Marquez the Man To Beat Ahead of Qualifying

Sep 26, 2015
4 min read

Marc Marquez heads into qualifying as the man to beat after he finally unleashed the true potential of his RC213V Honda on the medium tyres in FP3.

The Spaniard spent much of yesterday conserving his 'softer' option slicks for today whilst evaluating the race potential of the hard rear, and thus finished the day an unrepresentative 5th; Marquez also tested a new swing arm but did not like it. With track temperatures not really improving much as the session unfolded, Honda opted to do a medium tyre run fairly early on. Marc improved his time by eight tenths, finding a further three on his third lap to clock a 1:47.380.

Team-mate Dani Pedrosa also improved on his best time from yesterday to go third quickest on combined sheets with a 1:47.663. Honda's long run pace on the medium tyre was similar to that of the Yamaha riders, with the reigning World Champion edging out ahead.

Lorenzo failed to improve on his best from FP2 despite a run on a fresh medium slick late in the session, and stayed 2nd on a 1:47.517. The Spaniard tried the aerodynamic wings once again, but didn't appear to find any time and ditched them for his final run. Chances are we'll see him run them in FP4 to properly evaluate them for the race, but both Yamaha riders said after Misano that they don't really make that much of a difference to performance. Rossi managed to find a couple of tenths on his fresh medium run and was 4th quickest overall. With Honda ow showing their hand, the Italian has got to dig deep in qualifying if he is to make the front row.

Andrea Iannone rode without painkillers in FP3 and gritted his teeth to go 5th quickest on his final run on the soft tyre. Ducati do appear to be struggling with the bike this weekend, and it seems unlikely they'll be able to carry that forward into Sunday. Iannone's lap turned out to be a thorn in his team-mates side as Dovizioso was knocked out of the top ten and must contest QP1. Dovi encountered electrical problems yesterday, those issues seemingly still affecting his performance this morning.

Cal Crutchlow looked as if he was really struggling yesterday, but he was merely conserving 'softer' tyres for today. The LCR rider took his Honda to 6th with a great lap of 1:48.257, edging compatriot Bradley Smith on the Tech 3 Yamaha by just over a tenth. Scott Redding, on the other satellite Honda, was unable to join his countrymen in the top ten having managed a lap good enough for only 12th. He'll find it a struggle to progress through with all of those soft-shod Ducati riders around him.

Suzuki were the big surprise as they managed to get both bikes into QP2. Maverick Vinales languished outside the top fifteen for much of the session, ramping up his pace towards the end, the Spaniard produced a great lap for 9th. Espargaro was 10th by virtue of his best time form yesterday. Both riders were very dissatisfied with the new exhaust brought to Aragon, and the speed trap figures suggest that the power upgrades have indeed failed to make an impact. So Sunday is still a tough day in prospect for the team, but the hotter track conditions expected for qualifying should see them go not to bad.

FP3 proved a very busy affair for the mechanics. Jack Miller, Maverick Vinales and Loris Baz all suffered front-end tucks at turn two, whilst Bradley Smith dropped his YZR-M1 into the turn five gravel trap. Stefan Bradl also spent much of his morning stuck in the box due to clutch issues which required it to be changed on both of his RS-GP machines. The German ended up 22nd.

Baz was taken to the medical centre during the session for checks on a possible neck injury, but he has been passed fit to continue.

FP3 Result:

QP2 Runners:

1st Marc Marquez, Repsol Honda Team, 1:47.380

2nd Jorge Lorenzo, Movistar Yamaha MotoGP, 1:47.517

3rd Dani Pedrosa, Repsol Honda Team, 1:47.663

4th Valentino Rossi, Movistar Yamaha MotoGP, 1:47.692

5th Andrea Iannone, Ducati Team, 1:47.786

6th Cal Crutchlow, LCR Honda, 1:48.257

7th Bradley Smith, Monster Yamaha Tech 3, 1:48.318

8th Pol Espargaro, Monster Yamaha Tech 3, 1:48.445

9th Maverick Vinales, Suzuki Team Ecstar, 1:48.449