Front row for Repsol Honda team rider after shining in qualifying for Grand Prix of Spain, in which Dani Pedrosa places seventh.
The second day of MotoGP action at the Circuito de Jerez decided the starting grid for the fourth race of the year, for which Marc Marquez will occupy a place on the front row. The World Championship leader went third in qualifying and pushed for pole until the final lap, in which he stopped the clock at 1:38.891. The Spaniard was just 0.155s off the quickest time of the session, set by Valentino Rossi, and just 0.033s off second-placed Jorge Lorenzo. Dani Pedrosa, who made gradual improvements in the two Free Practice sessions on Saturday, placing fifth and fourth, rounded off qualifying with a time of 1:39.678. He will start Round 4 of the season from seventh. The Spanish Grand Prix begins at 2pm local time on Sunday.
Marc Marquez
“I’m satisfied because before the qualifying session, we knew it would be difficult to get pole position, and the goal was to achieve a place on the front row. I think we did a great job; I rode well and I felt comfortable on the bike. Thanks to the work of the whole team, we tested three different setups that ultimately allowed me to be consistent in qualifying, which isn’t usually something I’m able to do. All I can say is that today Jorge [Lorenzo] and Valentino [Rossi] were faster than me. We’ll see if we can stay with them during the race tomorrow, because it seems that they have a very good pace.”
Dani Pedrosa
“Seventh isn’t the result I was expecting. I thought I could do better but it’s currently difficult for me to make a flying lap in qualifying. I did try my best so I can’t say more now; it went as it went. In the end, I’m just one tenth off a much better position in the grid, and tomorrow we have to focus on starting well and getting a good first lap. It’s true that today we were able to keep a better pace generally speaking, which is positive, but we have to keep our feet on the ground and stay focused. We still have a lot of work to do on the bike. We’ll see what happens in the race. I think that the rear-tyre choice will be very important.”
