2017 Brno MotoGP Qualifying Results
The second half of 2017 MotoGP is at full throttle, and one rider is doing all he can to secure a fourth MotoGP title—Repsol Honda’s Marc Marquez.
The Spaniard claimed the pole position Saturday, setting a new fastest lap of 1:54.981 during the 15-minute Q2 session.
Marquez finished a mere 0.092 of a second ahead of Movistar Yamaha MotoGP’s Valentino Rossi. Claiming the final podium position, 0.138 of a second behind Marquez, was the other factory RC213V pilot, Dani Pedrosa.
“I’m very happy with today because I knew that making the pole would be tough, as I normally struggle at this track, but I tried for it anyway. The test we did here was useful. I felt good already with the first tire, even if I nearly crashed as I was pushing very hard. I tried to ride smoothly but still brake hard,” Marc Marquez says.
“With the second tire, I gave it all I had and we got this pole. I’m very, very happy. Tomorrow we’ll see what weather conditions we have, as it looks a bit unstable and not as warm. It will be a long, hard race but we should be able to fight for the podium in either the dry or the wet, so we’re looking forward to it and to enjoying the race.”
Qualifying on top of row two was Ducati Team’s Andrea Dovizioso, who led Friday free practice at Brno. He finished ahead of last year’s Brno MotoGP winner, LCR Honda’s Cal Crutchlow, and the other Ducati Team pilot, Jorge Lorenzo.
Rounding out the top 10 in 2017 Brno MotoGP qualifying were Maverick Viñales (Movistar Yamaha MotoGP) Danilo Petrucci (Octo Pramac Racing), Alvaro Bautista (Pull&Bear Aspar Team) and Johann Zarco (Monster Yamaha Tech 3).
Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini) suffered a crash towards the end of Q2 to put paid to his final chances, ending the session in eleventh ahead of Loris Baz (Reale Avintia Racing).
The Czech Republic Grand Prix gets underway Sunday at 2 p.m. local time.
Heading into the second half of the season at Brno, round 10 of 18, only 10 points separate the top-four MotoGP riders.
Marquez leads with 129 points, five ahead of Movistar Yamaha MotoGP’s Maverick Vinales, six ahead of Dovizioso, and 10 ahead of Rossi.
Photo by Luciano Bianchetto
2017 Brno MotoGP Qualifying Results:
| Pos. | Rider | Manufacturer | Nationality | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Marc Marquez | Honda | ESP | 01’54.981 |
| 2 | Valentino Rossi | Yamaha | ITA | 01’55.073 |
| 3 | Daniel Pedrosa | Honda | ESP | 01’55.119 |
| 4 | Andrea Dovizioso | Ducati | ITA | 01’55.441 |
| 5 | Cal Crutchlow | Honda | GBR | 01’55.489 |
| 6 | Jorge Lorenzo | Ducati | ESP | 01’55.552 |
| 7 | Maverick Viñales | Yamaha | ESP | 01’55.663 |
| 8 | Danilo Petrucci | Ducati | ITA | 01’55.738 |
| 9 | Alvaro Bautista | Ducati | ESP | 01’56.027 |
| 10 | Johann Zarco | Yamaha | FRA | 01’56.075 |
| 11 | Aleix Espargaro | Aprilia | ESP | 01’56.355 |
| 12 | Loris Baz | Ducati | FRA | 01’56.624 |
| 13 | Alex Rins | Suzuki | ESP | 01’56.460 |
| 14 | Jonas Folger | Yamaha | DEU | 01’56.540 |
| 15 | Jack Miller | Honda | AUS | 01’56.543 |
| 16 | Hector Barbera | Ducati | ESP | 01’56.685 |
| 17 | Karel Abraham | Ducati | CZE | 01’56.786 |
| 18 | Pol Espargaro | KTM | ESP | 01’57.034 |
| 19 | Bradley Smith | KTM | GBR | 01’57.042 |
| 20 | Andrea Iannone | Suzuki | ITA | 01’57.245 |
| 21 | Tito Rabat | Honda | ESP | 01’57.288 |
| 22 | Sam Lowes | Aprilia | GBR | 01’57.465 |
| 23 | Scott Redding | Ducati | GBR | 01’57.517 |
2017 Brno MotoGP Qualifying Results | Photo Gallery
