Marc Marquez secures third on the grid as Jorge Lorenzo falls

Objectives met for Marc Marquez as he prepares to attack the Gran Premio Red Bull de España from the front row, teammate Jorge Lorenzo crashes unharmed.

Both Jorge Lorenzo and Marc Marquez were able to advance through directly to Q2 after an incredibly close Free Practice 3 session. Cooler morning conditions, the track temperature at just 21ºC, saw a mere half a second split the top 12. The Repsol Honda Team pairing were then able to shift their attentions to the race during Free Practice 4.

Times were even tighter in Q2, only 0.090s splitting the three riders on the front row. On lap record pace, Marc Marquez was able to secure third place on the grid with a 1’36.970 – seventh tenths faster than Crutchlow’s pole time from last year. Marquez and his team are pleased with progress made over the weekend.

Jorge Lorenzo’s Q2 session was cut short by a crash at Turn 2 with just over three minutes remaining. While Lorenzo was unharmed, he will have to fight through the field from 11thon the grid. It was a disappointing end to the day which had shown promise.

Now the 25-lap MotoGP race at 14:00 local time on Sunday, May 05, awaits both Repsol Honda Team riders as they prepare to put on a show for their home fans.

Marc Marquez
3RD 1’36.970
“I’m very happy for the front row, normally here we struggle a bit more to put one fast lap together. The most important part is that we have prepared well for the race and tomorrow we can understand our level compared to everyone else’s. We have to wait a little bit to see what the temperature does tomorrow. Congratulations to Fabio Quartararo who took the record of youngest pole setter from me, he did a really good job today. Tomorrow it will be a good race with a mix of names at the front.”

Jorge Lorenzo
11TH 1’37.496
“The session was going quite well, I pushed quite a lot in the first run and then in the second run I tried to be more aggressive in braking. Unfortunately I closed the front and then crashed, luckily I am not hurt. Starting in the fourth row isn’t ideal but it is where we will start. The launch from the line will be important to keep our position, as everyone is very fast. Here we are closer than ever to the front.”