Yamaha dominate Catalunya MotoGP Qualifying

2020 MotoGP Round Nine – Catalunya

MotoGP Qualifying Report

Franco Morbidelli (Petronas Yamaha SRT) can add a maiden pole position to his tally in 2020 as the Italian proved the only man able to dip into the 1:38s in qualifying at the Gran Premi Monster Energy de Catalunya, only a tenth shy of the lap record. He was two tenths clear of teammate Fabio Quartararo, who starts second, with Valentino Rossi (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) taking third as the number 46 gets a front row start for his 350th premier class race. Championship leader Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team), meanwhile, starts P17…

In Q1 Dovizioso was one of the main names fighting to make it through, but all did not go to plan for the Italian. Ultimately it was Jack Miller (Pramac Racing) who was quickest, with Takaaki Nakagami (LCR Honda Idemitsu) snatching second right at the end in some late heartbreak for Alex Rins (Team Suzuki Ecstar). Rins now lines up in P13, and Dovizioso down in P17.

It was a Yamaha stranglehold at the beginning of Q2 as Morbidelli set the first banker, with Rossi then taking over at the top before his teammate Maverick Viñales hit back. Quartararo, meanwhile, ran wide as he got his YZR-M1 all sorts of crossed up at the tricky Turn 10 – just as his team-mate Morbidelli slammed in the fastest lap of the weekend to go provisional pole again with a 1:39.110.

Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM Tech3) then also got it wrong at Turn 10 but unlike Quartararo, Oliveira was down – thankfully unhurt. Next to get the hammer down were two Ducatis – Miller and Johann Zarco (Esponsorama Racing), and Miller only had one set of fresh soft tyres available after coming through Q1. The Aussie made it count though, slotting into second just 0.115 off Morbidelli.

As the final runs dawned, Quartararo then found himself rumbling out of pitlane with five minutes to go having not set a lap time after his earlier Turn 10 moment. The Frenchman and last year’s poleman was P12, but that was soon going to change as four Yamahas lit up the timing screens. Halfway around the lap, Quartararo was 0.132 under Morbidelli’s time, although the number 21 was going even quicker. Over the line though it was Quartararo who improved this time around to a 1:39.008, with Morbidelli unable to – and nor did Viñales. Rossi, however, did, with the ‘Doctor’ leaping up from P7 to P3 to make it a provisional Yamaha front row lockout.

On the next lap, Morbidelli was flying yet again. The San Marino GP winner was 0.082 under Quartararo’s time at Sector 3, but could he hold it through Sector 4? He could. Ultimately, Morbidelli did more than hold his advantage and the final sector was a stunner as he shot to the top, over two tenths clear. Quartararo went in search of a final lap charge but it didn’t materialise for the MotoGP sophomore, and no one had an answer for Morbidelli.

That makes it a first premier class pole position for the recent first time winner, with Quartararo set to launch from P2 and ahead of all his closest challengers in the overall standings. Rossi makes it a Yamaha 1-2-3 for the second time in three races and takes his first front row of the season… as well as sounding pretty confident for Sunday.

Miller did an impressive job to qualify P4 as the leading Ducati rider, beating Viñales by just over a tenth as the number 12 lost out on making it another Yamaha 1-2-3-4. To the right of Viñales is Zarco, his final lap moving him up to just 0.007 slower than Viñales’ effort to give the Frenchman his best grid slot since his Czech GP pole.

Pol Espargaro (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) spearheads Row 3 ahead of Joan Mir (Team Suzuki Ecstar), with both riders also looking like strong contenders in the race – and Mir having already taken a podium from P11 on the grid last weekend. Ducati Team’s Danilo Petrucci joins the Spaniards on the third row for his second consecutive P9 start.

Rookie and Brno winner Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) completes the top 10, ahead of Nakagami and Oliveira after the earlier crash for the Portuguese rider.

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Dovizioso leads by one point as it stands and he’s down in 17th, so it seems like Sunday is a prime opportunity for Quartararo, Viñales and Mir to strike back. The Catalan GP promises to be another phenomenal MotoGP race, and a pivotal one at that.

Tune in and don’t forget, the premier class get underway an hour later than normal this weekend, so it’s 2300 AEST tonight.

2020 MotoGP Misano Qualifying Quotes

Franco Morbidelli – P1

“It was great to be first today; to see that I was the fastest is a really good feeling. It’s always difficult to beat Fabio on a hot lap, so I’m very happy about qualifying today. I was feeling great on the bike and I felt that I could push a lot, on both tyres as well. Now it’s a matter of trying to refine everything for tomorrow and we will try to make a good start. We have a good pace, but there are many riders with a similar pace to us. It will be important to try to improve a little bit more for tomorrow, but I’m sure it is going to be a good race. I also want to congratulate Valentino [Rossi] on one more year in MotoGP and tell him that he is moving to a great team. It will be nice to have him as a team-mate.”

Fabio Quartararo – P2

“I’m really happy to be on the front row again in Barcelona. I think it will be really important to make a good start tomorrow. I’m feeling confident on the bike. Let’s see what we can do tomorrow, but our pace looks great and I think the only problem we have is which tyre to choose. It’s a difficult decision, but I’m happy with the job that the team has done. We will see what it is like tomorrow and then make our decision. I’m sure everyone is in the same position, so let’s see what we can do. Regarding the official announcement of the agreement of Valentino [Rossi] and the team, I’m really happy for him, for the team, and also for me because I like having him on track. “

Valentino Rossi – P3

“It‘s a great result to be on the front row. Today is a special day, because I signed the contract for next year, I‘m very happy. We worked well from yesterday, and today in FP4 I had good pace, also with the used tyre. So, I knew I could do a good lap, but it‘s not always easy. At the end, I was able to push at the limit, riding well without making any mistakes. I‘m very happy to be on the front row, because this is very important for the race. But the most important thing is that the bike is competitive. All the Yamaha riders have a good pace, so we need to make a good start, do everything right from the beginning, and then we‘ll see. I am competitive and strong. I can be fast for all the race. But MotoGP is always difficult, and things can change fast from one day to the other. To beat the others you have to arrive at the chequered flag earlier than them – that‘s the target.”

Jack Miller – P4

“I’am quite happy with the set up that we have tried during FP4, I definitively had a better feeling. Today’s weather conditions were acceptable and the wind was not as strong as yesterday, which helped. We have to be very careful due to the lack of grip. I hope to have a good race tomorrow.”

Maverick Vinales – P5

“The start is always crucial and fifth position is difficult, but it‘s not a really bad result considering we struggled a lot with the tyres this afternoon. Tomorrow we‘ll try to make another step forward. I think maybe we can find something really good for tomorrow. On rhythm we are good, we are very consistent and that is the most important. Tomorrow I‘ll go crazy on the first lap to move up to second or third, and then we‘ll see. What we understand is that we have a good pace in the last ten or twelve laps, which is important because this track is very demanding on the rear tyre. We will see tomorrow, but we are confident for the race.”

Johann Zarco – P6

“Starting from the second row is a very good thing for tomorrow’s race. Since yesterday, we are taking steps forward, we have improved our feeling with the bike and our race pace. Also yesterday we have improved our feelings with the used tire to be able to make a good end of the race and try to fight for the podium.”

Pol Espargaro – P7

“A so-so day. I’m happy because the lap-time was not bad but having seen our pace in FP4 with a used tire maybe I was expecting a bit more. My feeling in qualifying was not too bad but we didn’t get that extra grip in other places when we put a fresh tire on the bike. Anyway, P7 is OK and the straight is long here so let’s see if we can get some positions back at the start, make a good rhythm and see what will happen.”

Joan Mir – P8

“My target was the second row, and I came close to it. I’m still trying to improve my qualifying performances, but it takes time and I’m working on it. I’m happy with eighth but I struggled to make one quick lap today so that cost me a higher place, but my race pace is there. I will give everything tomorrow to have a strong race, it’s going to be very competitive I think!”

Danilo Petrucci – P9

“This morning, we have finalised our work following the direction identified yesterday afternoon. After getting direct access to Q2, I managed to complete another good lap in qualifying: we are all very close, so I am satisfied with the third row. It won’t be an easy race tomorrow: it will be difficult to make the right tyre choice and manage them for all the duration of the Grand Prix, especially given the track conditions and the low temperatures to which we are not used. However, I remain confident, and I want to thank the team for all the work they have done.”

Brad Binder – P10

“It was tough. I wanted to push and try to do a good job but I wasn’t comfortable with the front end. When I wanted to push into the left-handers I just kept washing the front tire. It was really difficult: I felt like I was riding around with one hand in my pocket because it was such hard work. We’ll sit down and make a plan for tomorrow.”

Takaaki Nakagami – P11

“In FP3, at the end of the session, we tried to improve the lap time, but unluckily I had a crash at turn two which was due to a cold tyre as the temperature wasn’t high enough and I lost the front. I’m sorry to the team as we lost the opportunity to stay in the top 10 and we went into Q1 qualifying. Q1 was good and the lap time was quite good, we were able to make our best lap time of the weekend and go into Q2 which was really positive for the team and myself. But in Q2 we had only one new tyre because we came from Q1 and everyone else had two. So P11, I’m a little bit disappointed, but we had a crash this morning and the situation was not the best, but we finally made it through to Q2. P11 is not too bad, but the biggest thing for tomorrow is tyre management as this track is so difficult and this track is so long. But we had good pace in FP4 which is a good sign, so we’ll try our best and hopefully we can get a good position in the race.”

Miguel Oliveira – P12

“It was a tough Qualifying. This morning we finished with a very good feeling. This afternoon, the conditions changed a bit and I was not so comfortable riding the medium front. I crashed on my fastest lap in Qualifying and lost a bit of feeling, which means I couldn’t do any better than this morning. We hope to do a clever race and arrive as close to the top as we can.”

Alex Rins – P13

“I just needed one more flying lap in Q1 and I’m sure I could’ve made it into final qualifying, I was so close! But anyway, I feel good with my race pace so I think I can get a nice result. I will fight tomorrow and try to put passes in on those around me to get the best position I can.”

Pecco Bagnaia – P14

“I will start from 14th place and I’m not happy about it. During the Q1 I messed up because I wasn’t fast in T4 otherwise I would have been in Q2. It will be a difficult race, I think that the pace will be slower and the most important thing will be the tires retaining, no one expected that the conditions would be like these. I have to do a good start and to recover positions since the first laps. I’m confident for tomorrow because I know to have a good race pace and I can take an advantage thanks to the engine of Ducati.”

Aleix Espargaro – P15

“Definitely a not an easy day. Today, I gave it all once again to get into the top 10. We are competitive, but we are still lacking a few tenths to battle with the best. Grip is still extremely low. If you push too hard, you end up falling like I did. The crash left me in pain. I’ll need to use my head in the race tomorrow. There are a lot of very fast riders who are behind me on the grid. I think the best strategy is to stay calm in the early laps and try to conserve the tyre as much as possible.”

Cal Crutchlow – P16

“Today I felt quite positive with the bike, I was able to push in a good way. Overall I still have some problems and pain in my arm, so we’re trying to manage that as best as possible. I was disappointed I wasn’t able to go through to Q2 because I think I should have been able to, but I got held up in my lap. Also the same thing happened on my qualifying lap (in FP3) as a rider pulled in front of me in the last sector and wasted my lap and also my next lap as they made a mistake in turn one and pulled back in front of me again! But this is the situation, I qualified 16th today but I’m quite positive about our race pace tomorrow and think we can have a good race and improve our position.”

Andrea Dovizioso – P17

“Unfortunately I am still struggling to understand how to brake properly, and obviously this complicates everything, especially in qualifying. As I am not feeling comfortable when braking, I can’t be as fast as I want and try to make the most of the tyres. It’s a shame because our pace for the race is not bad, but the position from which we will start tomorrow will definitely affect our performance.”

Alex Marquez – P18

“Today was a difficult situation, I wasn’t able to improve my time a lot as yesterday I did a 40.4 and today only a 40.1. We weren’t able to make a big step between days, so we are a little bit further behind. Tomorrow we have Warm Up to try something, especially on the electronics side to try and improve the rear grip. Managing the tyres will be important tomorrow, we saw in FP4 there is some variety with how fast riders are. Still the grip around the circuit isn’t high, so we need to try and find a solution.”

Iker Lecuona – P19

“It’s difficult to say a lot about today. In FP4, I tried to improve my feeling with the bike, we didn’t change anything and I was just trying. In Qualifying I managed to improve my lap time. Finally, it was not bad, but not good enough. Tomorrow is a new day and the most important of the week anyway.”

Stefan Bradl – P20

“We had quite an average day today, the crash in FP4 which was a bit unlucky. Our first run in FP4 was quite good and I was happy with the pace. We wanted to try some changes to the setup, but the fall upset our plans again. I was expecting a bit more from today but I’m happy overall because our pace in FP4 is looking good. I’m hoping to make up some positions early and focus on my own race, this circuit is always tricky – especially with these cooler conditions.”

Bradley Smith – P21

“This morning, things started on the right foot. I had a good feeling and a promising pace. We changed the settings for FP4 but it didn’t work. I crashed with the first bike, so I had to use the version with different engine specs in qualifying. We’ll try to get this morning’s sensations back in warmup. In the race, tyre wear will be a determining factor. As for us, our only choice is to push hard straight away and then we’ll just have to deal with the lack of grip.”

Tito Rabat – P22

“In the morning we did a very good practice, but in the afternoon I don’t know very well what happened since I tried to improve my time but I was not able to. It is the first time that I cannot improve my time in the afternoon session. It is true that in qualifying I was very strong and I almost fell at Turn 10. With my eyes set on tomorrow and we hope to continue improving.”

Massimo Meregalli – Monster Yamaha Team Director

“It was another very positive qualifying day for Yamaha, securing its second lock-out of the season. We are very pleased for Valentino to see him back on the front row, which is well deserved. Both he and the team have been working really hard, and third place on the grid is a nice achievement on such an important day for Vale. It‘s a shame that Maverick wasn‘t able to produce the lap times he had in mind, especially after the really good pace he showed in FP4. His goal was to be on the first row, but we know he has the rhythm to join the fight at the front. Before tomorrow’s Warm Up, the team will try to further improve the area of the bike that didn’t give him the right confidence. We will put in 100% effort to make sure we are ready for the fight, especially as this is a Monster Energy sponsored event. We want to see our riders celebrate on the podium at the end of it.”

Davide Brivio – Suzuki Team Manager

“Today was positive in terms of our riders’ race pace, and they are both happy with their GSX-RRs. Everyone struggled a bit today due to the lower temperatures, but we have a competitive pace anyway. Joan qualified on the third row which is an improvement compared to last week, and Alex only missed Q2 by a very small amount. I’m sure both riders can have a good race tomorrow, we’re looking forward to it.”

MotoGP Qualifying Results

Moto2 Qualifying Report

Another week, another lap record! Luca Marini (Sky Racing Team VR46) has done it again in the Gran Premi Monster Energy de Catalunya, putting in a 1:43.355 to set pole position and a new lap record at the track. He’s joined on the front row by Q1 graduate Jorge Navarro (HDR Heidrun Speed Up) and podium finisher last time out Sam Lowes (EG 0,0 Marc VDS). Enea Bastianini (Italtrans Racing Team), who’s only five points off Marini in the standings, starts down in tenth.

In Q1, it was Joe Roberts (Tennor American Racing) who went top, followed by Jake Dixon (Petronas Sprinta Racing), Navarro and Nicolo Bulega (Federal Oil Gresini Moto2) as they headed through – leaving one surprise in their wake in the form of Aron Canet (Inde Aspar Team Moto2), who missed out and starts P19 after also crashing on Saturday morning, rider ok.

Marini was quickest from the get go in Q2, with teammate Marco Bezzecchi going second in the early stages before Xavi Vierge (Petronas Sprinta Racing) and Lowes leapfrogged him to sit as Marini’s closest challengers. That soon changed, however, as Marini went quicker again and Bezzecchi following suit to take back second. Q1 graduate Dixon then moved up into third as Marini went even quicker, setting the fastest ever Moto2™ lap around the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. His 1:43.355 moved him well clear of the competition, and as it turned out it would secure him pole.

Dixon was then setting red sectors and the British rider pipped Bezzecchi to P2, but the Brit was still 0.349 off Marini’s time. Another Q1 graduate in the form of Navarro then shot up into provisional second, cutting the gap to Marini down to a tenth and a half. Navarro’s team-mate Fabio Di Giannantonio (HDR Heidrun Speed Up) and Lowes then interchanged P3 lap times to push Dixon down to P5, with Di Giannantonio forced to settle for P4.

That was pretty much that at the top. Marini was untouchable, with Navaaro in second and Lowes taking third from ‘Diggia’, leaving Dixon down in fifth. The Brit nevertheless claims his best-ever Moto2™ qualifying result for the second weekend in a row though – going one better than Misano. Bezzecchi will start on the second row alongside ‘Diggia’ and Dixon, the Italian forced to settle for sixth.

Joe Roberts spearheads Row 3 in P7 after coming through Q1, taking his first Saturday top 10 since his Czech GP pole position. After finishing second in FP3, rookie Marcos Ramirez makes it two Tennor American Racing machines on the third row as he took his best qualifying of 2020 to sit in P8. Xavi Vierge completes the third row.

Remy Gardner (Onexox TKKR SAG Team) completed the top 10 in Q2, but after crashing under yellow flags on Friday, the Australian faces a six-place grid penalty. What does that mean? It means Bastianini will move up a position into the top 10 on the grid – and every little helps for the Italian who faces a tough task to mix it with Marini on Sunday afternoon.

Luca Marini

“I felt very good from the beginning of the weekend, it wasn’t easy and I didn’t expect it because it’s a very different situation to Misano, but the bike is still working well. So I don’t have so much rear grip but for everyone it’s the same so that’s great. I tried to manage the rear in practice because I want to understand how it will be in the race. In the quali I focused on being precise, and with a good lap and all sectors together. I think I did my job, and I’m very happy to start from pole because it will be important tomorrow, but I think Speed Up and Sam are strong here so it won’t be an easy race, but for today I’m happy and for the work I’ve done with my crew.”

Moto2 Qualifying Results

Moto3

Tony Arbolino (Rivacold Snipers Team) has taken his first pole position of 2020 at the Gran Premi Monster Energy de Catalunya, the Italian slamming in a new lap record 1:47.762 to pull an incredible sixth tenths clear of Raul Fernandez (Red Bull KTM Ajo) and Gabriel Rodrigo (Kömmerling Gresini Moto3). And it’s the exact same 0.618 gap to both, with Fernandez and Rodrigo setting identical laps but the former’s second fastest effort ensuring he starts second.

In Q1 there was already plenty to talk about as Ai Ogura (Honda Team Asia) stole the headlines for all the wrong reasons. Incredibly, Championship leader Albert Arenas (Gaviota Aspar Team Moto3), closest challenger Ogura and third overall John McPhee (Petronas Sprinta Racing) all found themselves in the session, and it was mission accomplished for Arenas and McPhee as they moved through behind Niccolo Antonelli (SIC58 Squadra Corse) and Q1’s fastest man Alonso Lopez (Sterilgarda Max Racing Team). But Ogura? The Japanese rider suffered his worst qualifying of the season by a whopping nine places, so he’ll be facing a serious mountain on Sunday from P24 on the grid.

Once Q2 was underway, Fernandez set the first benchmark of the session with a 1:48.611 to lead Darryn Binder (CIP – Green Power) and Kaito Toba (Red Bull KTM Ajo) in the early stages, but Arenas was next on the attack and into provisional P2 on his first flying lap. Arbolino then went top by just 0.045, moving the goalposts ahead of a frantic final couple of laps for the field.

On his second run, Fernandez reclaimed provisional pole by 0.186, but the standings were soon to get a shake up. Seven riders were lighting up the timing screens as the 18-rider field chased pole, but the fastest of them all was Arbolino. Over three tenths under Fernandez’ lap time halfway around the lap, the Italian was nearly four tenths under by the third split. Making no mistakes through the final sector and keeping it together across the line, Arbolino’s time was astonishing. Pole secured, lap record obliterated and over six tenths clear.

There was last minute drama for Fernandez too as the Spaniard tumbled out at the final corner, but rider ok and ready to line up second. Rodrigo takes the outside of the front row after setting his best time late on, and although it’s identical to Fernandez’ best, the Argentine’s second fastest time was slower so he takes P3.

Arenas will be stoked to be heading Row 2 in fourth, the highest-placed of the current title-challenging trio. Jaume Masia (Leopard Racing) played the risky strategy of not setting a lap time until the final minute, but it paid off as the Spaniard claimed P5 in Q2. Niccolo Antonelli (SIC58 Squadra Corse) completes the second row in sixth, the Italian 0.8 shy of Arbolino’s pace but only just over two tenths away from P2.

Filip Salač (Rivacold Snipers Team) spearheads the third row in seventh as the Czech rider took his best Saturday afternoon result of the season, joined by Toba and Binder on Row 3. The Japanese rider improved on his final flying lap to get the better of the South African, who was unable to beat his second lap set early on.

Sergio Garcia (Estrella Galicia 0,0) rounds out the top 10 in Moto3 Q2, joined on Row 4 by Andrea Migno (Sky Racing Team VR46) and McPhee. That’s now three races in a row that McPhee has failed to qualify inside the top 10, although he did still win one of them… and Sunday is very much another day.

Tony Arbolino

“It was an incredible lap, I think from the first run I saw I was first and went in the box and saw the data. It wasn’t a perfect lap, I said ‘ok, we can do better’ but I didn’t expect to do that lap. We put the bike the same as last year and we’re faster in QP and a bit more difficult in the race, but it was an incredible lap with 0.6 to second and we did an incredible job. We didn’t stop working every day so I think we deserve it! But tomorrow we need to get a lot of points because we’re not so close to first in the Championship so we have a lot of work to do tomorrow!”

Moto3 Qualifying Results

2020 MotoGP Calendar

Gran Premio Lenovo di San Marino e della Riviera di Rimini Schedule