Marquez Heads Into Qualifying In Dominant Form
- Oct 17, 2015
- 2 min read
The all-important free practice three session for the MotoGP class, which decides those contesting the QP1 and QP2 sessions later today, took place under cloudy skies and on a track at a temperature of 20 degrees.
Marc Marquez heads into qualifying on top after a stunning lap of 1:29.081 towards the end of the session saw him go nearly four tenths clear of the field. The Spaniard was able to set a number of 1:29s laps also, which points towards the Honda rider being able to really take the challenge to the Yamahas tomorrow.
Jorge Lorenzo was 2nd quickest, whilst team-mate Valentino Rossi was 7th. The pair are four tenths adrift, but expect that gap to tighten up come qualifying as the pair spent much of FP3 evaluating the wings.
Cal Crutchlow put in another impressive FP3 to progress straight through to QP2 in 3rd place, just a tenth shy of Lorenzo. Maverick Vinales held onto 4th by virtue of his best lap from yesterday, which was a very decent 1:29.518 given the Suzuki GSX-RR's disadvantages. Team-mate Aleix Espargaro was unlucky to miss out on a QP2 spot by just two hundredths of a second.
Scott Redding pulled a lap out of nowhere to elevate himself eleven places to 6th on the combined sheets with a 1:29.675. Compatriot Bradley Smith sneaked through in 9th, with Ducati's Andrea Dovizioso completing the top ten.
Missing out were a number of big hitters. Danilo Petrucci was bumped down to 12th on the Pramac Ducati GP14.2, just a tenth ahead of the Open Ducati GP14 of Hector Barbera in 14th. Pol Espargaro was a disappointing 16th and will have a job on his hands to try and join his team-mate in QP2 later today.
QP2 Runners:
Marc Marquez
Jorge Lorenzo
Cal Crutchlow
Maverick Vinales
Andrea Iannone
Scott Redding
Valentino Rossi
Dani Pedrosa
Bradley Smith
Andrea Dovizioso
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