Marc Márquez, 125cc title leader, proved intractable at this afternoon’s qualifying session for the Aragon Grand Prix, after claiming pole position with a time of 1 minute, 59 seconds and 335 milliseconds, more than half a second faster than the rider in second, Sandro Cortese, the German rider who shares the garage with the Spaniard.
Emilio Alzamora’s protégé led the qualifying session almost from the first lap, only being passed in the first few minutes of the session by British rider Bradley Smith, just when Márquez pitted for the first time to make improvements to his bike.
Back on the track, Márquez, who completed a total of 15 laps of the Aragon track, lowered his time four laps in a row, going from 2 minutes and 323 milliseconds in the sixth lap to 2 minutes and 134 milliseconds in the ninth. From then on, the gap with his pursuers did not fall under half a second.
In the tenth lap, the Repsol rider pitted again to put the finishing touches to the frame, which allowed him, when he went back out on the track, to register a time under two minutes and stop the clock at an impressive 1 minute, 59 seconds and 338 milliseconds in his twelfth lap, with just five minutes to go. To finish off the qualifying session, he lowered his best time again, adding a new pole position to his list – his eighth out of the twelve held so far –, with an advantage of more than half a second over the rider in second place. The front row of the grid will be completed by Terol, third at 6 tenths and Vázquez, fourth at 9 tenths.
Marc Márquez, 1’59.335 sec, 15 laps, 76 KM >> Audio
“We approached this afternoon’s qualifying with tomorrow’s race in mind, so we decided to set a good pace using worn tyres in order to simulate race conditions. We have achieved our target of keeping within 1 minute and 59 seconds in the last stint and I’m very happy about that. Obviously, the most important thing is what happens tomorrow because what really counts are the points that we can get in the race. So, now we have to be very focused in order to get as many points possible with a view to the championship. My experience in Indianapolis is still very much in my mind, so I don’t want to act hastily in the first few laps; we will try to battle for the win but if that’s not possible, I won’t push it because the aim is to get as many points as possible”.
