Jorge Lorenzo will start Sunday’s Aragon Grand Prix from pole position after narrowly edging out archrival and countryman Dani Pedrosa in the final moments of qualifying.
Both riders improved their fastest times in the closing stages of the 60 minute session, with Lorenzo’s 1:49.40s best proving 0.09s quicker than Pedrosa.
Pedrosa’s effort had been particularly commendable after the Honda rider had suffered an early fall while the field tasted dry conditions for the first time all weekend.
Cal Crutchlow spent much of the session atop the time sheets, but would wind up just third despite also improving late in the going.
Ben Spies made in three Yamahas in the top four ahead of an impressive Stefan Bradl, Andrea Dovizioso, Casey Stoner’s temporary replacement Jonathan Rea, Valentino Rossi, Nicky Hayden and Hector Barbera.
Both factory Ducati riders endured falls during the 60 minutes, with Rossi forced onto his spare bike before setting the eighth fastest time.
See below for the full qualifying result
|
Pos. |
Rider |
Team |
Bike |
Time |
Gap 1st/Prev. |
| 1 | Jorge LORENZO | Yamaha Factory Racing | Yamaha | 1’49.404 | |
| 2 | Dani PEDROSA | Repsol Honda Team | Honda | 1’49.492 | 0.088 / 0.088 |
| 3 | Cal CRUTCHLOW | Monster Yamaha Tech 3 | Yamaha | 1’49.576 | 0.172 / 0.084 |
| 4 | Ben SPIES | Yamaha Factory Racing | Yamaha | 1’49.748 | 0.344 / 0.172 |
| 5 | Stefan BRADL | LCR Honda MotoGP | Honda | 1’50.034 | 0.630 / 0.286 |
| 6 | Andrea DOVIZIOSO | Monster Yamaha Tech 3 | Yamaha | 1’50.241 | 0.837 / 0.207 |
| 7 | Jonathan REA | Repsol Honda Team | Honda | 1’50.410 | 1.006 / 0.169 |
| 8 | Valentino ROSSI | Ducati Team | Ducati | 1’50.949 | 1.545 / 0.539 |
| 9 | Nicky HAYDEN | Ducati Team | Ducati | 1’51.013 | 1.609 / 0.064 |
| 10 | Hector BARBERA | Pramac Racing Team | Ducati | 1’51.072 | 1.668 / 0.059 |
| 11 | Aleix ESPARGARO | Power Electronics Aspar | ART | 1’51.082 | 1.678 / 0.010 |
| 12 | Alvaro BAUTISTA | San Carlo Honda Gresini | Honda | 1’51.155 | 1.751 / 0.073 |
| 13 | Randy DE PUNIET | Power Electronics Aspar | ART | 1’51.459 | 2.055 / 0.304 |
| 14 | Karel ABRAHAM | Cardion AB Motoracing | Ducati | 1’51.521 | 2.117 / 0.062 |
| 15 | Michele PIRRO | San Carlo Honda Gresini | FTR | 1’52.606 | 3.202 / 1.085 |
| 16 | Mattia PASINI | Speed Master | ART | 1’52.638 | 3.234 / 0.032 |
| 17 | Colin EDWARDS | NGM Mobile Forward Racing | Suter | 1’52.853 | 3.449 / 0.215 |
| 18 | Danilo PETRUCCI | Came IodaRacing Project | Ioda-Suter | 1’53.140 | 3.736 / 0.287 |
| 19 | Yonny HERNANDEZ | Avintia Blusens | BQR | 1’53.233 | 3.829 / 0.093 |
| 20 | James ELLISON | Paul Bird Motorsport | ART | 1’53.719 | 4.315 / 0.486 |
| 21 | David SALOM | Avintia Blusens | BQR | 1’55.290 | 5.886 / 1.571 |
