All of the clues pointed to Marc Marquez. The pole seemed well within the Honda rider's grasp but the final phase of qualifying at Motegi was not without its surprises. Valentino Rossi usurped the Spaniard's throne to take pole thanks to a time of 1’43”954, the only rider to duck under 1’44: “It is very satisfying to score my third pole of the year – commented #46 - in FP4 we found a good solution, but we need something more in view of the race, particularly in terms of pace”. The hard braking he demonstrated at turn six on his flying lap was particularly impressive: “It wasn't bad – he joked – I was on the handlebars”.
So Marquez (+0.180) has to settle for second, but his performance gives him confidence: “I could have done more, but I'm happy- he stressed - at this track there was a risk of being even further from the front. In the final stages I would have liked to attack, but the yellow flags came out after Cal's crash and so I decided not to risk it”.
The front row at Motegi is rounded out by Jorge Lorenzo (+0.267). Despite his crash in the morning, the Majorcan was straight back on the Yamaha and set the third fastest time, less than three tenths from his team-mate: “This morning I was worried I'd fractured my ankle, but the adrenalin to be ready for qualifying was significant – explained #99 – the front row isn't bad, I've been in worse conditions before now”.
Behind him is the Ducati of Andrea Dovizioso. He missed out on the front row by just 0.073 of a second and has to settle for the second row alongside Cal Crutchlow (+0.448) and Aleix Espargarò (+0.540). #41 finished ahead of his Suzuki team-mate Maverick Vinales, while Hector Barbera closes in eighth on the factory Ducati. Top ten also for Danilo Petrucci and the Yamaha Tech3 of Pol Espargarò.
