MotoGP

 

Repsol Honda’s Marc Marquez claimed his 23rd MotoGP™ pole position in Austin, with an incredible final lap.

The lap was made even more remarkable by the fact the reigning MotoGP™ World Champion had to stop on track with 3 minutes remaining after a technical fault and run back down the pit lane to retrieve his second bike with just seconds to spare.

Not even this could stop the Spaniard as he went back out on track to set the fastest ever time on two-wheels around CoTA, a 2’02.135, over sixth-tenths quicker than his previous lap record set in Qualifying last year. It was a fitting end to a thrilling Q2, which saw the lead change hands a number of times in the dying seconds.

Despite overcast skies, track conditions were actually ideal for the fifteen-minute session, with Marquez finishing an impressive 0.339s ahead of his nearest rival, the pole sitter from Qatar, Andrea Dovizioso on the Ducati Team GP15.

Movistar Yamaha’s Jorge Lorenzo (+0.405s) took the final front row spot after completing a remarkable comeback having revealed that the reason that he struggled during practice was because he was suffering from bronchitis.

Lorenzo’s teammate and winner in Qatar Valentino Rossi (+0.428s) will start from the front of the second row, with the leading Satellite rider Cal Crutchlow (+0.478s) and Scott Redding (+0.539s) on their Factory spec Honda’s in 5th and 6th respectively.

The second factory Ducati of Andrea Iannone will start from 7th with the Team Suzuki Ecstar of Aleix Espargaro (8th) finishing ahead of his brother Pol (Monster Tech 3 Yamaha) in 9th.

Bradley Smith, Danilo Petrucci and Maverick Viñales will form the 4th row on the grid for Sundays race.

Earlier on, it was the Factory Ducati GP15 of Andrea Iannone and Team Suzuki Ecstar’s Maverick Viñales who made it through from Q1. Hector Barbera missed out on taking part in Q2 by less than five-hundredths of a second, but won the battle of the Open class riders and will start from the front of the 5th row in 13th place, ahead of Athina Forward Racing’s Stefan Bradl and Yonny Hernandez on the second Pramac Racing Ducati.

 

Moto2

 

Federal Oil Gresini’s Xavier Simeon took his second Moto2™ pole position at the Red Bull Grand Prix of The Americas. The predicted rain stayed away, allowing for dry sessions both in FP3 and Qualifying.

Despite heavy fog in the morning, both FP3 and Qualifying were fully dry for the Moto3™ riders in Austin. Rain was predicted during the closing stages of Qualifying but held off, allowing Danny Kent to charge to pole position. There was an early red flag as Hiroki Ono fell and required help to leave the track. The Japanese rider was okay however.

The experienced Brit went unchallenged the entire Qualifying session. FP3 saw him set a new circuit record, and he was able to improve to a 2’15.344 in Qualifying. Kent was the first Moto3™ rider to ever lap in the 2’15s around the Circuit of the Americas, although Oliveira would join him in that club later on in the session. “We can expect a good race tomorrow, but the gap between me and the second placed rider on the grid isn’t that big so you never know what can happen in the race,” reflected Kent.

In previous years Kent has struggled at the start of the season, but 2015 has seen him be competitive from the off on his new Honda machine. Kent’s pace for the race looks a step above the rest, the British rider able to lap consistently in the 2’15s.

Miguel Oliveira was the only other rider in the 2’15s with a 2’15.829. The Portuguese rider will be looking to make amends after contact at Turn 1 in Qatar ended his race early. Former Red Bull KTM Ajo rider, and CotA race winner, Jack Miller was on hand to give help and advice to Oliveira during FP3.

It was a debut front row for Andrea Locatelli in only his second race for the Gresini Racing Team Moto3. The Italian youngster had been challenging for the top three throughout the weekend in both the wet and dry. “I got my fastest lap at the end of the session, alone: I wanted to improve myself and I did it. I saw on the TV board that I was in fourth place, but I really wanted the front row and was able to further improve my lap time by a few tenths,” he said.

Locatelli’s teammate Enea Bastianini had a much better time in Qualifying than in Qatar, lining up eighth on the grid. Bastianini’s ride to second was a highlight of the Qatar race and he will no doubt be a threat with a much improved grid position. Fellow Italian Romano Fenati had another difficult session, an issue halting him on his final lap. Fenati, who finished second here last year, will start 19th on Sunday’s grid.
Both the Estrella Galicia 0,0 riders will make second row starts, despite never having raced in Austin before this weekend. Navarro, fifth, is hoping for a dry race, “I really wanted to run at this circuit, because the corners here are fun,” he said. Meanwhile teammate Quartararo will line up sixth and is hoping to fight for the win like in Qatar.

 

Moto3

 

Despite heavy fog in the morning, both FP3 and Qualifying were fully dry for the Moto3™ riders in Austin. Rain was predicted during the closing stages of Qualifying but held off, allowing Danny Kent to charge to pole position. There was an early red flag as Hiroki Ono fell and required help to leave the track. The Japanese rider was okay however.

The experienced Brit went unchallenged the entire Qualifying session. FP3 saw him set a new circuit record, and he was able to improve to a 2’15.344 in Qualifying. Kent was the first Moto3™ rider to ever lap in the 2’15s around the Circuit of the Americas, although Oliveira would join him in that club later on in the session. “We can expect a good race tomorrow, but the gap between me and the second placed rider on the grid isn’t that big so you never know what can happen in the race,” reflected Kent.

In previous years Kent has struggled at the start of the season, but 2015 has seen him be competitive from the off on his new Honda machine. Kent’s pace for the race looks a step above the rest, the British rider able to lap consistently in the 2’15s.

Miguel Oliveira was the only other rider in the 2’15s with a 2’15.829. The Portuguese rider will be looking to make amends after contact at Turn 1 in Qatar ended his race early. Former Red Bull KTM Ajo rider, and CotA race winner, Jack Miller was on hand to give help and advice to Oliveira during FP3.

It was a debut front row for Andrea Locatelli in only his second race for the Gresini Racing Team Moto3. The Italian youngster had been challenging for the top three throughout the weekend in both the wet and dry. “I got my fastest lap at the end of the session, alone: I wanted to improve myself and I did it. I saw on the TV board that I was in fourth place, but I really wanted the front row and was able to further improve my lap time by a few tenths,” he said.

Locatelli’s teammate Enea Bastianini had a much better time in Qualifying than in Qatar, lining up eighth on the grid. Bastianini’s ride to second was a highlight of the Qatar race and he will no doubt be a threat with a much improved grid position. Fellow Italian Romano Fenati had another difficult session, an issue halting him on his final lap. Fenati, who finished second here last year, will start 19th on Sunday’s grid.
Both the Estrella Galicia 0,0 riders will make second row starts, despite never having raced in Austin before this weekend. Navarro, fifth, is hoping for a dry race, “I really wanted to run at this circuit, because the corners here are fun,” he said. Meanwhile teammate Quartararo will line up sixth and is hoping to fight for the win like in Qatar.

 

Source: motogp.com