Marquez blitzes rivals on way to pole

2015-04-19 10:41
After the excitement during Qualifying in Austin, there was a sense of anticipation in the air as riders took to the 4.8 km Termas de Rio Hondo circuit. Conditions had improved from Friday, with the sun coming out in force and the track temperature rising to 43 degrees in time for MotoGP™ Q2.

Earlier it was Monster Yamaha Tech 3’s Bradley Smith and Hector Barbera on the Avintia Racing Ducati that made it through from a hotly contested Q1, in a session that saw Smith’s teammate Pol Espargaro and the Satellite Pramac Racing machine of Yonny Hernandez fail to progress.

As we got to the business end of the session riders headed out on fresh rubber to set a flying lap, and it was Marc Marquez who laid down a marker to the rest of the field with just over 5 minutes to go. Marquez improved on this time as the session drew to an end to finish with a 1’37.802 as none of the other riders had a response to the Spaniards pace.

The Team Suzuki Ecstar GSX-RR of Aleix Espargaro (+0.514s) finished in 2nd, continuing an excellent weekend for the returning manufacturer. The fast and flowing Termas de Rio Hondo circuit plays to the strengths of the chassis of the Suzuki, with the absence of a long straight allowing Espargaro to be quick despite the bikes lack of straight-line speed.

Andrea Iannone (+0.665s) completed the front row on the Ducati Team GP15 as he, like Espargaro, took advantage of the softer tyre option available to both teams to set a flying lap.

CWM LCR Hondas Cal Crutchlow (+0.683s) will start from the front of the second row ahead of Movistar Yamaha’s Jorge Lorenzo (+0.683s), who matched the British riders time in 5th, and the second Ducati Team GP15 of Andrea Dovizioso (+0.718s).

Pramac Racing’s Danilo Petrucci will start from 7th on the grid, with Valentino Rossi over a second off the pace of Marquez in 8th. Maverick Viñales completes the third row in 9th, with Monster Yamaha Tech 3’s Bradley Smith rounding out the top ten. Hector Barbera leads the Open class in 12th, just behind the Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS Racing Honda of Scott Redding.

Click here for the full MotoGP™ Qualifying results and line up for Sundays race, which is due to start at 16:00 local time in Argentina.

1 - Marc Márquez (SPA) HONDA 1'37.802
2 - Aleix Espargaró (SPA) SUZUKI 1'38.316
3 - Andrea Iannone (ITA) DUCATI 1'38.467
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12 - Héctor Barberá (SPA) DUCATI 1'40.526
Zarco claims pole with fastest ever Moto2™ lap in Argentina


J. Zarco (FRA)
Front Row Moto2
Ajo Motorsports Johann Zarco claimed his first pole position of 2015 to finish ahead of Tito Rabat and Thomas Luthi.

Moto2™ Qualifying was the last session of the day at the Termas de Rio Hondo circuit in Argentina on Saturday, and the riders were greeted by blue skies and sunshine as they took to the track to decide where they will start the race from on Sunday.

It took until the final minute of the session for riders to improve on the record breaking pace of FP3, with Frenchman Johann Zarco setting a new lap record on his very last lap to secure his first pole of the season with a 1’42.809 on the Ajo Motorsport Kalex.

Reigning Moto2™ World Champion Tito Rabat (+0.293s) will start from 2nd after a last gasp lap promoted him to the front row, ahead of Derendinger Racing Interwetten’s Thomas Luthi who surprised a number of people to end the session in third.

Speed Up Racing’s Sam Lowes missed out on the front row for the first time this season, and will start from 4th ahead of the current Championship leader Alex Rins on the Paginas Amarillas HP40 bike and AGR Team’s Jonas Folger.

Simone Corsi, Sandro Cortese and Xavier Simeon will form the 3rd row of the grid, with last years Moto2™ runner-up Mika Kallio completing the top ten on his Italtrans Racing Team machine.

Click here for the full Moto2™ Qualifying results; with the race is due to start at 14:20 local time in Argentina on Sunday.


1 - Johann Zarco (FRA) KALEX 1'42.809
2 - Tito Rabat (SPA) KALEX 1'43.102
3 - Thomas Lüthi (SWI) KALEX 1'43.165
Oliveira snatches last gasp Moto3™ pole from Kent


M. Oliveira (POR)
Front row Moto3
Miguel Oliveira beat Danny Kent’s lap record from FP3 to grab a last-gasp pole at the Termas de Rio Hondo circuit in Argentina.

As the Moto3™ paddock took to the circuit for Qualifying Practice, the sun was out and the track temperature was touching 40 degrees at the Termas de Rio Hondo.

Leopard Racing’s Danny Kent had dominated practice over the last two days, and once more led the way throughout most of the session, before being pipped to pole in the dying seconds by KTM Red Bull Ajo’s Miguel Oliveira.

The Portuguese rider, who has

Source: MotoGP

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