Valentino Rossi Earns 64th Pole | Motegi MotoGP Qualifying Results

Valentino Rossi 64th MotoGP Pole

Three weeks ago at Motorland Aragon, Repsol Honda’s Marc Marquez earned his 64th pole, tying him with Movistar Yamaha MotoGP’s Jorge Lorenzo for the record of Grand Prix motorcycle racing poles.

But following qualifying Saturday for 15 of 18 at the Twin Ring Motegi in Japan, there are now three riders tied for record GP poles. This was after the other factory Yamaha YZR-M1 pilot, nine-time World Champion Valentino Rossi, claimed the pole for Sunday’s 24-lap Japan Grand Prix.

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For the first time on Michelin tires at Motegi, Rossi posted a best lap of 1:43.954 around the 2.98-mile circuit containing 14 corners. Joining VR46 on the front row are Marquez, who finished 0.180 of a second back, and Lorenzo, who finished 0.267 behind. Lorenzo impressed considering he suffered a huge crash during the third free practice. Heading into the first of three back-to-back rounds, Marquez has a 52-point lead over Rossi.

“It’s my third pole position of the year. I’m very happy because this year in qualifying I’m strong,” Rossi says. “We were struggling during this weekend to find the right balance and I’m also not a 100% fit, I’m suffering physically, I’m not feeling fantastic.

“In FP4 we improved the balance of the bike a lot and I did a very good lap and great braking in turn 11 and that was good. Starting from pole is always important and now we wait for tomorrow.”

Qualifying on top of row two was Ducati Team’s Andrea Dovizioso, who claimed the pole at Motegi in 2014. The Italian Desmosedici GP16 pilot was followed by Brno winner Cal Crutchlow (LCR Honda) and Team Suzuki Ecstar’s Aleix Espargaro.

Rounding out the top 10 in qualifying are Aleix’s teammate Maverick Vinales, Ducati Team’s Hector Barbera (riding in place of the injured Andrea Iannone), Monster Yamaha Tech 3’s Pol Espargaro and OCTO Pramac Yakhnich Ducati’s Danilo Petrucci.

The GP of Japan gets underway at 2 p.m. local time as Marquez looks to garner some strength for a possible third title.

Photos by Luciano Bianchetto

2016 Motegi MotoGP Qualifying Results

Pos.	Rider	Manufacturer	Nationality	Time
1	Valentino Rossi	Yamaha	ITA	01’43.954
2	Marc Marquez	Honda	ESP	01’44.134
3	Jorge Lorenzo	Yamaha	ESP	01’44.221
4	Andrea Dovizioso	Ducati	ITA	01’44.294
5	Cal Crutchlow	Honda	GBR	01’44.402
6	Aleix Espargaro	Suzuki	ESP	01’44.494
7	Maverick Viñales	Suzuki	ESP	01’44.539
8	Hector Barbera	Ducati	ESP	01’44.980
9	Pol Espargaro	Yamaha	ESP	01’45.232
10	Danilo Petrucci	Ducati	ITA	01’45.782
11	Scott Redding	Ducati	GBR	01’45.827
12	Alvaro Bautista	Aprilia	ESP	01’45.614
13	Stefan Bradl	Aprilia	DEU	01’45.823
14	Jack Miller	Honda	AUS	01’46.347
15	Bradley Smith	Yamaha	GBR	01’46.593
16	Katsuyuki Nakasuga	Yamaha	JPN	01’46.627
17	Yonny Hernandez	Ducati	COL	01’46.705
18	Tito Rabat	Honda	ESP	01’46.753
19	Eugene Laverty	Ducati	GBR	01’47.060
20	Loris Baz	Ducati	FRA	01’47.501
21	Mike Jones	Ducati	AUS	01’47.631
22	Hiroshi Aoyama	Honda	JPN	01’47.788

2016 Motegi MotoGP Qualifying Results | Photo Gallery