Jorge Lorenzo to start Valencia MotoGP finale from pole position
Lap records broken along with plenty of fairings as many riders crash, including Valentino Rossi
Jorge Lorenzo – P1 – “Today’s goal was to qualify on first row, but there was a lot of tension. I expected that Andrea Iannone’s bike with the soft tyre could steal the first row, so I put in the maximum effort at the track with the three tyres and that is what I did. I wasn’t very satisfied with the first one, 1’30.9s wasn’t the lap time I expected, but with the second one the bike worked perfectly with the grip, the braking, the corner speed and the acceleration. I rode better than on the previous lap and I got pole. It probably was my best lap in all my life and I’m very proud, but the important thing is to start from front row, make a good start tomorrow, don’t make any mistakes and avoid problems on the first laps and try to get the World Title. Today they didn’t give out points, the contest is tomorrow and it’s going to be a difficult, long and stressful race.”
Marc Marquez – P2 – “It’s all very close on the time sheets with regards to race pace and I think it will be a tough race tomorrow; there is not much between us. We need to see what happens with the tyres and how the bike responds after ten consecutive laps. We are on a par with Dani and Jorge and I will try to get on the podium and and hope to fight for victory at this last race of 2015!”
Dani Pedrosa – P3 – “We’ll see how it tomorrow goes and hope to be in the fight for the victory. Yesterday we had some problems but today we took a step forward and are in better shape. We’ll have to start the race very focused and I’m looking forward to racing at this track, in front of the home fans. I’ll push 100% because it is sure to be a hotly contested race; Marc and Jorge have a strong pace so let’s hope for a good race!”
Aleix Espargaro – P4 – “I’m really happy, maybe more that in Catalunya when I made the pole position, because I had to go for the Q1 I had no more tyres for the Q2, therefore for the time attack I went out with the hard tyre, which was the only new tyre I had. Incredibly, it performed better than the soft. It is good that I am in fourth place on the grid thanks to the same tyre I will use in the race and the same tyre that other top riders used. We have to be proud of it; it is a good feeling. Here we had some troubles with the soft tyre, but we tried to persist, because normally when the temperature goes up in the afternoon we always improve. This morning I felt very bad but I know that with the increasing temperature, it always gets better, but at the end the hard proved to be much more effective for our GSX-RR’s configuration. Now I am very happy for the day and I feel confident for the race, we still have the chance to get into the top 10 of the Championship and I would like to end the season with a positive race.”
Cal Crutchlow – P5 – “We had a bit of a concern with the front tyre yesterday, it seems to have got a little better today but I expect tomorrow is going to be really difficult, 30 laps with a soft front tyre. But I’m looking forward to it, it’s going to be a long race but an enjoyable one, especially as it’s the last one of the year. Hopefully everyone can have a good clean battle and some fun out there as well. It’s a big race for the championship obviously, but I need to ride my own race and do my own things and give my all for my team as always.”
Bardley Smith – P6 – “Obviously, I am very happy with my qualifying position for the last Grand Prix of the year. It was a really great performance by everyone involved and this was highlighted by the fact that we improved one and a half seconds from yesterday. As soon as we got going this morning, I felt much better with the bike and I was able to run consistently. In FP4 we tried three different options for tomorrow’s race so we have a good idea of which direction we need to head towards with the hotter conditions. At this circuit, especially in the morning, the track grip and bike performance is different compared to when we run in the afternoon. Anyway, for qualifying, I’m really happy with what we achieved as to be on the second row is important at such a tight and twisty track like this one. Furthermore, the lap times were close today and for sure, they will also be in tomorrow’s race. So all in all, I am pleased and the result in qualifying sets us up with a great chance to end the season in a positive way.”
Andrea Iannone – P7 – “For some aspects it was a positive day, with me setting quickest time in FP3, but then we didn’t exactly do the best qualifying session of the season. In the afternoon we struggled quite a lot and I was not able to improve my lap time. We’re a bit off the pace of the quickest riders and now we have to improve something to try and do the race with the others tomorrow. For sure, we’ll make every effort to do so.”
Pol Espargaro – P8 – “Overall, the result is not so bad, but I can’t hide my disappointment as our potential was much higher than the final grid position. I wasn’t able to put together an ideal lap as I made a few slight mistakes and there was also some traffic. I couldn’t make the most of the opportunity, which is a shame as I was just 0.163 back from 4th, which was definitely within reach today. Nevertheless, our race pace is very promising, even though it won’t be an easy task as it is really challenging to pass here due to the track layout. Still, we worked on the front tyre during FP4 and we have made the choice for the race, so despite the fact that we need a good start, I am still really confident for the last race of the 2015 season.”
Andrea Dovizioso – P9 – “Unfortunately my crash in FP4 bothered me a bit and in fact I was unable to push hard in qualifying. I don’t have a great feeling with my bike and when the time came I was unable to be smooth and quick, especially in the middle of the corner, something that is essential for a good time. With a good start tomorrow we can gain some vital positions, even though we’ll probably have to fight for the whole race.”
Maverick Vinales – P11 – “I am OK after the crash, I feel a little disappointed because I have the feeling that I could be between fourth and sixth position but finally I couldn’t push so hard because we had no tyres left. The most positive thing is that we did a very good job in FP4 and I feel very confident about the pace. We still can improve in some turns both in the machine’s configuration and in my riding, so we have some room for improvement. The strategy will be simple; to make a good start and try to catch up as soon as possible the positions in front of me. Again, the feedback we had from FP4 says that with a completely worn tyre my pace is still consistent and this leaves me comfortable for the second part of the race.”
Valentino Rossi – P12 – “I’m OK, this is the most important thing. The day was not so bad, especially in the morning I was strong, but in the afternoon I suffered a bit more with the grip and I struggled a little bit more with a higher temperature. After, in qualifying, we didn’t have the pressure to try to set the best lap so we tried something else. Some modifications I didn’t like so I came back in and on my last lap it wasn’t so bad, my first sections were quite fast, but unfortunately after that I made a mistake and I crashed, but this doesn’t make a big difference for tomorrow because I will start last. We have to improve the grip to improve the race pace. If it’s cool, lower degrees can change a lot of things about the grip in comparison between a Yamaha and a competing bike. Maybe, if the temperature is a little bit less, I can go a bit faster. It will be very hard, the bad news for the race is that Jorge rode to pole position, because we hoped he wouldn’t start first, but fortunately we don’t have to think about that, it’s not our problem, I just have to recover as much as possible.”
Michele Pirro – P13 – “I am not very happy with my result today, mainly because I didn’t ride as well as I would have liked, and I was only able to take my GP15 to the limit in the afternoon. In the end in Q1 I rode quite well but it wasn’t enough for me to go through into Q2. In any case I’m starting from row 4 and I hope to do another small step forward tomorrow in the warm-up in order to improve my pace and be able to fight with the other Ducati riders.”
Stefan Bradl – P14 – “I’m pleased with the result today, although at the beginning of qualifiers I was a bit worried because on my first attempt at a flying lap I wasn’t able to be very effective. On the second try, however, I was able to be more aggressive and in the end a good time came out of it and also a good starting position. I’m also pleased because in FP4 I consistently maintained a good pace. We tried different details in terms of suspension which unfortunately didn’t work, so we went back to the previous setup which is what we’ll use in the race tomorrow. I have a good pace and maintaining it until the end will be important because 30 laps are a lot. I’m confident because we’ve been working well and we feel like we’re ready.”
Loris Baz – P16 – “I’m happy of what we achieved today: it was a positive qualifying and I’m close to the Open pole. I found more grip and was able to push. I am close to my opponents and I can do well in the race tomorrow.”
Nicky Hayden – P17 – “I think it’s the best qualifying session we’ve had in the last few races. We were finally able to take a step forward in qualifying that we hadn’t been able to do in the last few races. I did a 1:32.0 on my first tyre and the next lap I had to avoid Viñales’ bike. Thankfully he’s ok after a big crash. I went out with my next tyre and was able to improve on a section, riding in the low 1’32’s, but wasn’t able to get into the 1’31’s. Two tenths would have made a nice difference and moved me up a row or two. We’re still trying to find some grip; the bike is spinning too much in the long corners and we can’t get the drive. We’re going to need some good work from the team tonight.Tomorrow I’ve got my last ride in MotoGP, so let’s try to enjoy it.”
Alvaro Bautista – P19 – “These were difficult qualifiers because I was only able to test the settings this afternoon which I then used in Q1. Now we need to see if this setup will work well for the race. We’ll also need to read all the data well, figure out what is positive about these settings and then make the right choices for the race. We will need to work in the warm up session as well, but both yesterday and today I did better in the morning – when I was able to put in my best times easily – than in the afternoon, and obviously the risk there is that the pre-race session may not be very significant.”
Scott Redding – P20 – “We made some big changes to the electronics and some to the chassis and they’ve helped us compared to yesterday. We had a small crash in FP4 and I had to use my second bike in qualifying. I didn’t have a great feeling with that bike but the main thing was that we improved from yesterday. I feel better and more consistent so we’ll have to see what we can do in the race, which is gong to be tough whichever way you look at it.”
Jack Miller – P21 – “The weekend so far was good right up until qualifying, we were working hard but then tried something in qualifying which didn’t work out for us and we went backwards. It’s a bit of a shame but we’re still looking forward to the race tomorrow. As we know my starts are normally pretty good, so we’ll try to get away well and get up to Hector (Barbera) or around there as soon as possible. It’s not going to be an easy race tomorrow, but I will try to do the best I can in my last race for the LCR Honda team.”
Eugene Laverty – P24 – “I crashed on my first qualifying lap and that really set the tone for the session in a way. Every time I went for a flying lap, the right side of the tyre was cold and spinning. The crash just destroyed the session for us, as I had to get the scooter back to the pits and there wasn’t much time. Yesterday was bad, this morning we made a lot of progress and then qualifying was a disaster with the crash. The track is tough for us and we’ve had a difficult weekend so far; the rear grip wasn’t good yesterday, and you can see marks on the track from where we’ve been slipping and sliding into the corners. It’s been tough. I would have liked a much better weekend so far, but we’ll do what we can tomorrow because we’ve still got this race to contest before the season comes to an end.”
Toni Elias – P25 – “I’m glad of what we have done so far this weekend: the pace is good and I am confident we can fight during the race tomorrow with the other Open. In qualifying I had little feeling with the front and I could not push as I wanted. The goal is to start well and keep close to the other Open bikes at the start of the race.”
Jorge Lorenzo to start Valencia MotoGP finale from pole position
Movistar Yamaha’s Jorge Lorenzo will start his MotoGP World Championship decider against Italian teammate Valentino Rossi in Valencia tomorrow from pole position.
The Mallorcan set the fastest ever MotoGP lap around the Comunitat Valenciana – Ricardo Tormo in near perfect conditions (Track temp. 30˚C), a 1’31.011. In the process he smashed Marc Marquez’s Pole Record (1’30.237) from 2013 by over two-tenths of a second.
Lorenzo said afterwards it was the most important lap of his life, as he aims to overturn the seven-point advantage Rossi holds in the championship standings during the Valencia MotoGP finale on Sunday. It was Lorenzo’s 61st career GP pole position and his 35th in MotoGP.
Lorenzo set his fastest time on the second of his three runs as he made use of a two-stop strategy. The Spaniard is brilliant at managing races from the front and by starting on pole he has made the task of winning the Championship that much easier, as he aims to make it four wins out of four in Spain for 2015 after winning in Jerez, Barcelona and Aragon. Although don’t write Rossi off yet.
The ‘Doctor’ (+1.460s), who has to start from the back of the grid after the CAS denied his stay of execution on his penalty from Sepang, ended the session in 12th after crashing out on his last flying lap at turn 8. He walked away unhurt. It was only Rossi’s second crash of the season, and served notice to anyone that thought the Italian would not be pushing hard in Q2.
The only man who looked like he might displace Lorenzo at the top was Repsol Honda’s Marc Marquez (+0.488s). The Spaniard rode his RC213V to the absolute limit, having a number of huge moments, but even he could not deny Lorenzo in the end. Marquez was the only rider to get within half a second of Lorenzo, as he was another to utilise a two-stop strategy, recording his 16th front row start of 2015 in the process.
Dani Pedrosa made it two Repsol Honda’s on the front row as he qualified in third, but he was +0.505s off the pace of Lorenzo. Pedrosa holds a two-point advantage over Andrea Iannone (Ducati Team) in the battle for fourth in the standings, after winning two of the last three races. The Spaniard also has an excellent record at Valencia having won six races across all classes and should be a threat during Sunday’s race.
Team Suzuki Ecstar’s Aleix Espargaro (+0.906s) will start from the head of the front row in fourth in his best qualifying performance since Assen. The Spaniard’s feat was made even more impressive by the fact he was forced to progress through Q1 after ending practice in 11th on the combined timesheets.
LCR Honda’s Cal Crutchlow (+0.937s) qualified in fifth for the third race in a row, as he was one of only five riders the break the 1’31 barrier in Q2. The Brit had been struggling with grip on Friday but improved to put in his best lap time on his final flying run to start as the leading Satellite rider.
Just 0.064s behind Crutchlow was his compatriot Bradley Smith (+1.001s) on the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 M1 in sixth. The British rider secured his first second row start since Misano, as he aims to secure sixth in the standings from Ducati Team’s Andrea Dovizioso.
Iannone (+1.045) heads up the third row after he failed to improve on his best time from Practice that had seen him top the combined timesheets after FP3. Pol Espargaro (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) will start from eighth, with Dovizioso in ninth and Danilo Petrucci (Octo Pramac Racing) completing the top ten.
Maverick Viñales will start from 11th after he also made it through from Q1 alongside his teammate despite a nasty looking highside during that session, with Ducati Team wildcard Michele Pirro starting from 12th due to Rossi’s penalty.
Avintia Racing’s Hector Barbera will start as the leading Satellite rider in 14th, ahead of the man he leads in the standings by five points, Forward Racing’s Loris Baz, in 15th. American Nicky Hayden qualified in 16th as the leading Open class Honda in his last MotoGP™ race before he moves to WorldSBK in 2016, after he was inducted into the MotoGP™ Hall of Fame on Friday in Valencia.
EG 0,0 Marc VDS’s Scott Redding continued his struggles from practice and could only qualify in 19th, ahead of Australian Jack Miller (LCR Honda) in 20th and Eugene Laverty (Aspar MotoGP Team) in 23rd. A
nthony West (AB Motoracing) filling in for the injured Karel Abraham was in 22nd, while Alex De Angelis’ replacement Broc Parkes (E-Motion IodaRacing Team) will start from 25th with Rossi lining up in 26th.
MotoGP Qualifying Results
Tito Rabat completed his comeback from the broken radius that forced him to miss the flyways to claim his third pole position of 2015.
EG 0,0 Marc VDS’s Rabat took his 16th Moto2 pole position after setting a 1’35.234 at the Gran Premio Motul de la Comunitat Valenciana, despite still suffering with pain from the injury sustained in training before the Japanese GP. The 2014 Moto2™ champion is aiming to bow out of the intermediate class with a win in his last race in Moto2™ before he moves up to MotoGP™ in 2016.
Ajo Motorsport’s 2015 Moto2 World Champion Johann Zarco secured his 13th front row start of the season as he finished just 0.138s off the pace of Rabat in second. This sets up a brilliant showdown between the two champions, with Zarco choosing Saturday to debut the new 2016 Kalex frame that he hinted he will use in the race come Sunday.
Paginas Amarillas HP40’s Alex Rins (+0.207s) qualified in third to record his third successive front row start. Rookie of the year Rins currently leads Rabat by just eight points in the battle for second in the championship standings, as he looks to bounce back from his DNF at Sepang.
Derendinger Racing Interwetten’s Thomas Luthi (+0.298s) will start from the head of the second row in fourth. The Swiss rider had earlier topped the combined timesheets after FP3, but will have to start from the second row for the ninth time this season.
Forward Racing’s Lorenzo Baldassarri (+0.460s) will start from fifth for the second race in a row, as he equalled his best qualifying performance of the season. It was a brilliant turnaround for the Italian after he had ended practice in 17th overall.
QMMF Racing Team’s Julian Simon (+0.494s) recorded his best qualifying result of the season in sixth as he finished as the leading Speed Up rider.
Axel Pons (AGR Team) will start from seventh despite a crash late on in the session, with Takaaki Nakagami (Idemitsu Honda Team Asia) and Simone Corsi (Forward racing) completing the third row.
Speed Up Racing’s Sam Lowes will start from tenth on the grid after he recovered from crashing heavily at the start of the session, while there were also crashes for Alex Marquez (14th), Xavier Simeon (23rd) and Robin Mulhauser (26th).
Dominique Aegerter (Technomag Racing Interwetten) was forced to pull out of the GP after FP2 due to the pain he was suffering from his previous injuries and was replaced by Josh Hook, who finished the session in 30th.
Azlan Shah (Idemitsu Honda Team Asia) and Louis Rossi (Tasca Racing Scuderia Moto2) pulled out of the GP after they were both involved in a heavy crash during FP3.
Moto2 Qualifying Results
1 – T. Rabat (SPA) KALEX 1’35.234
2 – J. Zarco (FRA) KALEX + 0.138
3 – A. Rins (SPA) KALEX + 0.207
McPhee celebrates 2016 contract with pole in Moto3
In the Moto3 title fight it was advantage Miguel Oliveira (4th) as he managed to out qualify his rival Danny Kent (18th), but it was SAXOPRINT RTG’s John McPhee who celebrated signing a new contract with his team by claiming his second career Moto3 pole position at the Gran Premio Motul de la Comunitat Valenciana.
The Scotsman had been seventh after practice but improved to take pole with a 1’39.364, despite crashing towards the end of the session. His time was not the fastest from the weekend, but it was good enough for pole in an incredibly tight session that saw just one second separate the top 23 riders.
Sky Racing Team VR46’s Romano Fenati (+0.086s) will start from the front row for just the third time this season after he qualified in second. The Italian was also the leading KTM rider at a track the manufacturer has never lost at in the Moto3™ class.
Leopard Racing’s Efren Vazquez was just a further 0.013s further back in third, as only 0.099s separated the front row. It will be Vazquez’s second front row start of the season, after he also qualified in third at the Australian GP.
Red Bull KTM Ajo’s Miguel Oliveira (+0.139s), who trails Kent by 24 points in the championship standings, left it late to snatch fourth. It is the first time the Portuguese rider has not been on the front row since the Japanese GP.
Estrella Galicia 0,0’s local hero Jorge Navarro (+0.161s) will start from the middle of the second row in fifth. It is the man who hails from Valencia’s fifth second row start of 2015.
Gresini Racing Team Moto3’s Enea Bastianini (+0.217s) completed the second row in sixth, ahead of his compatriot Niccolo Antonelli (Ongetta-Rivacold), with the Red Bull KTM Ajo duo of Karel Hanika and Brad Binder in eighth and ninth respectively, despite the former crashing early on in the session.
Hiroki Ono (Leopard Racing) completed the top ten as his teammate, and championship leader, Kent (+0.649s) had to settle for 18th after making a mess of his tactics during the session. Kent has seen Oliveira close his lead in the standings from 110 points after Silverstone to just 24, and despite knowing he just needs to finish in the top 14, hasn’t made it any easier for himself.
Fabio Quartararo (Estrella Galicia 0,0) will start from 11th on his return from the injury that has seen him miss the last five races. Gabriel Rodrigo (RBA Racing Team) was earlier given a three-place grid penalty for riding slowly on the racing line in FP3, but it didn’t make any difference as he qualified in last anyway after a big crash in the same session.
Moto3 Qualifying Results
1 – J. McPhee (GBR) HONDA 1´39.364
2 – R. Fenati (ITA) KTM +0.086
3 – E. Vazquez (SPA) HONDA + 0.099
