Honda, Suzuki and Ducati On The Front Row At Red Bull GP Of Argentina

After the excitement during MotoGP qualifying in Austin (see Circuit Of The Americas results here), there was a sense of anticipation in the air as riders took to the Termas de Rio Hondo circuit in Argentina. Conditions had improved from Friday, with the sun coming out 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 the reigning World Champion 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 bike’s 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 tire 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 10. Hector Barbera leads the Open class in 12th, just behind the Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS Racing Honda of Scott Redding.

QUALIFYING RESULTS