Rossi On Pole At Twin Ring Motegi

Japanese Grand Prix Qualifying Results
Valentino ROSSI (46) Movistar Yamaha MotoGP YAMAHA
Marc MARQUEZ (93), Repsol Honda Team HONDA
Jorge LORENZO (99) Movistar Yamaha MotoGP YAMAHA
Andrea DOVIZIOSO (4) Ducati Team DUCATI
Cal CRUTCHLOW (35) LCR Honda HONDA
Aleix ESPARGARO (41) Team Suzuki Ecstar SUZUKI
Maverick VIÑALES (25) Team Suzuki Ecstar SUZUKI
Hector BARBERA (8) Avintia Racing DUCATI
Pol ESPARGARO (44) Monster Yamaha Tech 3 YAMAHA
Danilo PETRUCCI (9) OCTO Pramac Yakhnich DUCATI
Scott REDDING (45) OCTO Pramac Yakhnich DUCATI
Alvaro BAUTISTA (19) Aprilia Racing Team Gresini APRILIA
Stefan BRADL (6) Aprilia Racing Team Gresini APRILIA
Jack MILLER (43) Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS HONDA
Bradley SMITH (38) Monster Yamaha Tech 3 YAMAHA
Katsuyuki NAKASUGA (21) Yamaha Factory Racing Team YAMAHA
Yonny HERNANDEZ (68) Aspar Team MotoGP DUCATI
Tito RABAT (53) Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS HONDA
Eugene LAVERTY (50) Aspar Team MotoGP DUCATI
Loris BAZ (76) Avintia Racing DUCATI
Mike JONES (7) Ducati
Hiroshi AOYAMA (73) HONDA

Valentino Rossi (Movistar Yamaha MotoGP) will start from pole at the Twin Ring Motegi for the Japanese GP after a close Q2 session with Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) to take his 64th pole – and equal the number of pole positions held by both Marquez and Rossi's teammate, reigning Champion Jorge Lorenzo.

Day 2 at the Twin Ring Motegi was characterized by more somewhat uncharacteristic sunshine, with the venue providing near-perfect conditions as Q2 got underway. Marquez was the early leader in the session after also going fastest in FP3 and FP4, with the Championship leader then finding himself trailing Rossi on a hot lap and running wide – as the Italian then took over at the top. Marquez lost his final attempt after an incident in front of him on track for LCR Honda’s Cal Crutchlow, rolling off and ruing the lost chance.

A battered and bruised Lorenzo, following a highside in FP3 that saw the 5-time World Champion heading to hospital for a CT scan, came back in qualifying to grit his teeth through the pain. The reigning MotoGP champion lines up on the front row in P3 as he looks to take a record fourth premier class win at the venue.

Fourth quickest is 2014 polesitter Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team) with former teammate Crutchlow crashing in the final minutes of the session. The Brno winner kept P5 on the timesheets to line up on the second row, however, with that row completed by Team Suzuki Ecstar’s Aleix Espargaro. Espargaro outpaced teammate Maverick Viñales at the Hamamatsu factory’s home race, with the younger Spaniard lining up in P7.

Hector Barbera (Ducati Team) had a solid session as he replaces injured Andrea Iannone to qualify eighth, with Danilo Petrucci (Octo Pramac Yakhnich) and Pol Espargaro (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) completing the top ten.

Q1 graduates Alvaro Bautista (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini) and Scott Redding (Octo Pramac Yakhnich) reversed positions in Q2 as the Brit qualified P11, after Bautista suffered a fall early in the session. Bautista’s teammate Stefan Bradl will line up in P13 after crashing out on a hot lap near the end of the Q1 session and losing a chance to move through.

Jack Miller (Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS) was P14 as he gets back on track, whilst Bradley Smith (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) sat out much of the Q1 session as he returns from injuring his knee at the Oschersleben 8H - but secured an impressive P15 on his comeback.

Local hero and Suzuka 8H winner Katsuyuki Nakasuga (Yamalube Yamaha Factory Racing) lines up in sixteenth, with Yonny Hernandez (Pull&Bear Aspar Team) P17 and Tito Rabat (Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS) P18. Eugene Laverty (Pull&Bear Aspar Team) will start nineteenth, after a big crash on Friday saw the Irishman sit out FP3 and then get declared fit to race.

Mike Jones (Avintia Racing) impressed on his MotoGP debut riding in place of Hector Barbera, qualifying comfortably and set to line up in P21 – just behind recuperating, temporary teammate Loris Baz. Dani Pedrosa’s replacement at Repsol Honda, Hiroshi Aoyama, will line up in P22.