This morning, Jorge Lorenzo was able to find the solution to inject a strong dose of suspense into the strange spectacle that was unfolding before our eyes in Argentina! Faced with this pressure, the leader of the Honda troops even lost his supreme and, at the same time, control of an RC213V which had nevertheless given him some warning signs while trying to unsettle him.
This FP4, and even more so this Q2, will be absolutely essential to have an idea of the definitive forces present for tomorrow's race on silver soil.
At least, if it takes place on a dry track, as is currently the surface heated to more than 40° on the Termas de Rio Hondo circuit.
Useful references:
Combined FP1/FP3 2016: 1'40.368 by Marc Marquez
Pole 2015: 1.'37.802 by Marc Marquez
Best lap of the circuit: 1'37.683 by Marc Marquez in 2014
FP4: To compete, Marc Marquez and Jorge Lorenzo choose different tires; Hard / Hard for the Majorcan, Hard front / Medium back for the Catalan.
At the start of the session, it was Andrea Iannone who was the fastest, while Marc Marquez simulated a change of motorbikes.
Valentino Rossi then took the lead in 1'41.268 when the red flag is out as Scott Redding appears to have dropped his rear tire Medium reaccelerating into turn #6, which broke his saddle and hit his back.
At the restart, Marc Marquez took the lead thanks to an extraordinary 1'40.255 which left everyone more than a second behind!
The opposition barely had time to organize, under the leadership of Iannone, Rossi and Lorenzo, when the red flag was waved again at the request of Michelin for security reasons.
The French manufacturer intends to analyze all the Medium rear tires and their pressures, so as not to endanger the drivers. The session is stopped for more than 30 minutes and Michelin will announce this evening its decision whether or not to authorize the Medium tire for the race.
In the meantime, the FP4 leaves for the remaining 4 minutes with the tires that the drivers want, as long as they are new tires.
Immediately, we witness the non-serious fall of Jorge Lorenzo (Medium Rear/Hard Front) in his first flying lap, losing the front at turn #1.
Marc Marquez took advantage of the remaining two minutes to attack and achieve a very nice 1'39.882 in Hard/Hard, leaving everyone almost 9 tenths behind.
(see ranking below)
Q1: The track is now at 48°. We remind you that drivers can choose the rear tire they want as long as they are new tires.
The two Tech3 drivers are in the lead while
Loris Baz reports that Yonny Hernandez's motorcycle is losing oil.
Jack Miller also fell in the same place as Lorenzo a few minutes later before the Argentine rider had to abandon his Ducati against the rail. Jack Miller then takes his second bike and falls again, this time at turn #13.
Finally, Bradley Smith and Pol Espargaro qualify for Q2.
Loris Baz qualified in a good 13th place.
(see ranking below)
Q2: Lorenzo, Marquez, Rossi, Vinales and most drivers use the Medium rear tire.
At the end of the first flying round, Marc Marquez clocked a 1'39.411 which relegated the competition to more than a second. Cal Crutchlow crashes at turn #1 on his second lap.
Valentino Rossi, on maximum attack (his bike moves so much that his boot slips off the footrest and hits the ground) reduces the gap to half a second.
Bradley Smith falls at turn #1, without seriousness.
A few minutes from the end of the session, the riders put on a second new rear tire but only the Ducati improve a little to position themselves 5th and 6th.
Marc Marquez falls at turn #1. The pilot, who had made a serious rollover, seemed a little stunned.
In his final lap, Rossi closed to 3 tenths of the Spanish driver, which promises us a golden Marquez-Rossi-Lorenzo first row; the first corner, which saw so many falls today, is likely to be hot!
Photo credit : Alex Briggs
| Pos | number | Pile | Country | Team | Motorcycle | Km / h | Temps | difference 1st/Prev. |
| 1 | 93 | Marc Márquez | SPA & WELLNESS | Repsol Honda Team | Honda | 315.3 | 1'39.411 | |
| 2 | 46 | Valentino ROSSI | ITA | Yamaha Motor Racing | Yamaha | 317.4 | 1'39.786 | 0.375 / 0.375 |
| 3 | 99 | Jorge Lorenzo | SPA & WELLNESS | Yamaha Motor Racing | Yamaha | 317.5 | 1'39.944 | 0.533 / 0.158 |
| 4 | 26 | Dani PEDROSA | SPA & WELLNESS | Repsol Honda Team | Honda | 317.0 | 1'40.011 | 0.600 / 0.067 |
| 5 | 4 | Andrea Dovizioso | ITA | Ducati Team | Ducati | 323.4 | 1'40.198 | 0.787 / 0.187 |
| 6 | 29 | Andrea Iannone | ITA | Ducati Team | Ducati | 325.1 | 1'40.272 | 0.861 / 0.074 |
| 7 | 25 | Maverick VIÑALES | SPA & WELLNESS | Team SUZUKI ECSTAR | Suzuki | 317.6 | 1'40.375 | 0.964 / 0.103 |
| 8 | 8 | Hector BARBERA | SPA & WELLNESS | Avintia Racing | Ducati | 317.2 | 1'40.524 | 1.113 / 0.149 |
| 9 | 35 | Cal Crutchlow | GBR | Honda LCR | Honda | 313.6 | 1'40.528 | 1.117 / 0.004 |
| 10 | 44 | Pol Espargaró | SPA & WELLNESS | Monster Yamaha Tech 3 | Yamaha | 316.1 | 1'40.654 | 1.243 / 0.126 |
| 11 | 41 | Aleix Espargaro | SPA & WELLNESS | Team SUZUKI ECSTAR | Suzuki | 313.3 | 1'40.708 | 1.297 / 0.054 |
| 12 | 38 | Bradley SMITH | GBR | Monster Yamaha Tech 3 | Yamaha | 315.3 | 1'40.893 | 1.482 / 0.185 |
Q1 ranking:
| Pos | number | Pile | Country | Team | Motorcycle | Km / h | Temps | difference 1st/Prev. |
| 1 | 38 | Bradley SMITH | GBR | Monster Yamaha Tech 3 | Yamaha | 319.6 | 1'40.552 | |
| 2 | 44 | Pol Espargaró | SPA & WELLNESS | Monster Yamaha Tech 3 | Yamaha | 318.0 | 1'40.715 | 0.163 / 0.163 |
| 3 | 76 | Loris BAZ | FRA | Avintia Racing | Ducati | 315.3 | 1'40.744 | 0.192 / 0.029 |
| 4 | 45 | Scott REDDING | GBR | OCTO Yakhnich bow | Ducati | 320.7 | 1'40.750 | 0.198 / 0.006 |
| 5 | 43 | Jack Miller | AUS | Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS | Honda | 316.7 | 1'40.881 | 0.329 / 0.131 |
| 6 | 6 | Stefan BRADL | GER | Aprilia Racing Team Gresini | Aprilia | 314.3 | 1'40.897 | 0.345 / 0.016 |
| 7 | 50 | Eugene LAVERTY | IRL | Aspar Team MotoGP | Ducati | 322.1 | 1'40.990 | 0.438 / 0.093 |
| 8 | 51 | Michael PIRRO | ITA | OCTO Yakhnich bow | Ducati | 319.7 | 1'41.116 | 0.564 / 0.126 |
| 9 | 53 | Tito RABAT | SPA & WELLNESS | Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS | Honda | 315.2 | 1'41.157 | 0.605 / 0.041 |
| 10 | 19 | Alvaro BAUTISTA | SPA & WELLNESS | Aprilia Racing Team Gresini | Aprilia | 313.3 | 1'41.611 | 1.059 / 0.454 |
| 11 | 68 | Yonny HERNANDEZ | COL | Aspar Team MotoGP | Ducati | 317.9 | 1'41.692 | 1.140 / 0.081 |
FP4 ranking:
| Pos | number | Pile | Country | Team | Motorcycle | Km / h | Temps | difference 1st/Prev. |
| 1 | 93 | Marc Márquez | SPA & WELLNESS | Repsol Honda Team | Honda | 321.2 | 1'39.882 | |
| 2 | 29 | Andrea Iannone | ITA | Ducati Team | Ducati | 322.9 | 1'40.753 | 0.871 / 0.871 |
| 3 | 46 | Valentino ROSSI | ITA | Yamaha Motor Racing | Yamaha | 322.6 | 1'40.777 | 0.895 / 0.024 |
| 4 | 99 | Jorge Lorenzo | SPA & WELLNESS | Yamaha Motor Racing | Yamaha | 321.0 | 1'40.816 | 0.934 / 0.039 |
| 5 | 26 | Dani PEDROSA | SPA & WELLNESS | Repsol Honda Team | Honda | 319.7 | 1'40.870 | 0.988 / 0.054 |
| 6 | 4 | Andrea Dovizioso | ITA | Ducati Team | Ducati | 327.0 | 1'41.042 | 1.160 / 0.172 |
| 7 | 35 | Cal Crutchlow | GBR | Honda LCR | Honda | 317.7 | 1'41.045 | 1.163 / 0.003 |
| 8 | 25 | Maverick VIÑALES | SPA & WELLNESS | Team SUZUKI ECSTAR | Suzuki | 322.0 | 1'41.080 | 1.198 / 0.035 |
| 9 | 38 | Bradley SMITH | GBR | Monster Yamaha Tech 3 | Yamaha | 321.7 | 1'41.324 | 1.442 / 0.244 |
| 10 | 45 | Scott REDDING | GBR | OCTO Yakhnich bow | Ducati | 322.4 | 1'41.430 | 1.548 / 0.106 |
| 11 | 50 | Eugene LAVERTY | IRL | Aspar Team MotoGP | Ducati | 324.1 | 1'41.457 | 1.575 / 0.027 |
| 12 | 43 | Jack Miller | AUS | Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS | Honda | 320.1 | 1'41.469 | 1.587 / 0.012 |
| 13 | 44 | Pol Espargaró | SPA & WELLNESS | Monster Yamaha Tech 3 | Yamaha | 320.5 | 1'41.601 | 1.719 / 0.132 |
| 14 | 41 | Aleix Espargaro | SPA & WELLNESS | Team SUZUKI ECSTAR | Suzuki | 320.2 | 1'41.605 | 1.723 / 0.004 |
| 15 | 68 | Yonny HERNANDEZ | COL | Aspar Team MotoGP | Ducati | 323.0 | 1'41.835 | 1.953 / 0.230 |
| 16 | 6 | Stefan BRADL | GER | Aprilia Racing Team Gresini | Aprilia | 316.2 | 1'41.957 | 2.075 / 0.122 |
| 17 | 51 | Michael PIRRO | ITA | OCTO Yakhnich bow | Ducati | 320.7 | 1'42.389 | 2.507 / 0.432 |
| 18 | 8 | Hector BARBERA | SPA & WELLNESS | Avintia Racing | Ducati | 324.9 | 1'42.439 | 2.557 / 0.050 |
| 19 | 53 | Tito RABAT | SPA & WELLNESS | Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS | Honda | 317.3 | 1'42.466 | 2.584 / 0.027 |
| 20 | 19 | Alvaro BAUTISTA | SPA & WELLNESS | Aprilia Racing Team Gresini | Aprilia | 316.3 | 1'42.498 | 2.616 / 0.032 |
| 21 | 76 | Loris BAZ | FRA | Avintia Racing | Ducati | 317.6 | 1'42.920 | 3.038 / 0.422 |
