Marquez Demolishes Record in Qualifying
Moto GP 2014
www.motorcycle-usa.com By Byron Wilson
MotoGP Aragon Qualifying Results 2014
Repsol Honda’s Marc Marquez took his 11th pole position of 2014 at Aragon, demolishing the previous circuit record with his performance. Marquez’s teammate, Dani Pedrosa, got bumped down to second on the grid in the final moments of the session while Pramac Ducati’s Andrea Iannone’s late push puts him third.
Marquez put down a scorching first flying lap, bettering the previous top time at Aragon which he set in 2013. His second effort was even quicker and it appeared that the remaining minutes would be spent with riders battling for second position. Pedrosa gave his teammate a serious challenge in the final stages however, topping the timesheet with just a few minutes remaining. Marquez had time to complete one more rotation and it proved to be more than enough, the defending champion pacing nearly four-tenths quicker than Pedrosa at session’s close.
"Qualifying went very well, continuing the form that we have had so far this weekend,” said Marquez. “We have focused a lot of our work on our race pace, looking less at setting a one-off lap time and more at finding a strong pace. Things are looking good for the race, although Dani also has a very good pace, so we’ll have to see tomorrow!"
Positions further back changed hands numerous times late in Q2, and Tech 3 Yamaha’s Pol Espargaro clinched fourth on the grid. He’s joined by Ducati’s Cal Crutchlow in fifth and Movistar Yamaha’s Valentino Rossi in sixth. Rossi had a difficult day, struggling with grip throughout. He was unable to gain entry directly to Q2 after practice and had to earn a spot in the final qualifying session through Q1.
Rossi’s teammate, Jorge Lorenzo, was bumped off the front row during the latter stages, dropping to seventh by the conclusion. LCR Honda MotoGP’s Stefan Bradl finished in eighth followed by Crutchlow’s teammate, Andrea Dovizioso, in ninth. Dovi missed out on the opportunity to improve his standing following a late session crash, from which he walked away unharmed.
NGM Mobile Forward Racing’s Aleix Espargaro will start from 10th followed by Pol Espargaro’s teammate, Bradley Smith, in 11th. Smith also suffered a crash late in the session and was unable to contend for better position as a result. Avintia Racing’s Hector Barbera gained entry to Q2 aboard his new Ducati machinery and will start from 12th on the grid.
MotoGP Aragon Qualifying Results 2014
1. Marc Marquez (Honda) 1’47.187
2. Dani Pedrosa (Honda) 1’47.549
3. Andrea Iannone (Ducati) 1’47.685
4. Pol Espargaro (Yamaha) 1’47.865
5. Cal Crutchlow (Ducati) 1’47.897
6. Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) 1’48.226
7. Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha) 1’48.246
8. Stefan Bradl (Honda) 1’48.368
9. Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati) 1’48.542
10. Aleix Espargaro (Forward Yamaha) 1’48.568
11. Bradley Smith (Yamaha) 1’48.810
12. Hector Barbera (Ducati) 1’48.991
13. Yonny Hernandez (Ducati) 1’49.051
14. Hiroshi Aoyama (Honda) 1’49.209
15. Alvaro Bautista (Honda) 1’49.274
16. Scott Redding (Honda) 1’49.703
17. Karel Abraham (Honda) 1’49.790
18. Nicky Hayden (Honda) 1’49.835
19. Alex De Angelis (Forward Yamaha) 1’50.263
20. Danilo Petrucci (ART) 1’50.635
21. Michael Laverty (PBM) 1’51.280
22. Broc Parkes (PBM) 1’51.489
23. Mike Di Meglio (Avintia) 1’52.181
Marquez put down a scorching first flying lap, bettering the previous top time at Aragon which he set in 2013. His second effort was even quicker and it appeared that the remaining minutes would be spent with riders battling for second position. Pedrosa gave his teammate a serious challenge in the final stages however, topping the timesheet with just a few minutes remaining. Marquez had time to complete one more rotation and it proved to be more than enough, the defending champion pacing nearly four-tenths quicker than Pedrosa at session’s close.
"Qualifying went very well, continuing the form that we have had so far this weekend,” said Marquez. “We have focused a lot of our work on our race pace, looking less at setting a one-off lap time and more at finding a strong pace. Things are looking good for the race, although Dani also has a very good pace, so we’ll have to see tomorrow!"
Positions further back changed hands numerous times late in Q2, and Tech 3 Yamaha’s Pol Espargaro clinched fourth on the grid. He’s joined by Ducati’s Cal Crutchlow in fifth and Movistar Yamaha’s Valentino Rossi in sixth. Rossi had a difficult day, struggling with grip throughout. He was unable to gain entry directly to Q2 after practice and had to earn a spot in the final qualifying session through Q1.
Rossi’s teammate, Jorge Lorenzo, was bumped off the front row during the latter stages, dropping to seventh by the conclusion. LCR Honda MotoGP’s Stefan Bradl finished in eighth followed by Crutchlow’s teammate, Andrea Dovizioso, in ninth. Dovi missed out on the opportunity to improve his standing following a late session crash, from which he walked away unharmed.
NGM Mobile Forward Racing’s Aleix Espargaro will start from 10th followed by Pol Espargaro’s teammate, Bradley Smith, in 11th. Smith also suffered a crash late in the session and was unable to contend for better position as a result. Avintia Racing’s Hector Barbera gained entry to Q2 aboard his new Ducati machinery and will start from 12th on the grid.
MotoGP Aragon Qualifying Results 2014
1. Marc Marquez (Honda) 1’47.187
2. Dani Pedrosa (Honda) 1’47.549
3. Andrea Iannone (Ducati) 1’47.685
4. Pol Espargaro (Yamaha) 1’47.865
5. Cal Crutchlow (Ducati) 1’47.897
6. Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) 1’48.226
7. Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha) 1’48.246
8. Stefan Bradl (Honda) 1’48.368
9. Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati) 1’48.542
10. Aleix Espargaro (Forward Yamaha) 1’48.568
11. Bradley Smith (Yamaha) 1’48.810
12. Hector Barbera (Ducati) 1’48.991
13. Yonny Hernandez (Ducati) 1’49.051
14. Hiroshi Aoyama (Honda) 1’49.209
15. Alvaro Bautista (Honda) 1’49.274
16. Scott Redding (Honda) 1’49.703
17. Karel Abraham (Honda) 1’49.790
18. Nicky Hayden (Honda) 1’49.835
19. Alex De Angelis (Forward Yamaha) 1’50.263
20. Danilo Petrucci (ART) 1’50.635
21. Michael Laverty (PBM) 1’51.280
22. Broc Parkes (PBM) 1’51.489
23. Mike Di Meglio (Avintia) 1’52.181