2016 Aragon MotoGP Qualifying
Since the Termas de Rio Hondo circuit joined the MotoGP Championship in 2014, only one rider has earned the pole – Repsol Honda’s Marc Marquez. And the Spaniard once again completed this feat Saturday for round two of the 2016 MotoGP Championship in Argentina.
After struggling throughout preseason testing with the RC213V, Marquez got back up to speed in Qatar, finishing third behind Ducati’s Andrea Dovizioso and winner Jorge Lorenzo. But now he’s ready for serious redemption.
Marquez led Friday Argentina MotoGP practice, and despite two crashes Saturday, Marquez led all practices following up to qualifying. He set the quickest lap time at the Termas de Rio Hondo with a 1:39.411.
Qualifying second 0.375 of a second behind Marquez for Sunday’s 25-lap race will be Movistar Yamaha MotoGP’s Valentino Rossi, who won last year’s Argentina Grand Prix. Qualifying third, 0.533 of a second behind, was Rossi’s teammate, Jorge Lorenzo.
Marc Marquez says: ”I’m happy with how the bike is going and with the pace we have. Tomorrow it will be vital to choose our rear tire well, because with the soft I feel very good but I do not know if we can use it. We will have to wait for the decision from Michelin.
“We know what my crashes today were due to; the first was down to changing the setup but the second was because we pushed too hard. That is what happens in the qualifying session. Tomorrow we’ll give everything we have in the race.”
Earning the remaining top nine positions in qualifying were Repsol Honda’s Dani Pedrosa (0.6 seconds behind Marquez); Ducati Team’s Andrea Dovizioso (—0.787); Ducati Team’s Andrea Iannone (-0.861); Team Suzuki Ecstar’s Maverick Vinales (-0.964); Avintia Racing Ducati’s Hector Barbera (- 1.113); LCR Honda’s Cal Crutchlow (-1.117); Monster Yamaha Tech 3’s Pol Espargaro (-1.243); Team Suzuki Ecstar’s Aleix Espargaro (-1.1297); and Monster Yamaha Tech 3’s Bradley Smith (-1.482).
The Argentina Grand Prix gets underway at 8 a.m. ET Sunday, April 3.
