Phillip Island MotoGP: Marc Marquez to start from pole
MARC Marquez mastered not only the Phillip Island circuit but all the weather that was thrown at him to capture pole position for Sunday’s Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix.
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UPDATE: MARC Marquez mastered not only the Phillip Island circuit but all the weather that was thrown at him to capture pole position for Sunday’s Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix.
Gusting winds and passing showers threatened to sabotage Saturday’s qualifying session but the world champion piloted his Honda to the front of the grid.
Aussie Jack Miller also gave it everything he had, putting his Ducati on the second row in sixth place. The 23-year-old Queenslander believes a good result on Sunday afternoon is now within “touching distance”.
Marquez, who slid off at Turn 4 in morning practice, said he was alarmed at seeing water on his visor when he was going into turns at 200km/h.
“You are riding very fast and you see more drops, more rain on your visor and you don’t know if it is slippery.’’
The Spaniard secured his fifth consecutive pole in Australia, recording his fastest run (1 min 29.199 seconds) when the showers were heaviest during his third run. He will start alongside Yamahas of Maverick Vinales and Johann Zarco.
Vinales believes his factory Yamaha has more to give.
“We can improve quite a lot especially on the electronics so I’m really happy,’’ he said.
Miller was the first rider out in qualifying, hoping to beat the rain which swept in in patches.
“She was a bit scary. I had a couple of big moments there but I was happy to keep it on two wheels.
“I would have liked to be further up the grid but we’ll take it.’’
Miller was the best-placed Ducati and will start next to Suzuki factory riders Andrea Iannone and Alex Rins.
His Alma Pramac teammate Danilo Petrucci was eighth behind Valentino Rossi.
Friday’s quickest man Iannone was fastest again during the short and final free practice session held just before qualifying.
Miller slid off at Turn 4 on the first practice lap but picked his Ducati and resumed after a pit check but could only manage 19th position.
Brit Cal Crutchlow will likely miss the rest of the season after breaking his right ankle on Friday when he tumbled off the LCR Honda and into the gravel on Turn 1. He had surgery in Melbourne and will have further operations in the coming days.
Aussie Remy Gardner qualified in 15th place in Moto2, 0.813 seconds behind pole-sitter Italian Mattia Pasini.
In Moto3, Spaniard Jorge Martin will start from pole on the Honda, sharing the front row with Darryn Binder (KTM) and Ayumu Sasaki (Honda).
An estimated 26,950 fans turned up, the second-best crowd since Casey Stoner’s farewell year in 2012.
THIRD PRACTICE SESSION REPORT
WORLD champion Marc Marquez was the fastest man in the third MotoGP practice session as strong winds caused havoc at Phillip Island.
The Spaniard steered his factory Honda to a 1min 29.714 second lap, despite sliding off at Turn 4 earlier in the session.
Maverick Vinales on the Yamaha was second, 0.042 seconds behind and just ahead of Aussie Jack Miller’s Ducati.
MOTOGP: ‘THE MANIAC’ SHINES IN PHILLIP ISLAND PRACTICE SESSION
But a gusting wind kept times down and Andrea Iannone’s time from Friday afternoon on his Suzuki remains the fastest overall.
Most riders were unable to improve their Friday times with many up to a second slower on the 4.45km circuit.
Hafizh Syahrin was taken to the medical centre after a tumbling crash off his Yamaha and into the gravel at Turn 1.
Jordi Torres (Ducati) and Bradley Smith (KTM) also went down as riders struggled with the conditions.
Valentino Rossi, who was also pushed off track at Turn 4 by the wind, remained in the top 10 that make up Qualifying 2 session later today.
Brit Cal Crutchlow was officially ruled out of the race after breaking his ankle during a Turn 1 crash on Friday. It is now feared that the Honda rider may miss the rest of the season.
In Moto2 practice, Australian Remy Gardner improved after yesterday’s nasty crash and was 12th fastest, 0.866 seconds behind pacesetter German Marcel Schrotter.
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