Argentine MotoGP Sunday Race Day Guide

Argentine MotoGP Sunday Race Day Guide with Dr. Martin Raines

Marc Márquez starts from pole for the fourth successive year at the Argentine Grand Prix. If Márquez does not win in Argentina it will be the first time in his five seasons in the MotoGP class that he will have failed to win at least one of the opening two races of the year.

Karel Abraham is the highest placed Ducati rider in second place on the grid, which is his first ever front row start in Grand Prix racing. This is the first front row start for a rider from the Czech Republic in the MotoGP class since it was introduced as the premier class of Grand Prix racing in 2002.

In third place on the grid is Cal Crutchlow, who has failed to finish the last three MotoGP races since he won the Australian Grand Prix, which was also his last front row start.

Danilo Petrucci heads the second row of the grid, which equals his best previous grid position from the German Grand Prix last year.

Dani Pedrosa is in fifth place on the grid, which is his best qualifying result since the British Grand Prix last year.

Maverick Viñales is the highest qualifying Yamaha rider in sixth place on the grid. Viñales is aiming to be the first Yamaha rider since Wayne Rainey in 1990 to win the opening two premier-class Grand Prix races of the year.

Heading the third row of the grid is Valentino Rossi, who is making his 350th Grand Prix start. Rossi has finished on the podium on 34 occasions in the premier class when he has failed to qualify in one of the top six places on the grid.

This is the first time since the opening race of 2015 in Qatar that Yamaha do not have a rider in the top five places on the grid.
Aleix Espargaró is in eighth place on the grid, which equals the best qualifying result achieved by an Aprilia rider throughout 2016, which was Stefan Bradl at the Australian Grand Prix.

Loris Baz takes the final place on the third row, which is his best qualifying result in MotoGP.
Jonas Folger is the best qualifier of the four rookies in the MotoGP field in 11th place on the grid.
Andrea Dovizioso is in 13th place on the grid and team-mate Jorge Lorenzo is 16th, which is the first time since Laguna Seca in 2006 that neither of the riders in the Ducati factory team have qualified in the top twelve places on the grid.

MotoGP Qualifying Results

Moto2

Miguel Oliveira has qualified on pole position for the first time of his Moto2 career to become the first Portuguese rider to start from pole position in the intermediate category. This is the first pole position of a non-Kalex rider since Sam Lowes qualified on pole on his Speed Up at Silverstone in 2015.

Franco Morbidelli is in second place on the grid, which is his eighth front row start in Moto2. The only Italian with more front row starts in Moto2 is Andrea Iannone with 15. He is aiming to become the first Italian to win back-to-back Moto2 victories and his best result in Argentina is a fifth place in 2014.

Álex Márquez will start from third place on the grid, which is his second successive front row start after qualifying in second place in Qatar. He started from 15th on the grid last year in Argentina but crash during the race.
Heading the second row is Tom Lüthi, who has not finished higher than sixth in the Moto2 race in Argentina.

Jesko Raffin is in fifth place, equalling his best qualifying result in Moto2 in Phillip Island last year.
Takaaki Nakagami will start from 22nd on the grid, which is his worst qualifying result since his 25th place in the Catalan GP in 2015. In Argentina last year, he crossed the line in ninth, which is his best result on this track so far.

Moto3

John McPhee has qualified on pole position for the third time of his career. His other two were at Phillip Island and Valencia in 2015 and he will be aiming to win his second race to add to his victory in Brno last year.

Nicolò Bulega is in second place on the grid, which is his best qualifying result since Phillip Island last year, when he also qualified in second place on the grid. Bulega, who crossed the line in 18th from fourth on the grid last year in Argentina, will be aiming to win for the first time in his GP career.

Jorge Martín will start from third on the grid, which is his third front row of his career. His best result in Argentina is an eighth place last year.
Heading the second row is Arón Canet, which is his best qualifying since his pole position in Valencia last year.
Fabio Di Giannantonio is in fifth place on the grid, which is his best starting position since qualifying fourth in Brno last year.
Taking the final place on the second row is Romano Fenati. Fenati is the only rider on the current grid who has won in Argentina (2014).
After leading the first day in Argentina, Joan Mir is in 16th position on the grid, which is his worst starting place since qualifying 24th in MotorLand Aragon last year. Mir will be aiming to become the first Spanish rider to win back-to-back Moto3 race since Álex Rins in 2014.