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What a Saturday for Honda at Jerez! How many of us expected to see a front row dominated by the Japanese manufacturer, no-one probably. Pedrosa scores his first pole of the season, the 47th of his career, thanks to a stellar time of 1’38”249. It was a war of nerves between the Spaniard and his team-mate.
Yes, because Marc did all he could to get the better of Dani, but was forced to admit defeat: “I'm pleased because I've been suffering in qualifying for a year – said Pedrosa - to be on pole is a real boost, especially in terms of the confidence I've found. In the last laps I knew Marc was close, I was a little worried, but I'm pleased to have achieved my goal”.
Despite closing second, Marc Marquez was still phenomenal. Hats off to the five-time champion, just 0.049s from his team-mate despite a mistake in the final stages: “I'm pleased because it wasn't easy to be on the front row today – revealed #93 - I tried to make the most of Dani's slipstream, but I wasn't able to as the tyre was too cold. That was a pity – he smiles - but it's important to be at the front”.
Cal Crutchlow is also on the front row (+0.204), confirming the performance of the Japanese bike at this track. The Brit suffered a small setback, stung by an insect in the final stages: “Seeing three Hondas on the front row isn't bad – commented the LCR rider - I don't yet have a clear idea of what will happen tomorrow, the tests we're carrying out are important because we're taking steps forward.”
The other side of the coin is represented by Yamaha. Maverick Vinales has to settle for fourth place, roughly half a second from the front (+0.428). It's even worse for Valentino Rossi, who will line up in seventh place tomorrow (+0.659). And to think that one year ago, the Doctor was on pole at the Spanish track.
Andrea Iannone breathes a sigh of relief (+0.495), exploiting Lorenzo's slipstream to take fifth place ahead of the Yamaha Tech3 of Johann Zarco (+0.612). Alongside Rossi is his former team-mate 0.002 slower than #46 Yamaha.
Aside from the Majorcan, only one other Ducati took part in Q2, that of Scott Redding, who closed eleventh ahead of the Aprilia of Aleix Espargarò, who crashed in the final minutes. Dovizioso is left behind though. The Jerez round is turning out to be a real nightmare for the Italian, fourth in Q1, behind Petrucci. Expectations were very different ahead of the weekend.
