For a little, one would wonder if this is not already an effect zarco, which plays on the mentality and combativeness of Pol Espargaró. Indeed, the Frenchman will return to his KTM box in a few hours... that being said, the Spaniard with the RC16 shows himself in Valencia in his best light. And that's nice after a season marked by injuries, not the least of which. Sixth beat, Pol Espargaro is not far from pole position Casa Particular in Viñales. And as his brother Aleix is eighth on an Aprilia, he allows MotoGP to have, for the first time in its history, six manufacturers in the top 8!
This suggests a particularly competitive 2019 season... But before starting it, we must finish this one. And Pol Espargaro intends to end on a high note. Which would allow it to accommodate John Zarco in good conditions … " Given what we have experienced this season, this Saturday means much more than just a qualifying day. Today's results are very valuable to us after all the difficulties we have experienced this year. We are very happy, also for the guys in the KTM box ».
Pol Espargaro took seventh, third and sixth place this Saturday in Valencia. He will start from the second row, alongside Marc Marquez! « We're just 0,2 seconds off Maverick's best time after qualifying. I do not know what to say. We didn't expect to be so competitive here in the dry. And we were also in the top 10 in all the wet sessions. While both Yamaha factories struggled to enter the top 10 ».
He specifies : " that means we are very good here. Now we have to hope that our package will work as well on other tracks when I'm fit. I'm back to my normal speed. My thanks go to the team because they always supported me perfectly during all these difficult weeks. ».
But the sequel could be even better… “ We all know that wet track is always a gamble for everyone. Today the conditions were difficult. In such circumstances, the driver can do a little more than usual, he can make a difference. It then plays a more important role than the motorcycle. When the race is completely dry, I'm a little worried, because everyone in the race is getting the most out of their bike. This might reduce our chances a bit. In the wet, we were in the top 7 or top 8 all weekend and without crashes. This means that if we have a good race in the rain, we could finish in a very good position. I think we have never had such a good opportunity with the KTM ».
Valencia Grand Prix, Ricardo Tormo, MotoGP, J.2: classification.
| 1 | 25 | Maverick VIÑALES | Yamaha | 1'31.312 | ||
| 2 | 42 | Alex Rins | Suzuki | 1'31.380 | 0.068 | 0.068 |
| 3 | 4 | Andrea Dovizioso | Ducati | 1'31.392 | 0.080 | 0.012 |
| 4 | 9 | Danilo PETRUCCI | Ducati | 1'31.414 | 0.102 | 0.022 |
| 5 | 93 | Marc Márquez | Honda | 1'31.442 | 0.130 | 0.028 |
| 6 | 44 | Pol Espargaró | KTM | 1'31.577 | 0.265 | 0.135 |
| 7 | 29 | Andrea Iannone | Suzuki | 1'31.629 | 0.317 | 0.052 |
| 8 | 41 | Aleix Espargaro | Aprilia | 1'31.630 | 0.318 | 0.001 |
| 9 | 26 | Dani PEDROSA | Honda | 1'32.140 | 0.828 | 0.510 |
| 10 | 43 | Jack Miller | Ducati | 1'32.145 | 0.833 | 0.005 |
| 11 | 5 | johann zarco | Yamaha | 1'32.179 | 0.867 | 0.034 |
| 12 | 51 | Michael PIRRO | Ducati | 1'32.310 | 0.998 | 0.131 |
| Q1 Results: | ||||||
| Q2 | 29 | Andrea Iannone | Suzuki | 1'31.382 | ||
| Q2 | 25 | Maverick VIÑALES | Yamaha | 1'31.858 | 0.476 | 0.476 |
| 13 | 99 | Jorge Lorenzo | Ducati | 1'31.900 | 0.518 | 0.042 |
| 14 | 30 | Takaaki NAKAGAMI | Honda | 1'31.928 | 0.546 | 0.028 |
| 15 | 21 | Frank MORBIDELLI | Honda | 1'32.385 | 1.003 | 0.457 |
| 16 | 46 | Valentino ROSSI | Yamaha | 1'32.452 | 1.070 | 0.067 |
| 17 | 12 | Thomas LUTHI | Honda | 1'32.545 | 1.163 | 0.093 |
| 18 | 17 | Karel ABRAHAM | Ducati | 1'32.547 | 1.165 | 0.002 |
| 19 | 19 | Alvaro BAUTISTA | Ducati | 1'32.568 | 1.186 | 0.021 |
| 20 | 6 | Stefan BRADL | Honda | 1'32.708 | 1.326 | 0.140 |
| 21 | 55 | Hafiz Syahrin | Yamaha | 1'32.749 | 1.367 | 0.041 |
| 22 | 38 | Bradley SMITH | KTM | 1'33.011 | 1.629 | 0.262 |
| 23 | 81 | Jordi TORRES | Ducati | 1'34.427 | 3.045 | 1.416 |
| 24 | 45 | Scott REDDING | Aprilia | 1'35.171 | 3.789 | 0.744 |
