Marquez sees off Yamaha charge for maiden Japanese MotoGP pole
Full Japanese MotoGP qualifying results at Motegi
Marc Marquez has taken his first Japanese MotoGP pole position by beating a trio of Yamaha riders in tricky conditions at Motegi.
Full Japanese MotoGP qualifying results at Motegi
Marc Marquez has taken his first Japanese MotoGP pole position by beating a trio of Yamaha riders in tricky conditions at Motegi.
Despite securing his 10th pole position of the season and 90th of his entire career, it marks his first at Honda’s home round in the premier class meaning he has taken at least one pole position at every round on the current MotoGP calendar.
Following heavy rain, the Motegi circuit gradually dried up throughout qualifying but with big damp patches dotted around the track it posed slippery conditions for all riders.
But Marquez demonstrated his 2019 MotoGP world title credentials, having wrapped up the title at the last round in Thailand, by leading throughout Q2 to eventually grab pole with a 1m 45.763s.
Having seen three Yamaha riders faster than him after Friday practice, Marquez duly reversed the order with Franco Morbidelli claiming his best qualifying since Jerez with second place just 0.132s off the Spaniard sitting on pole position.
Fabio Quartararo completed a near-perfect showing for Petronas Yamaha by completing the front row in third place by beating Monster Yamaha’s Maverick Vinales.
Cal Crutchlow almost joined the front row fight with his final qualifying lap but lost vital time in the last sector which left him in fifth place for LCR Honda having graduated through Q1 earlier in the session.
Pramac Ducati’s Jack Miller lines up directly behind the British rider in sixth place and in front of Ducati duo Andrea Dovizioso and Danilo Petrucci.
Aleix Espargaro impressed to complete the third row for Aprilia and beating Valentino Rossi on the factory Yamaha.
Q2 turned into a low-key session for Suzuki with Alex Rins in 11th place and Joan Mir in 12th place.
With Crutchlow and Rins scrapping into Q2 from the first session, it saw local favourite Takaaki Nakagami miss out by just 0.034s on his final qualifying appearance for LCR Honda. The Japanese rider is set to undergo shoulder surgery after this weekend and will be replaced by Johann Zarco for the final three races of the year.
Francesco Bagnaia led the best of the rest to take 14th place for Pramac Ducati ahead of KTM trio headed up by Pol Espargaro in 15th followed by Miguel Oliveira and Mika Kallio.
With Karel Abraham taking 18th place for Avintia Ducati, Jorge Lorenzo struggled in the mixed conditions for Repsol Honda down in 19th place and over one-and-a-half seconds off progressing through to Q2.
Hafizh Syahrin claimed 20th for Tech3 KTM ahead of Suzuki wildcard Sylvain Guintoli, who had his Friday practice times deleted for using a 2020 engine specification, with Andrea Iannone qualifying in 21st place for Aprilia.
Tito Rabat missed qualifying after a heavy FP3 fall for Avintia Ducati.
