Repsol Honda rider Marc Marquez is congratulated by a team member after qualifying for pole on Saturday. (EPA)
AFP/Austin, Texas
Spain’s Marc Marquez put his Honda on pole position for MotoGP Grand Prix of the Americas, topping the qualifying times Saturday in just his second MotoGP weekend.
Marquez, fastest in three of four practice sessions on the new Circuit of the Americas, will start from the front row alongside compatriots Dani Pedrosa and Jorge Lorenzo—the reigning world champion and winner of the season-opening race at Qatar two weeks ago.
Marquez clocked 2:03.021 while Pedrosa was second-quickest in 2:03.275. They were the only riders under 2:04 in qualifying as Lorenzo managed just 2:04.100.
Marquez, a 20-year-old Catalonian who won the Moto2 world title last season, became the youngest rider ever to gain a MotoGP pole, surpassing American Freddie Spencer—the 1983 world champion.
“We are happy of course because we have taken our first pole position, which is important and always exciting,” Marquez said.
He continued his strong start to his first season in the top series, after finishing third in Qatar behind Lorenzo and Valentino Rossi.
“We knew beforehand that we could fight for pole, but you never know what will happen in the session. Both Dani and Jorge are fast over a single lap—and we managed to overcome them. “The important stuff starts tomorrow because we have a long, physical race with many of changes of direction to deal with.”
Twenty-four riders will start Sunday’s race. The absentees will include Cardion AB Motoracing’s Karel Abraham, who broke his right collarbone in a collision with Australian Bryan Staring in the first qualifying session.
Pedrosa improved his time on his final run, but couldn’t oust Marquez from the pole.
Lorenzo appeared to be attempting to avoid traffic by taking a lap through pit lane—but rejoined the track too late for a last-gasp bid.
Teammate Rossi continued to struggle under braking and was unable to find a set-up that let him challenge for the front row. He notched the eighth-fastest time.
West confident with eleventh place start, Sucipto struggles
QMMF Racing Team rider Anthony West improved further on the second day of practice for the Grand Prix of the Americas and will take 11th place on the starting grid for Sunday’s Moto2 race.
Since it was minor front tyre issue that stopped the 31-year-old Australian from going faster towards the end of the session, he is very confident about his chances in the race. He posted a time of 2:12.341 in the qualifying.
“Qualifying was good, but it could have been even better,” West said after Saturday’s qualifying session. “Towards the end we ran out of soft front tyres and I didn’t want to take risks using the harder option, so I continued with the soft one even though the grip level had dropped off. I got on a lap behind Pol Espargaró and found it easy to follow him through the first turns, but then I had a big front end slide and dropped back. It still ended up being one of my best laps, which shows that we are competitive. If we get the tyre combination right, it should be a good race for us tomorrow!”
West’s rookie teammate Rafid Topan Sucipto is still trying to come to grips with the challenging 5.5 kilometre Circuit of the Americas and settled for 31st place on the grid.
“The grip level of the track has improved, but I still couldn’t go any faster. I have problems controlling the throttle on the corner exits and I’m struggling with front end feel on the brakes. Especially the first corner, which is so steep and then flattening out, is very difficult for me. Tomorrow morning we’ll try a softer suspension setting and I hope this will help for the race,” Sucipto, who posted 2:18.792, said.
