Márquez steps up and takes pole in Motegi

Spanish rider has taken pole at the Japanese circuit of Motegi with a time of 1:52.067, improving the track record held by Julián Simón, who, as you know, had to stay home because his injured leg had to be operated on again.

In the early stages of the session, there were many crashes due to cold tyres, such as Krummenacher’s, who was unable to return to the track and finished last with no classification time, or Pol Espargaró’s at the same spot, who nearly got run over by Kenny Noyes coming up behind him.

Márquez was followed by Luthi, who dominated all the practice sessions this weekend, finishing 0.193 behind the Spaniard. Behind them, Andrea Iannone will complete the front row; he didn’t show up until the final stages of the session. Stefan Bradl could not get past 8th place, so tomorrow he will be caught up in the chaos of the start, trying to prevent Marc from cutting more points from his lead.

The big scare came from Sergio Gadea, who crashed ten minutes before the end of the session and was airlifted from the circuit by helicopter; we are waiting for further news. Another scare, but without a crash, came from Márquez, who, in one of his brilliant moves, managed to save a certain fall by lifting the bike with his elbow, no less…

The rest of the Spanish riders finished well off the pace. Jordi Torres pleasantly surprised us and finished 11th, less than a second behind Marc’s pole. Aleix Espargaró was 13th, Tito Rabat 17th, Pol Espargaró 21st, Ricky Cardús 22nd, Axel Pons 24th, Kenny Noyes 30th, Joan Olivé 34th and Sergio Gadea 37th.

Photos | motogp.com