Marquez runs for his second bike with 3 minutes to go before the end of Q2
Sat 11th April 2015 – The lap was made even more remarkable by the fact the reigning MotoGP™ World Champion had to stop on track with 3 minutes remaining after a technical fault and run back down the pit lane to retrieve his second bike with just seconds to spare.
Not even this could stop the Spaniard as he went back out on track to set the fastest ever time on two-wheels around CoTA, a 2’02.135, over sixth-tenths quicker than his previous lap record set in Qualifying last year. It was a fitting end to a thrilling Q2, which saw the lead change hands a number of times in the dying seconds.
Despite overcast skies, track conditions were actually ideal for the fifteen-minute session, with Marquez finishing an impressive 0.339s ahead of his nearest rival, the pole sitter from Qatar, Andrea Dovizioso on the Ducati Team GP15.
Movistar Yamaha’s Jorge Lorenzo (+0.405s) took the final front row spot after completing a remarkable comeback having revealed that the reason that he struggled during practice was because he was suffering from bronchitis.
Lorenzo’s teammate and winner in Qatar Valentino Rossi (+0.428s) will start from the front of the second row, with the leading Satellite rider Cal Crutchlow (+0.478s) and Scott Redding (+0.539s) on their Factory spec Honda’s in 5th and 6th respectively.
The second factory Ducati of Andrea Iannone will start from 7th with the Team Suzuki Ecstar of Aleix Espargaro (8th) finishing ahead of his brother Pol (Monster Tech 3 Yamaha) in 9th.
Bradley Smith, Danilo Petrucci and Maverick Viñales will form the 4th row on the grid for Sundays race.
Earlier on, it was the Factory Ducati GP15 of Andrea Iannone and Team Suzuki Ecstar’s Maverick Viñales who made it through from Q1. Hector Barbera missed out on taking part in Q2 by less than five-hundredths of a second, but won the battle of the Open class riders and will start from the front of the 5th row in 13th place, ahead of Athina Forward Racing’s Stefan Bradl and Yonny Hernandez on the second Pramac Racing Ducati.
Marc Marquez – “I’m happy, because after having a problem we were able to come back and set the fastest time. It was rather different to what we are used to, because when I crossed the line for the first time with the second tyre I saw a warning light on the bike. When that happens, we are normally advised to shut off the engine. I was able to get out again on the second bike and cross the line right at the cut-off point to put in a final lap, which worked out well for us. It’s important, because tomorrow we are expecting an eventful race with the unstable weather conditions. If the race is dry, then I’m ready. If it’s wet, then we will have to see how things go in the moment!”
Jorge Lorenzo – “Qualifying was very exciting as always. The positions were changing a lot and we tried the maximum, even with not the best physical conditions. For one lap it was not so bad, I could give a maximum effort to ride this lap time. I was really satisfied with this time and position, I didn‘t expect to make the top five. Let‘s see what the weather is like tomorrow. Personally I prefer a dry race, but a wet race would be better for my physical condition. I am very happy that the Yamaha is becoming better in this track. We didn‘t have a lot of time, so we don‘t exactly know what our pace is like. The front tyre wears down very quickly on the right side, just like last year. Let‘s see in a dry race how it performs. I feel so-so at the moment. The antibiotics are doing their job, but I need to be in a perfect condition fortomorrow.”
