World Championship leader fastest in intense qualifying session, with half a second separating top 11 riders. Pedrosa, with good pace from free practice, will start from fifth.
The starting grid for tomorrow’s Czech Grand Prix will begin with Marc Marquez on pole for the ninth time in eleven races. He took his latest top spot for race day with an excellent performance in qualifying, heading a list of eleven riders separated by just half a second. Repsol Honda teammate Dani Pedrosa finished 0.227s off Marquez for fifth on the timesheets.
Pedrosa was unable to repeat his performance from the day’s two free practice sessions, in which he finished first (FP3) and second behind Valentino Rossi (FP4), and claim a front row start. However, he has shown great pace at Brno and is one of the favourites for victory alongside Marquez, who bounced back with the day’s quickest time. The reigning MotoGP World Champion always held the initiative and, although Iannone momentarily snatched the provisional pole using a tow from Marquez, the Spaniard set a 1:55.585 lap on his final push and took pole position number nine of a remarkable season.
Marc Marquez >> Audio
1st – 1:55.585, 33 laps, 178 km
“I’m happy about the pole position today. I had Iannone behind me so the only solution was to push, because I had to set a hot lap. As for tomorrow’s race, we have pole but the toughest rivals will start from the second row, especially Dani. We will see what condition Valentino is in and hopefully he can ride well, because he has also been strong this weekend and I hope Jorge can be in the fight too. I’m expecting a tough battle from start to finish for the win”.
Dani Pedrosa >> Audio
5th- 1:55.812, 36 laps, 195 km
“Today was positive as it didn’t rain and we were able to try out tyres in the dry. We are pretty clear now about which direction we will go for the race. It was a pity that we couldn’t get a spot on the front row in qualifying, but it was difficult because the times were extremely close. I hope I can make a good start tomorrow and have a good race”.
