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MotoGP Argentina: Marquez on pole

Marc Marquez throws down another incredible lap to grab pole by more than half a second ahead of Suzuki's Aleix Espargaro and Ducati's Andrea Iannone

By SR Staff

April 19, 2015

Repsol Honda's Marc Marquez (right) once again stamped his authority on the MotoGP field at the Termas de Río Hondo circuit in Argentina to take pole position by more than half a second over Team Suzuki Ecstar's Aleix Espargaro (left), who took advantage of the softer tire to put the GSX-RR on the front row in only its fourth race.

Marc Marquez's qualifying laps had most of the competition shaking their heads in disbelief, with his final lap putting him more than half a second quicker than the second-placed rider.

Despite being some 10 mph down on speed to the fastest MotoGP factory machines, Aleix Espargaro was able to utilize the softer option rear tire's grip advantage to put the Suzuki GSX-RR on the front row.Friedemann Kirn

Ducati's Andrea Iannone kept the GP15's streak of front row qualifying performances intact with a lap that was quick enough for third position on the grid.

Jorge Lorenzo made too many mistakes on his second rear qualifying tire lap, and was bumped to the second row. He'll be looking to get one of his customary lightning starts tomorrow.

Valentino Rossi suffered from bad luck with traffic during his qualifying laps, and will be forced to start from the third row on Sunday.

Repsol Honda's Marc Marquez left no doubt who was the rider to beat during final MotoGP qualifying at the Termas de Río Hondo circuit in Argentina, with the Spaniard easily laying down quick laps in all three of his runs during the Q2 qualifying session that were out of reach of the competition. Aleix Espargaro put the Team Suzuki Ecstar GSX-RR on the front row in just its third race this year, making good use of the softer option tire and qualifying second despite the Suzuki's obvious top-end speed deficit (both Suzukis were down some 10 mph down the main straights to the Ducatis and Hondas). Andrea Iannone also took advantage of the softer option tire available to the Ducati GP15 and qualified on the end of the front row, with a disappointed Cal Crutchlow on the CWM LCR Honda in fourth, a similarly disappointed Jorge Lorenzo on the factory Movistar Yamaha M1 in fifth, and Iannone's Ducati teammate Andrea Dovisioso filling out the second row.

"It’s been a difficult weekend because the track is changing a lot," Marquez remarked afterward. "The grip is improving, but this afternoon was much hotter and there was more temperature on the tarmac. It was more difficult to improve the lap time, but even with this I felt good. The pole position was nice because we used three tires in the rear to try to avoid the pole position of (the riders using the) extra soft (tires). We know the main opponents are on the second and third row, they are Valentino (Rossi) and Jorge (Lorenzo). It will be an interesting race because it looks like in the beginning many riders will be there but then in the second part of the race is where you’ll see whether you’ve managed the tires correctly."

Espargaro was elated to give Suzuki its first front row qualifying position since Chris Vermeulen's pole position at the Assen TT in 2007, but he knows the race will be another matter because of the heat and abrasive tarmac. “Yeah, I tried my best. My first lap was not that bad, my best lap of the weekend with the first hard rear tire. But then I looked up at the box and saw the time...it was unbelievable, Marquez’s time was crazy. My second tire was even quicker but no way...Marquez was really fast. I tried my best to stay in pole position, but obviously we are really happy. Third race and we’re in the first row. I think it’s great for Suzuki, all the guys are working extremely hard. The bike is still really new; we have a lack of power but we are getting closer and closer so we’re really happy and see how far up we can finish.”

Iannone succinctly described the dilemma facing the factory Suzuki and Ducati riders. “It won’t be an easy race because the factory rider (Marquez, Lorenzo, Rossi) for sure will use the extra hard tire (which is not available to the factory Suzuki and Ducati teams). With the hard tire I have a not so bad pace, but I don’t know how well the extra hard will work. I tried very hard to get this first row start because I know the race will not be easy.”

MotoGP Argentina final qualifying results:
1. Marc Marquez (SPA) Repsol Honda Team 1:37.802
2. Aleix Espargaro (SPA) Team Suzuki Ecstar 1:38.316
3. Andrea Iannone (ITA) Ducati Team 1:38.467
4. Cal Crutchlow (GBR) CWM LCR Honda 1:38.485
5. Jorge Lorenzo (SPA) Movistar Yamaha MotoGP 1:38.485
6. Andrea Dovisioso (ITA) Ducati Team 1:38.520
7. Danilo Petrucci (ITA) Pramac Racing Ducati 1:38.786
8. Valentino Rossi (ITA) Movistar Yamaha MotoGP 1:38.890
9. Maverick Viñales (SPA) Team Suzuki Ecstar 1:39.187
10. Bradley Smith (GBR) Monster Tech 3 Yamaha 1:39.197
11. Scott Redding (GBR) Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS Honda 1:39.380
12. Hector Barbera (SPA) Avintia Racing Ducati 1:40.526
13. Yonny Hernandez (COL) Pramac Racing Ducati 1:39.405
14. Eugene Laverty (IRL) Aspar MotoGP Honda 1:39.434
15. Hiroshi Aoyama (JPN) Repsol Honda Team 1:39.715
16. Stefan Bradl (GER) Athinà Forward Racing Yamaha 1:39.734
17. Karel Abraham (CZE) AB Motoracing Honda 1:39.758
18. Pol Espargaro (SPA) Monster Tech 3 Yamaha 1:39.808
19. Alvaro Bautista (SPA) Aprilia Racing Team Gresini 1:39.828
20. Nicky Hayden (USA) Aspar MotoGP Honda 1:39.876
21. Jack Miller (AUS) CWM LCR Honda 1:39.888
22. Loris Baz (FRA) Athinà Forward Racing Yamaha 1:39.972
23. Mike Di Meglio (FRA) Avintia Racing Ducati 1:40.133
24. Marco Melandri (ITA) Aprilia Racing Team Gresini 1:40.403
25. Alex De Angelis (RSM) Athinà Forward Racing Yamaha 1:40.485