- 2017-06-11
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Donate to support families affected by the crisis in Ukraine ➔ MotoGP Catalunya: Dani Pedrosa Takes Pole Position in Barcelona GP
The Round 7 on MotoGP 2017, Catalunya Grand Prix Qualifying ran at de Barcelona-Catalunya circuit on June 10.
Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda Team) took pole position to beat Jorge Lorenzo (Ducati Team) with 0.331s gap. Jorge Lorenzo was 2nd position on front row for the first time on Ducati. The third position was Danilo Petrucci (Octo Pramac Racing), it is his maiden front-row start.
Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) crashed again following fourth practice, starting to fourth. While Aprilia's Aleix Espargaro and Avintia Ducati's Hector Barbera will start fifth and sixth.
Yamaha pair Maverick Vinales and Valentino Rossi could only manage ninth and 13th at Barcelona. Especially, Rossi missed out on a Q2 berth by just 0.040s on his final lap.
Sylvain Guintoli (Team Suzuki Ecstar) missed qualifying due to illness, while KTM's Bradley Smith was also sidelined due to a finger injury sustained in a crash during fourth practice.
Dani Pedrosa (P1):
“I’m very happy about the pole because last year I was always struggling in qualifying so today to have a second pole is amazing, especially in front of this crowd. Today wasn’t an easy day, adapting to the chicane, testing so many tyres – and the heat was very strong. But it was pretty much a good day, working positively from the morning to figure out which was the best tyre. In the afternoon when it was so hot we made one mistake but we were still able to do a good job in qualifying. Thanks to my team! In this race the tyre choice and durability is always important. Last year it was one of the most difficult. Tomorrow we have to pick the right one, get a good feeling on the bike and see how we manage the situation. We know it will be hard but we need to keep our heads down and focus for tomorrow.”
Jorge Lorenzo (P2):
“We saw in the test that here I have the speed and confidence to do better than Mugello, although this morning I struggled and we made a radical change to the bike for the afternoon. I struggled a bit but was consistent and didn’t make too many mistakes. A good point of the bike is that we don’t have too much graining on the front for tomorrow, but at the rear we’re missing a bit of grip so tomorrow in Warm Up we’ll try and find that. This is a hard track to ride and tomorrow will be a nightmare for everyone but I’m improving and I’m smoother with the throttle, so let’s see. In Jerez it was the first podium, then in Mugello the first time I led, now here the first time on the front row – so let’s try and keep this going.”
Danilo Petrucci (P3):
“It’s a very nice to see you again, because it means I’m in the Press Conference and I’m always happy to be here. I’m very happy with qualifying, because like Jorge said we have less traction on the rear – tomorrow will be tough for us, especially managing the rear traction on the right. In Mugello I did a good lap but was just outside track limits, and maybe starting from the front row here I can save some rear tyre unlike in Mugello. But I think the second half of the race will be crazy. I have to learn – the other Ducati riders are more experienced than me and I always look at their data – I want to stay calm at the start to try and save something but it’s a big group of riders who want to stay in front so it will be a difficult race.”
Gran Premi Monster Energy de Catalunya MotoGP Qualifying Results:- Dani Pedrosa / Repsol Honda Team / 1'43.870s
- Jorge Lorenzo / Ducati Team / 1'44.201s
- Danilo Petrucci / Octo Pramac Racing / 1'44.220s
- Marc Marquez / Repsol Honda Team / 1'44.320s
- Aleix Espargaro / Factory Aprilia Gresini / 1'44.348s
- Hector Barbera / Reale Avintia Racing / 1'44.381s
- Andrea Dovizioso / Ducati Team / 1'44.451s
- Jonas Folger / Monster Yamaha Tech 3 / 1'44.600s
- Maverick Viñales / Movistar Yamaha MotoGP / 1'44.620s
- Alvaro Bautista / Pull&Bear Aspar Team / 1'44.740s
- Scott Redding / Octo Pramac Racing / 1'44.852s
- Andrea Iannone / Team Suzuki Ecstar / 1'44.928s
- Valentino Rossi / Movistar Yamaha MotoGP / 1'44.661s
- Johann Zarco / Monster Yamaha Tech 3 / 1'44.681s
- Jack Miller / Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS / 1'44.829s
- Loris Baz / Reale Avintia Racing / 1'44.919s
- Cal Crutchlow / LCR Honda / 1'45.162s
- Karel Abraham / Pull&Bear Aspar Team / 1'45.641s
- Tito Rabat / Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS / 1'45.741s
- Pol Espargaro / Red Bull KTM Factory Racing / 1'45.887s
- Sam Lowes / Factory Aprilia Gresini / 1'48.803s
- Bradley Smith / Red Bull KTM Factory Racing / No Time
- Sylvain Guintoli / Team Suzuki Ecstar / No Time
All photos copyright by MotoGP.- source : MotoGP
