But where will KTM stop? This is the question we will end up asking ourselves. Over the past few races, we have increasingly seen the top of the starting grids turn an orange color which until recently brightened up the back of the peloton. But you have to convince yourself to take KTM seriously, which is only in its first season. With three Grands Prix to go, the satisfaction is already immense on the Mattighofen side. And also for Pol Espargaro. On Friday, he saw his brother Aleix make Aprilia history with a best time at the end of the first day of a Grand Prix. This Saturday, he did just as well for KTM with a sixth place on the grid, synonymous with a resounding second row.
And as Bradley Smith, with the second motorcycle, is ninth, the troops of Mike Leitner, who came from HRC three years ago, can be happy with their day in Australia. By the way, the same Leitner was the liege man for years of Pedrosa in the Honda box. The same Pedrosa who is twelfth at Phillip Island; either behind two KTMs…
But that's not all. At KTM it is reported that its RC16 has the best top speed on the Phillip Island plateau. 340.4 km/h for Espargaro Pol and 338 km/h for Smith. While Dovizioso on his Ducati is at 336.8 and Márquez 335 on the Honda.
All this therefore gives us this sixth beat which rightly delights the youngest of the I will espargaro : “ we have simply experienced the two best days of KTM in Grand Prix,” he comments. “We have never left the top 10 and this morning we were even in the top three. It's incredible. Riding this motorcycle is a lot of fun. It's pure racing experience and that's what excites me, especially on such a track. ».
« But the race is Sunday. And a Sunday without points is not a real Sunday. I want to be at the finish and we'll see what we can get from this race. But the progress we've made since we were last here in February for offseason testing is incredible. ».
#AustralianGP MotoGP J.2: Chronos
| 1 | 93 | Marc Márquez | Honda | 1'28.386 | ||
| 2 | 25 | Maverick VIÑALES | Yamaha | 1'28.719 | 0.333 | 0.333 |
| 3 | 5 | johann zarco | Yamaha | 1'28.744 | 0.358 | 0.025 |
| 4 | 29 | Andrea Iannone | Suzuki | 1'28.937 | 0.551 | 0.193 |
| 5 | 43 | Jack Miller | Honda | 1'28.964 | 0.578 | 0.027 |
| 6 | 44 | Pol Espargaró | KTM | 1'29.030 | 0.644 | 0.066 |
| 7 | 46 | Valentino ROSSI | Yamaha | 1'29.203 | 0.817 | 0.173 |
| 8 | 41 | Aleix Espargaro | Aprilia | 1'29.271 | 0.885 | 0.068 |
| 9 | 38 | Bradley SMITH | KTM | 1'29.321 | 0.935 | 0.050 |
| 10 | 35 | Cal Crutchlow | Honda | 1'29.429 | 1.043 | 0.108 |
| 11 | 4 | Andrea Dovizioso | Ducati | 1'29.496 | 1.110 | 0.067 |
| 12 | 26 | Dani PEDROSA | Honda | 1'29.546 | 1.160 | 0.050 |
| Q1 Results: | ||||||
| Q2 | 46 | Valentino ROSSI | Yamaha | 1'29.346 | ||
| Q2 | 38 | Bradley SMITH | KTM | 1'29.705 | 0.359 | 0.359 |
| 13 | 42 | Alex Rins | Suzuki | 1'29.824 | 0.478 | 0.119 |
| 14 | 53 | Tito RABAT | Honda | 1'29.847 | 0.501 | 0.023 |
| 15 | 17 | Karel ABRAHAM | Ducati | 1'29.961 | 0.615 | 0.114 |
| 16 | 99 | Jorge Lorenzo | Ducati | 1'30.085 | 0.739 | 0.124 |
| 17 | 76 | Loris BAZ | Ducati | 1'30.224 | 0.878 | 0.139 |
| 18 | 9 | Danilo PETRUCCI | Ducati | 1'30.471 | 1.125 | 0.247 |
| 19 | 8 | Hector BARBERA | Ducati | 1'30.543 | 1.197 | 0.072 |
| 20 | 45 | Scott REDDING | Ducati | 1'30.806 | 1.460 | 0.263 |
| 21 | 23 | Broc PARKES | Yamaha | 1'30.889 | 1.543 | 0.083 |
| 22 | 19 | Alvaro BAUTISTA | Ducati | 1'30.900 | 1.554 | 0.011 |
| 23 | 22 | Sam LOWES | Aprilia | 1'31.158 | 1.812 | 0.258 |
