Rossi Proves Doubters Wrong With Pole In Assen

Jun 26, 2015
4 min read

All season it has been “Rossi needs to improve qualifying”, “Rossi can't qualify well”, and it's true... almost. Valentino Rossi knows that, with the gap between him and Movistar Yamaha team-mate Jorge Lorenzo just a single point, that he needs to beat the Spaniard, and the only way to do that is to improve his starting position. Armed with a new chassis Rossi blew them all away with a record lap of 1:32.627 on his final lap. This is the Doctor's first pole since Valencia last year and his 62nd career pole position.

It was almost as if the tables had turned at Yamaha. Lorenzo, having looked in strong contention for top spot throughout the session, could only manage 8th – that's Rossi's usual starting spot. But this also doesn't look like just an unfortunate incident; Lorenzo hasn't been as comfortable nor consistent on his long runs in practice as we've seen in previous races. Could this be a turning point in the championship fight? All Rossi needs is to do a 'Lorenzo' and dominate from pole and surely that will eat away at the Spaniard's confidence?

But that seems unlikely to happen. At one stage in qualifying the top 11 were split by just 0.126 seconds. This is one competitive grid.

Marc Marquez has been putting in the miles on his hybrid RC213V this weekend as he tried to upturn his fortunes. An opening gambit of 1:33.005 put him straight into top spot and it looked business as usual. He was pushing hard, the bike allowing him to do so, but just dropped a little time in the third sector on his final lap and had to settle for 3rd. Qualifying hasn't been Honda's weak point this year as the bike works well over one lap, but FP4 revealed that the Spaniard's race pace is strong. We'll only truly know if the modifications made to his machine have worked tomorrow. Team-mate Dani Pedrosa will head the second row having missed out on a front row start by a tenth.

Aleix Espargaro struggled in FP3 and dropped out of the top ten. He made it through QP1 with ease and went onto put his GSX-RR Suzuki 2nd. Team-mate Maverick Vinales was 9th. Suzuki showed in Barcelona that they do have decent pace relative to the front runners, and Assen's layout does suit the bike. They could be on for a decent result, and if it rains maybe even better.

Ducati will be left scratching their heads after a disappointing qualifying session by their standards. Andrea Iannone was 6th and Andrea Dovizioso 10th having looked set to top the session at one point. The race may be much the same for the Italian outfit as they have struggled to make the medium tyres – their harder option – go the distance in practice.

Whilst the factory team end Friday dejected, the Pramac squad will be delighted. Danilo Petrucci had to contest QP1 but got through and went onto qualify 11th, just a few hundredths shy of Dovizioso.

Pol Espargaro took the plaudits at Tech 3 with 5th, whilst Bradley Smith disappointed in 12th. Given the pace the Briton has shown of late he should have been much higher up the order. He is a demon starter however and that will serve him well tomorrow.

Stefan Bradl has began to get to grips with the Forward Yamaha and ended up as top open class runner in 13th. Team-mate Loris Baz also enjoyed a good afternoon in 15th. This race should be a good chance for the Frenchman to showcase his talents as it is a track he knows. The same being said fro Eugene Laverty on the Aspar Honda who has looked a lot happier now that his RC213V-RS is equipped with the new swingarm he has been pleading for. 19th doesn't quite represent his true pace, so watch for the Irishman in the race.

2015 Dutch TT – The Grid:

1st Valentino Rossi, Movistar Yamaha MotoGP, 1:32.627

2nd Aleix Espargaro, Team Suzuki Ecstar, 1:32.858

3rd Marc Marquez, Repsol Honda Team, 1:32.886

4th Dani Pedrosa, Repsol Honda Team, 1:32.987

5th Pol Espargaro, Monster Yamaha Tech 3, 1:33.013

6th Andrea Iannone, Ducati Team, 1:33.016

7th Cal Crutchlow, CWM LCR Honda, 1:33.028

8th Jorge Lorenzo, Movistar Yamaha MotoGP, 1:33.042

9th Maverick Vinales, Team Suzuki Ecstar, 1:33.076

10th Andrea Dovizioso, Ducati Team, 1:33.112

11th Danilo Petrucci, Octo Pramac Racing Ducati