Rossi and Vinales Bank 2nd and 6th in British GP Qualifying

2019-08-26 09:58
Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP's Valentino Rossi and Maverick Viñales were in the mix during today's sunny Q2 session at the Silverstone Circuit. Both riders flashed multiple red sectors. In the end it was Rossi who put his YZR-M1 on the front row in second place, whilst Viñales will start the GoPro British Grand Prix from sixth position, on the second row.

14:35 LOCAL TIME GMT+1 AIR 28°C / TRACK 42°C HUMIDITY 30% SUNNY
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2nd
VALENTINO ROSSI
1'58.596 / 7 LAPS

6th
MAVERICK VIÑALES
1'58.762 / 6 LAPS
Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP's Valentino Rossi and Maverick Viñales showed great form on the second day at the Silverstone Circuit. Having both secured places in the Q2 session at the end of FP3, the Factory Yamaha riders went on to set impressive lap times under the 1'59s-mark to secure second and sixth place respectively on the grid for tomorrow‘s GoPro British Grand Prix.

Rossi was quick to leave pit lane and commence his 15-minute shoot-out. His first hot lap earned him provisional fifth place after all riders had completed their first attempt. His next lap was cancelled due to exceeding track limits and meanwhile he moved down the order to 11th place.

With six minutes remaining, the Doctor pulled into the pits for a fresh rear tyre. He was quickly back on his way. In theory he had enough time for two more flying laps, but with various riders cruising and looking for a tow, the Italian opted to wait until the last moment to make a dash for pole. He was now lying in P12 and the pressure was on, but that's when Rossi shines. He produced a 1'58.596s lap to qualify in second place, 0.428s from first.

Viñales waited for most of the riders to exit their pit garages before he swung his leg over his YZR-M1, ready to push to the max, going all out for just one hot lap. He slotted into third position after this first try and immediately returned to the box.

With four and a half minutes on the clock, the Spaniard was back on his way. He was holding fifth place for the moment but was intent on being on the front row of the grid. He set three red sectors on his penultimate bid, but a twitch in the last sector cost him precious time, although he did move back up to fourth with this 1'58.762s lap. Unable to improve with his last effort, Viñales ended the session in sixth place, 0.594s from pole.

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MASSIMO MEREGALLI
MASSIMO MEREGALLI
TEAM DIRECTOR
“Today was positive. We made another step, so Valentino and Maverick were comfortable with their bikes and were able to push hard during qualifying. Starting from the front two rows is crucial for tomorrow‘s race, so that was our aim, but there are many riders that are fast for one hot lap, so we knew it was going to be tight. Vale already showed he was strong this morning. Because of the traffic on track, he had only one chance to really push to the limit and he delivered with a very fast 1‘58s-lap, earning second place. Maverick couldn't capitalise on his final hot lap, but his penultimate time puts him on the second row, which is still within our target for today. For sure he would have liked to be on the first row, but we have seen his race pace and rhythm and are confident that he will be in the mix tomorrow too. We‘ll continue to work tonight to fine-tune the bikes and find some extra time in some parts of the track. We will also make the final tyre choice tomorrow morning, because this will be a key factor in how the British GP plays out when the riders will be completing a full race distance for the first time on this new track surface.”

VALENTINO ROSSI
VALENTINO ROSSI
“I‘m very happy, because starting from the front row is important now, it‘s crucial for the race. We worked well, I feel good with the bike, and also the pace is quite good. I hit some traffic and I had to wait, there was some confusion, but then I said to myself ’I can‘t start from the back, I have to do everything I can in one lap‘ and I enjoyed it very much, it was a great lap. I feel good on this track. For the second part of the season we changed something on the bike and I feel better, race by race I‘m getting more competitive. I have a quite good pace, we need to make the right tyre choice, but I feel good with the bike and I want to make it a good race. We hope that we will also have good weather tomorrow, and we‘ll try to be ready.”



MAVERICK VIÑALES
MAVERICK VIÑALES
“It has been a good weekend so far. We prepared really well for the race and I feel very confident for tomorrow, so I‘m going to try my best from Lap 1. Somehow I can hit very good lap times at the end of a race, which means that will be one of our strong points. I will be trying the maximum at the end. The beginning of the race is what we have to improve on, we have to be at the maximum level there too. I think it will be important to make another step in the Warm Up tomorrow if we want to battle for the win. The podium is very open, so we will try to be there, at the front, at the beginning and then we‘ll see.”




LINKS & DOWNLOAD
British GP - Qualifying Results
British GP - FP4 Results
British GP - Combined FP Results
British GP - FP3 Results
QUALIFYING RESULTS
24/08/2019
FRONT ROW
1. M. MARQUEZ REPSOL HONDA TEAM 1'58.168
2. V. ROSSI MONSTER ENERGY YAMAHA MOTOGP 1'58.596
3. J. MILLER PRAMAC RACING 1'58.602
SECOND ROW
4. F. QUARTARARO PETRONAS YAMAHA SRT 1'58.612
5. A. RINS TEAM SUZUKI ECSTAR 1'58.670
6. M. VIÑALES MONSTER ENERGY YAMAHA MOTOGP 1'58.762
THIRD ROW
7. A. DOVIZIOSO MISSION WINNOW DUCATI 1'58.762
8. F. MORBIDELLI PETRONAS YAMAHA SRT 1'59.096
9. C. CRUTCHLOW LCR HONDA CASTROL 1'59.243
FOURTH ROW
10. T. NAKAGAMI LCR HONDA IDEMITSU 1'59.427
11. D. PETRUCCI MISSION WINNOW DUCATI 1'59.487
12. A. ESPARGARÒ APRILIA RACING TEAM GRESINI 1'59.620
FIFTH ROW
13. P. ESPARGARÒ RED BULL KTM FACTORY RACING 1'59.549
14. J. ZARCO RED BULL KTM FACTORY RACING 1'59.648
15. M. OLIVEIRA RED BULL KTM TECH3 1'59.758
SIXTH ROW
16. T. RABAT REALE AVINTIA RACING 1'59.916
17. A. IANNONE APRILIA RACING TEAM GRESINI 2'00.240
18. F. BAGNAIA PRAMAC RACING 2'00.362
SEVENTH ROW
19. S. GUINTOLI SUZUKI TEST TEAM 2'00.660
20. H. SYAHRIN RED BULL KTM TECH3 2'00.700
21. J. LORENZO REPSOL HONDA TEAM 2'01.562
EIGHTH ROW
22. K. ABRAHAM REALE AVINTIA RACING 2'04.845

Source: Yamaha Motor Racing

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