marking a strong comeback. Marc Marquez took a wrong gamble by changing to slicks in the last moment, losing his pole for a P3 start. Aleix Espargaro has put his Aprilia RS GP in a competitive front of the second row.
As the Q1 session started off, top riders like Maverick Viñales, Cal Crutchlow and Scott Redding suffered with stability and grip issues. On the other hand Factory KTM riders Pol Espargaro and Bradley Smith were able to ride flawlessly to bring both KTM's into the Q2 session for the first time. Crutchlow missed to get through Q2 as he suffered a big rear slide, going into the final corner losing a couple of tenths.
Q2 session started off with Marc Marquez going top straight away after a sighting lap. Meanwhile Valentino Rossi surprisingly came out on slicks, which turned out to be a disaster move later on. Jorge Lorenzo, Dani Pedrosa, Andrea Dovizioso and Aleix Espargaro were also constantly improving their lap times, while Danilo Petrucci and Johann Zarco were waiting for the right moment.
With about three minutes for the chequered flag, Marquez decided to change for slick tyres. The move didn't work out for the current World Champion as he was shoveled by Johann Zarco and Danilo Petrucci for the top 2 spots. Aleix Espargaro starts the race tomorrow from an impressive P4. Jorge Lorenzo starts off from the middle of the second row at P5 followed by the Samurai Dani Pedrosa and Bradley Smith. The top 10 of the line up is completed by Pol Espargaro, Andrea Dovizioso and Alex Rins. Both the KTM riders start inside the top 10 of the grid marking an impressive development. "The Doctor" starts from P12, though he suffered a minor blow in FP4 resulting in a slow speed low side.
The race starts at 10.30 AM IST tomorrow morning, live from the land of rising sun. As the conditions are mixed, it might be a very close flag to flag race tomorrow. The Japanese GP would be one of the most important Championship deciders, as Marc Marquez is now 16 points clear of Dovizioso. Let's wait and watch who's got the most of perseverance for tomorrow. Meanwhile stay tuned to BikesMedia for further updates on the 2017 MotoGP World Championship.
By: Aravind Rb.
As the Q1 session started off, top riders like Maverick Viñales, Cal Crutchlow and Scott Redding suffered with stability and grip issues. On the other hand Factory KTM riders Pol Espargaro and Bradley Smith were able to ride flawlessly to bring both KTM's into the Q2 session for the first time. Crutchlow missed to get through Q2 as he suffered a big rear slide, going into the final corner losing a couple of tenths. Q2 session started off with Marc Marquez going top straight away after a sighting lap. Meanwhile Valentino Rossi surprisingly came out on slicks, which turned out to be a disaster move later on. Jorge Lorenzo, Dani Pedrosa, Andrea Dovizioso and Aleix Espargaro were also constantly improving their lap times, while Danilo Petrucci and Johann Zarco were waiting for the right moment.
With about three minutes for the chequered flag, Marquez decided to change for slick tyres. The move didn't work out for the current World Champion as he was shoveled by Johann Zarco and Danilo Petrucci for the top 2 spots. Aleix Espargaro starts the race tomorrow from an impressive P4. Jorge Lorenzo starts off from the middle of the second row at P5 followed by the Samurai Dani Pedrosa and Bradley Smith. The top 10 of the line up is completed by Pol Espargaro, Andrea Dovizioso and Alex Rins. Both the KTM riders start inside the top 10 of the grid marking an impressive development. "The Doctor" starts from P12, though he suffered a minor blow in FP4 resulting in a slow speed low side.
The race starts at 10.30 AM IST tomorrow morning, live from the land of rising sun. As the conditions are mixed, it might be a very close flag to flag race tomorrow. The Japanese GP would be one of the most important Championship deciders, as Marc Marquez is now 16 points clear of Dovizioso. Let's wait and watch who's got the most of perseverance for tomorrow. Meanwhile stay tuned to BikesMedia for further updates on the 2017 MotoGP World Championship.By: Aravind Rb.