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Catalunya MotoGP Qualifying Results

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Who would have predicted at the start of this year that Suzuki could finish 1/2 in qualifying for any given race on the calendar? That is exactly what happened earlier today at the Catalunya Circuit, where Aleix Espargaro took pole and his teammate Maverick Viñales took the second spot. Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha) will line up third, with Marc Marquez (Honda) qualifying fourth.

Granted, the Suzukis had the benefit of a softer rear tire than is available to the other factory teams, but trackside observers noted Suzuki’s pace on longer runs was also significantly improved. As we pointed out in yesterday’s article, Suzuki has received a much needed horsepower/top speed boost for this round, and both of their Spanish riders love the Catalunya track.

Most expectations for tomorrow, however, are that Yamaha’s Jorge Lorenzo may well increase his string of race wins to four. Lorenzo has been very fast during practice on extended runs, even on worn tires. It will definitely be an interesting race.

Pos. Num. Rider Team Bike Km/h Time Gap 1st/Prev.
1 41 Aleix ESPARGARO Team SUZUKI ECSTAR Suzuki 332.9 1’40.546
2 25 Maverick VIÑALES Team SUZUKI ECSTAR Suzuki 333.9 1’40.629 0.083 / 0.083
3 99 Jorge LORENZO Movistar Yamaha MotoGP Yamaha 336.9 1’40.646 0.100 / 0.017
4 93 Marc MARQUEZ Repsol Honda Team Honda 344.1 1’40.754 0.208 / 0.108
5 4 Andrea DOVIZIOSO Ducati Team Ducati 342.8 1’40.907 0.361 / 0.153
6 26 Dani PEDROSA Repsol Honda Team Honda 346.3 1’40.928 0.382 / 0.021
7 46 Valentino ROSSI Movistar Yamaha MotoGP Yamaha 335.7 1’41.058 0.512 / 0.130
8 38 Bradley SMITH Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha 339.9 1’41.068 0.522 / 0.010
9 35 Cal CRUTCHLOW CWM LCR Honda Honda 343.6 1’41.195 0.649 / 0.127
10 68 Yonny HERNANDEZ Octo Pramac Racing Ducati 341.8 1’41.333 0.787 / 0.138
11 44 Pol ESPARGARO Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha 338.7 1’41.385 0.839 / 0.052
12 29 Andrea IANNONE Ducati Team Ducati 345.7 1’41.524 0.978 / 0.139

 

24 Comments

  1. Teddy says:

    I hope those Suzuki’s in the picture aren’t going out onto the track. Front brake rotors are missing on all of them?!?!?!

  2. Vrooom says:

    Lot’s of surprised qualifying. Congrats to Suzuki, that’s amazing for a first year manufacturer (as far as GP goes). And Yonny Hernandez is ahead of Andrea Iannone? the top 12 times all within a second makes for good racing!

  3. Neil says:

    Beautiful machine. Great news for the series. Lorenzo. Man, he’s like a dog at the dog track. He just goes after it. So smooth.

  4. John A. Kuzmenko says:

    Post race:
    Whelp, so much for qualifying when the red lights went out.

  5. xLaYN says:

    ironic… the two slowest “top-speed records” lead to the two fastest times
    almost fastest speed last place

    • xLaYN says:

      more details… when did the fairings stop covering the front wheel? (google images for other teams seems similar… btw; I didn’t know bout Duc wings on the front)

      • Hot Dog says:

        They were called “Dust bin” fairings and I think it was in the 60’s that they were outlawed but correct me if I’m wrong.

        • xLaYN says:

          hahahaha good one, let’s be a micron more specific… cover part of it; like in the Hayabusa, CBR600RR 2004 or the Desmocedici GP8 800.
          Interestingly the same reason they were banned, stability on cross wind could be the reason here as well.

    • Artem_T says:

      So what. A lot of corners.
      That is not an F1 where Mercedes is much more powerful

      • xLaYN says:

        “So what. A lot of corners.”
        Absolutely… that’s my point, numbers are not everything…

  6. Gutterslob says:

    Lets hope Aleix and his wingman can keep Jorge behind them till Rossi catches up.

  7. John A. Kuzmenko says:

    Another website calls the two Zooks the “Soft Tire Heros”.
    Funny.
    I was thinking of Soft Tire Flier.

    I think it’s great and all, but I’m curious about the race outcome.
    Hope there’s a good battle.

  8. mickey says:

    Simply stunning for a first year effort. Congrats Suzuki and much luck tomorrow.

    The rear wheel on that first bike is spinning quickly.

  9. Artem_T says:

    Oops. Where is Barry Sheene

  10. xLaYN says:

    no bike has front brake discs on that photo (which makes the guy in the first photo kind of dumb for pressing one finger the brake lever), so this is like a process of just bringing outside the bikes to turning them on? Any GP-literate to share what is this about?

    • Dirck Edge says:

      The front wheels are inside the garage on tire warmers until the last moment, when they are swapped onto the bike.

    • notarollingroadblock says:

      Now that Suzuki is on top of MotoGP they’re preparing bikes to storm mile dirt tracks, hence no front brakes.

      • xLaYN says:

        could also be the definitive solution to enter curves with as much corner speed as possible 😛

    • Dino says:

      Just an unusual incentive for the riders to get their corner lines right!

      (Brakes?? You mean the COWARD pedal!)

  11. Scotty says:

    Great result even if its not the race. I used to barrack* for Suzuki back in the day.

    *Translation for the US readers – “barrack” is Aussie for “root for” which we just can’t bring ourselves to say out loud……

  12. Grover says:

    Suzuki???

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