The new reigning World Champion Marc Marquez has clinched yet another pole for the Australian Grand Prix at the mesmerizing Phillip Island circuit. Cal Crutchlow equally followed Marquez for a P2 start, accompanied by Pol Espargaro to complete the first row of the grid.
With the Free Practice 4 being completely wet, most of the riders suffered with the circumstances. Big names like Valentino Rossi, Jorge Lorenzo, Cal Crutchlow and Maverick Viñales missed out Q2 and were seen in Q1 battling for the top 2 spots. Q1 started off with Cal Crutchlow topping the list followed by Bradley Smith who later on crashed on the next lap. Bradley's place was filled in by Lorenzo who seemed to have found some way to ride in the wets.
Valentino Rossi suffered during the entire Q1 along with a mistimed Tyre change and was seen ending up in 5th place in Q1. This result made Rossi to qualify the worst in his last 5 years. Cal Crutchlow and Jorge Lorenzo found their way to the Q2, which was in turn dominated by Marquez. The track then dried up quickly, just before the start of Q2 with a completely dry racing line.
Marquez headed out with an intermediate for a sighting lap, and decided to sit out in the pits for the first few minutes. Meanwhile the Ducati boys were showing off their wet skills staying on the top five. Later on Marquez along with Jack Miller and Danilo Petrucci went out on Slick tyres. As the line was almost dried up, Marquez began to set his pace and made an impressive 1'30.670" which was even bettered to 1'30.189" potentially grabbing the pole.
Cal Crutchlow tried his best in catching Marc, but ended up almost eight tenths short making a 1'30.981" to grab P2. Crutchlow was followed by Pol Espargaro to complete the first row. Aleix Espargaro, Jack Miller and Danilo Petrucci completed the second row of the grid. Nicky Hayden, the replacement for injured Dani Pedrosa rode impressively and was seen at P7.
The top 10 was completed by Stefan Bradl, Andrea Dovizioso and Hector Barbera respectively. The factory Yamaha duo had a bad Saturday, with Lorenzo finishing at P12 and Rossi ending up at P15. After Qualifying, all the riders now look out at the skies to be clear for a good race tomorrow which could else be a major issue. Catch the action live at 10.30 AM IST tomorrow and Stay tuned to BikesIndia for further updates on the MotoGP World Championship.
By: Aravind Rb
*** Marquez powering his RC213V down the Gardner Straight
With the Free Practice 4 being completely wet, most of the riders suffered with the circumstances. Big names like Valentino Rossi, Jorge Lorenzo, Cal Crutchlow and Maverick Viñales missed out Q2 and were seen in Q1 battling for the top 2 spots. Q1 started off with Cal Crutchlow topping the list followed by Bradley Smith who later on crashed on the next lap. Bradley's place was filled in by Lorenzo who seemed to have found some way to ride in the wets.
Valentino Rossi suffered during the entire Q1 along with a mistimed Tyre change and was seen ending up in 5th place in Q1. This result made Rossi to qualify the worst in his last 5 years. Cal Crutchlow and Jorge Lorenzo found their way to the Q2, which was in turn dominated by Marquez. The track then dried up quickly, just before the start of Q2 with a completely dry racing line.
Marquez headed out with an intermediate for a sighting lap, and decided to sit out in the pits for the first few minutes. Meanwhile the Ducati boys were showing off their wet skills staying on the top five. Later on Marquez along with Jack Miller and Danilo Petrucci went out on Slick tyres. As the line was almost dried up, Marquez began to set his pace and made an impressive 1'30.670" which was even bettered to 1'30.189" potentially grabbing the pole.
Cal Crutchlow tried his best in catching Marc, but ended up almost eight tenths short making a 1'30.981" to grab P2. Crutchlow was followed by Pol Espargaro to complete the first row. Aleix Espargaro, Jack Miller and Danilo Petrucci completed the second row of the grid. Nicky Hayden, the replacement for injured Dani Pedrosa rode impressively and was seen at P7.
The top 10 was completed by Stefan Bradl, Andrea Dovizioso and Hector Barbera respectively. The factory Yamaha duo had a bad Saturday, with Lorenzo finishing at P12 and Rossi ending up at P15. After Qualifying, all the riders now look out at the skies to be clear for a good race tomorrow which could else be a major issue. Catch the action live at 10.30 AM IST tomorrow and Stay tuned to BikesIndia for further updates on the MotoGP World Championship.
By: Aravind Rb