Pol Espargaró will start from twelfth on the grid in Barcelona, one place ahead of Marc Márquez
The Repsol Honda Team riders both had to contest Q1, after failing to set a time that would take them directly into Q2.
Pol Espargaró, who clocked the eighth fastest time in FP4, was able to finish the first qualifying session of the day in second position, going through to Q2.
Espargaró was the last rider out on track in that session, but when trying to improve his times onboard the Honda RC213V and chasing a spot on the front three rows of the grid, he suffered a small crash. Uninjured, he placed twelfth with a 1:41.791 best lap.
Marc Márquez had a good FP4 session, setting the sixth best time. Later, in Q1, he pushed to put in a lap to allow him into Q2, but missed the cut by +0.028.
The Repsol Honda Team rider will start from 13th tomorrow, thanks to a best time of 1:39.181.
The Gran Premi de Catalunya will get underway tomorrow at 1pm CEST.
MARC MÁRQUEZ – 13th 1’39.181
“Starting 13th is not really any different to starting in 11th or 12th, so I am not too upset about missing Q2. I was joking with Miller yesterday in the Clinca about a tow and today he was the fastest in the session, so it was the time to go for it. We’ll decide the price later! Tomorrow we need to make a good start and see what’s possible from the race, times are very close so we will see. We keep on working in our own way to improve our situation.”
POL ESPARGARÓ – 12th 1’41.791
“Q1 today was good, we advanced into Q2. In Q2 I was pushing really hard and on the limit, probably over it. The time was good, it looked like a 1’39.1 like I did in Q1 which could have seen us in the first two rows. I had some locking when the asphalt changed at Turn 10 and I crashed, a real pity. Most of the track was done and we did it well, but if you don’t finish it doesn’t matter what you do. It is what it is. I think the race will again be difficult, but we keep on working and seeing what’s possible. The change of time to before the Moto2 race will change the situation a bit.”
