Undisputed dominance by reigning World Champion in Indianapolis, as he heads the grid for tomorrow’s race. Dani Pedrosa will start from eighth.
n qualifying for the Indianapolis Grand Prix –the tenth round of the MotoGP season– Marc Marquez continued at the excellent level shown in free practice yesterday and today. The Repsol Honda rider scored his eighth pole position of the year, with Dani Pedrosa on the third row as a result of his qualifying eighth. Pedrosa was unable to make the most of his second soft tyre to take a position higher up on the grid.
The summer break has not changed things in MotoGP and, after setting the fastest time yesterday, Marc Marquez repeated the feat today with a 1:31.619 best lap. The Spaniard was fifth in the third practice session but, showing excellent pace on worn tyres, he led the fourth practice session before storming ahead in qualifying to ensure pole position.
Ninth and sixth in the final two free practice sessions, Dani Pedrosa started the qualifying session strongly. On his first attempt at a hot lap he took the third fastest time, but after a trip to the garage to change tyres he was unable to further lower his times. With a best lap of 1:32.331, Pedrosa will occupy eighth on the grid for a race which will get underway at 2pm local time.
Marc Marquez >> Audio
1st, 1:31.619 sec., 42 laps, 175 km
“I am happy to have taken this pole position, because it is important to start well after the summer break. The fundamental thing is that we have a good pace for tomorrow. The tyre choice tomorrow will also be important, especially with the rear. We will see what the temperature is like and, from there, decide which compound to use. I am happy with how I am feeling, and we will try to give 100%, as always”.
Dani Pedrosa >> Audio
8th, 1:32.331 sec., 42 laps, 175 km
“In qualifying I wasn’t able to improve my best time with my second tyre, because I couldn’t do it on the three attempts I had at a hot lap. When you don’t improve on this second run, you are always going to have people move ahead of you on the grid. The times are very close and unfortunately for us we had a bad qualifying session. In any case, I will work with the team tonight and tomorrow morning to try to find a faster pace for the race, and look for a little more rear grip”.
