Marc Marquez, marking his 100th GP start here in Jerez, now celebratesa 59% ratio of poles in all MotoGP starts (13 in 22 races) after clinching thetop spot for the Spanish GP, breaking the lap record en route with teammateDani Pedrosa in third under scorching weather conditions.
Before qualifying, Marc and his team calculated that a three-stop runwould be possible during the 15 minute session, which was important as the lifeof the soft rear tyre is optimum for only one flying lap - especially withtrack temperatures in the fifties. Dani opted for the more normal two stopstrategy, completing two flying laps with each tyre, and clocked a time of1'38.630 placing him on the front row in third for tomorrow’s 27 lap race. Marcrecorded just one flying lap on each exit but on his third and final run, hestole Lorenzo’s lap record from 2008 (1'38.189) - the last season in whichthere were still qualifying tyres in MotoGP - and recorded the fastest ever lapon two wheels at Jerez with a time of 1'38.120 on lap 8 of 8.
Marc Marquez – 1st (1’38.120)
“I am very happy with this pole position, as it was hard fought and Iwasn't expecting it. We are suffering a little more here than at other tracks,but despite this we are still at the same level as Lorenzo and Dani. We changedour strategy at the last minute; I asked Santi if it would be possible to usethree soft tyres, and he said that it was. It was all last minute and I am satisfiedwith how it worked out, but we know that tomorrow is the important day. Jorgeand, above all, Dani have a great pace”
Dani pedrosa – 3rd (1’38.630)
"We took a step forward with the bike setup today and also wentbetter with the race tyres. In the qualifying session we tried to do as well aspossible, but it is always difficult to put in a really fast lap. Tomorrow wewill try to get a good start, then have a good race”
Repsol Honda Press Release
