Johann Zarco (Yamaha YZR-M1-Monter Yamaha Tech3) secured a place on the front row for the 2nd time in a row in the space of 8 days by taking the 3rd time in qualifying with a time of 1'28.744 to 358 /1000th of a second of the best time achieved by Marc Márquez.
The ZF Grand Prix School rider is the 2nd Yamaha M1 rider behind Maverick Viñales, 1st Rookie and 1st Independent.
As a bonus, Johann sets the best time in Sectors 1 and 3 and the 3rd time in Sector 2.
Third time of the qualifying session, Johann zarco will start tomorrow from the first starting line of the Australian Grand Prix, the sixteenth round of the MotoGP World Championship. Eighth time on Friday afternoon, he obtained his visa for Q2 from FP2, no driver having been able to improve his time on Saturday morning.
Despite a small, minor fall during FP3, in the rain, the ZF Grand Prix School driver subsequently managed his Saturday afternoon perfectly. Second in FP4 less than two tenths of a second behind Marc Marquez, Johann completed two series of four laps at the end of which he finished 25/1000th of a second behind Casa Particular in Viñales and 358/1000th of Marquez.
This is the fourth time this year that the Yamaha Tech3 team rider has qualified on the front row.
Johann Zarco – 2nd in 1'28.744 – 1st line
“I'm really happy with the way we've worked so far this weekend, and with our progress from Friday to Saturday. Today we managed to take the small step forward that I was waiting for to gain confidence on the bike. It is fundamental on this circuit to feel good. This morning it was raining and I didn't have the chance to check that the modifications made to the bike had been successful. But from FP4, I knew we had turned a corner. When you are comfortable on the bike, the sensations are exceptional on this circuit. It's really tricky because it goes very quickly and that's why it's very important to be sure of your front axle. We didn't go far from pole and I'm less than a hundredth behind Viñales... I'm happy to show that I'm not just fast with wet tires on a drying track. We don't really know what conditions we will have tomorrow, especially with a delayed start at 16:00 p.m. (7:00 a.m. Paris time)... The temperature may drop and the choice of soft tires with which I am comfortable could be an advantage. »
#AustralianGP MotoGP qualifying ranking:
| 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 |
