The sun was shining brightly on Yamaha's Maverick Viñales on Saturday when he delivered the goods exactly when it mattered, securing pole position for the second time in a row, this time at the Motorland circuit for Sunday's Aragon GP.
Teammate Valentino Rossi gave a staggering performance and rode his bike to a brilliant third place, while still recovering from his leg injury just three weeks ago. This incredible showing in Q2 secured the team‘s fourth double front row of the season.
“After a difficult first day, today‘s results are superb for the entire team. The crew worked really hard, as we had little time to prepare ourselves for a dry Q2 session, and they got the job done,” said Yamaha's Massimo Meregalli. “Maverick knew he had the pace and speed with his bike and his 1‘47.635s pole position lap shows just how comfortable he is. He knew exactly what he had to do and delivered, securing his second pole in a row.”
“The whole team also applauds Valentino for his incredible performance. We know from experience that he can make the impossible possible, and he proved it again today. Not only did he advance straight to Q2, while still recovering, but he also secured a brilliant third place after briefly holding the P1 spot.”
“All-in-all it‘s been a very rewarding day for the team. We hope to keep this momentum going for tomorrow in the warm up as we prepare for the race. We still have some information missing, mainly on the tyre specification and durability. The warm up will be fundamental to get a better understanding before we make decisions for the race
Nestled between the two Yamaha riders on the front row is the Ducati of Jorge Lorenzo who was just one tenth off Vinales leading time. The Spanish rider fought his way through Q1 after failing to make the top ten in FP3, but he came through for the Italian team when it really mattered.
Row two sees three Honda's with Cal Crutchlow the faster of the three followed by current championship leader marc Marquez and Repsol Honda teammate Dani Pedrosa.
Andrea Dovizioso was 7th fastest followed by Aleix Espargaro and Alvaro Bautista with Andrea Iannone rounding out the top ten.
GP of Aragon – Qualifying classification:
1. Maverick VIÑALES, Movistar Yamaha MotoGP - 1'47.635
2. Jorge LORENZO, Ducati Team - 1'47.735 +0.100 / 0.100
3. Valentino ROSSI, Movistar Yamaha MotoGP - 1'47.815 +0.180 / 0.080
4. Cal CRUTCHLOW, LCR Honda - 1'47.830 +0.195 / 0.015
5. Marc MARQUEZ, Repsol Honda Team - 1'47.963 +0.328 / 0.133
6. Dani PEDROSA, Repsol Honda Team - 1'48.107 +0.472 / 0.144
7. Andrea DOVIZIOSO, Ducati Team - 1'48.137 +0.502 / 0.030
8. Aleix ESPARGARO, Aprilia Racing Team Gresini - 1'48.159 +0.524 / 0.022
9. Alvaro BAUTISTA, Pull&Bear Aspar Team - 1'48.187 +0.552 / 0.028
10. Andrea IANNONE, Team SUZUKI ECSTAR - 1'48.289 +0.654 / 0.102
11. Johann ZARCO, Monster Yamaha Tech 3 - 1'48.402 +0.767 / 0.113
12. Mika KALLIO, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing - 1'48.471 +0.836 / 0.069
13. Jack MILLER, EG 0,0 Marc VDS - 1'48.307 (Q1)
14. Pol ESPARGARO, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing - 1'48.387 (Q1)
15. Karel ABRAHAM, Pull&Bear Aspar Team - 1'48.467 (Q1)
16. Danilo PETRUCCI, OCTO Pramac Racing - 1'48.908 (Q1)
17. Loris BAZ, Reale Avintia Racing - 1'48.911 (Q1)
18. Jonas FOLGER, Monster Yamaha Tech 3 - 1'49.034 (Q1)
19. Hector BARBERA, Reale Avintia Racing - 1'49.052 (Q1)
20. Alex RINS, Team SUZUKI ECSTAR - 1'49.233 (Q1)
21. Tito RABAT, EG 0,0 Marc VDS - 1'49.258 (Q1)
22. Scott REDDING, OCTO Pramac Racing - 1'49.288 (Q1)
23. Bradley SMITH, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing - 1'49.578 (Q1)
24. Sam LOWES, Aprilia Racing Team Gresini - 1'50.769 (Q1)
