In tricky conditions due to the wet track, Aleix achieved a very good result by first qualifying directly for Q2, with the ninth time of the three free sessions combined, 0.6 behind Maverick Vinales. He moved up one place in qualifying, which allowed him to start this Sunday from the middle of the third row, between Valentino Rossi and Loris Baz.
It was during the fourth free practice session that the Spaniard rode his Aprilia on wet tires for the first time. During the qualifying session, he achieved a good time of 1'49.323, 0.051 behind Valentino Rossi.
This eighth position on the grid is the best performance for an Aprilia RS-GP, tied with that obtained by Stefan Bradl last year at the Australian Grand Prix.
This will be Aleix Espargaro's 198th Grand Prix start, and the 114th in the MotoGP category, where he has already achieved two pole positions, at Assen in 2014 on a Yamaha Forward and in Barcelona in 2015 on Suzuki.
To Alex Espargaro, “In just two weekends we have already improved on the best race result and achieved the best qualifying result for the RS-GP and that makes me proud.
“I would have preferred dry sessions because we have a lot of things to test for the race. In any case, we were able to stay very close to the leaders compared to Qatar in conditions that I had never encountered with Aprilia.
“Sunday will take place a very special race. My goal is to start well and manage during the first laps in order to exploit our potential over the race distance. Compared to Qatar, given our starting position, I expect it will be necessary to do a little less overtaking. »
According to his teammate Sam Lowes, who are " We can be positive today. In FP3 I rode well at the start before it started to rain and we verified that we can be competitive in the race. After a few good laps in qualifying, I tried to attack towards the end, but I went wide in the first corner and lost the front. We still need to improve and we will try to do it during the warm up which I hope will be dry, as well as the race. »
Ranking Qualifications MotoGP Argentina:
1. Marc Marquez ESP Repsol Honda Team (RC213V)
1m 47.512s [Lap 6/7] 314km/h (Top Speed)
2. Karel Abraham CZE Aspar MotoGP Team (Desmosedici GP15) 1m 48.275s +0.763s [6/7] 304km/h
3. Cal Crutchlow GBR LCR Honda (RC213V) 1m 48.278s +0.766s [7/8] 312km/h
4. Danilo Petrucci ITA Octo Pramac Racing (Desmosedici GP17) 1m 48.908s +1.396s [6/8] 314km/h
5. Dani Pedrosa ESP Repsol Honda Team (RC213V) 1m 49.008s +1.496s [5/8] 303km/h
6. Maverick Vinales ESP Movistar Yamaha MotoGP (YZR-M1) 1m 49.218s +1.706s [7/7] 306km/h
7. Valentino Rossi ITA Movistar Yamaha MotoGP (YZR-M1) 1m 49.272s +1.760s [8/8] 310km/h
8. Alex Espargaro ESP Factory Aprilia Gresini (RS-GP) 1m 49.323s +1.811s [7/7] 307km/h
9. Loris Baz FRA Reale Avintia Racing (Desmosedici GP15) 1m 49.630s +2.118s [3/7] 306km/h
10. Alvaro Bautista ESP Aspar MotoGP Team (Desmosedici GP16) 1m 49.724s +2.212s [8/8] 312km/h
11. Jonas Folger GER Monster Yamaha Tech 3 (YZR-M1)*
1m 49.825s +2.313s [7/7] 306km/h
12. Andrea Iannone ITA Team Suzuki Ecstar (GSX-RR)
1m 50.725s +3.213s [7/7] 307km/h
13. Andrea Dovizioso ITA Ducati Team (Desmosedici GP17) 1m 49.488s 306km/h
14. Johann zarco ENG Monster Yamaha Tech 3 (YZR-M1)*
1m 49.916s 311km/h
15. Scott Redding GBR Octo Pramac Racing (Desmosedici GP16) 1m 50.048s 314km/h
16. Jorge Lorenzo ESP Ducati Team (Desmosedici GP17)
1m 50.310s 310km/h
17. Jack Miller AUS Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS (RC213V) 1m 50.319s 311km/h
18. Espargaro Pol ESP Red Bull KTM Factory Racing (RC16) 1m 50.673s 311km/h
19. Bradley Smith GBR Red Bull KTM Factory Racing (RC16) 1m 50.676s 305km/h
20. Tito Rabat ESP Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS (RC213V) 1m 50.910s 312km/h
21. Hector Barbera ESP Reale Avintia Racing (Desmosedici GP16) 1m 51.058s 313km/h
22. Sam Lowes GBR Factory Aprilia Gresini (RS-GP)*
1m 51.199s 306km/h
23. alex rins ESP Team Suzuki Ecstar (GSX-RR)* 1m 52.340s 308km/h
