Repsol Honda Team riders will start Dutch TT from second and third after a qualifying session affected by rain.
Historically, the longest running round in the World Championship has been characterised by two things: Firstly, the races being held on a Saturday. Secondly, the fact that there is always an appearance from the rain. Today it started to rain when the riders were taking to the track for the 15 minute qualifying session, with the light drizzle turning the session into a gamble. Under these difficult conditions, Marc Marquez and Dani Pedrosa acted with intelligence and caution, taking spots on the front row of the grid. Marquez set the second quickest time, with Pedrosa third, as Alexi Espargaro took pole position.
A downpour affected the third free practice session of the weekend this morning, in which the Repsol Honda team riders were, along with Lorenzo and Petrucci, the only ones not to complete a single flying lap. The changeable weather at Assen allowed the asphalt to dry out for the fourth session, and in that runout Marc Marquez would set the fastest lap of the weekend: 1’33.462. Pedrosa was sixth, 0.891s off Marquez and more 3 tenths off his own time from yesterday.
In qualifying, with the track about to be opened, the rain returned. Riders used the early moments of the session –in which the track was not completely wet– to set their best times on slick tyres. They left the pits in groups, as if it were a race, and on the first two flying laps everyone set their fastest time of the session. Marquez and Pedrosa took second and third, respectively, as Espargaro claimed pole position. The trio will share the front row at 2pm on Saturday.
Marc Marquez >> Audio
2nd – 1:40.194. 22 laps, 100 km
“I’m happy with this front row, although we obviously wanted to take pole! The weather was very unpredictable, as sometimes it was raining and then it stopped – meaning that conditions were far from ideal. My goal was to get onto the front row, so when I saw that I was up into second I decided not to take any more risks; there was a lot to lose and not much to gain, so I kept calm because I had already reached my target”.
Dani Pedrosa >> Audio
3rd – 1:40.732. 23 laps, 104 km
“It was a difficult session because the track was half-dry, half-wet, and then it started to rain more heavily. We went out with slick tyres and had time to put in a couple of laps, although there was a lot of traffic and we were all close together. It was hard to know how much of a risk we could take. Finally, with the track half-wet, we managed to set a good time and qualify on the front row which I’m happy with. Tomorrow we will continue working on the bike and try to have a good race, which could be either dry or wet”.
