By making regular progress since the start of the season, the Spanish driver and the RS-GP managed to climb among the best after two difficult days on a Japanese track with precarious grip. The Latin duo obtained their best qualification on a MotoGP starting grid with fourth place.
Already on Friday, Aleix stood out to everyone with the third time in 1'55.061, only 0.184 behind the best time ofAndrea Dovizioso. This beautiful group shot from the Italian manufacturers continued on Saturday morning when Espargaro qualified directly for Q2, with the third time in the combined free practice classification.
Saturday afternoon was just as successful for Aleix and Aprilia, with the fourth time obtained in 1'53.947, 0.47 from pole position. Johann zarco, and only 0.044 from the third time of Marc Marquez.
According to Alex Espargaro, who are " I'm really happy, not only with qualifying, but with the whole weekend so far. We were competitive in every session and we showed that we have good pace in the wet.
“The qualification was demanding. The track in mixed conditions is definitely not the optimal situation for us. In any case, I was able to gain a good starting position, the best for Aprilia in MotoGP, and for that I have to thank the whole team. We must continue like this.
“As for my choice of tires if the track is very wet, it's not a problem. I hope it rains tomorrow because in these conditions we have demonstrated that we can be extremely fast and consistent.
“If we look at the training sessions, we are in the group competing for the top positions, but on Sunday anything can happen. Many drivers who are struggling today, like Rossi and Viñales, will be in contention for the race. »
Qualification rankings compiled by our friends at crash.net :
- Johann Zarco FRA Monster Yamaha Tech3 (YZR-M1) 1m 53.469
- Danilo Petrucci ITA Octo Pramac (GP17) 1m 53.787s +0.318
- Marc Marquez ESP Repsol Honda (RC213V) 1m 53.903s +0.434
- Aleix Espargaro ESP Factory Aprilia Gresini (RS-GP) 1m 53.947 +0.478
- Jorge Lorenzo ESP Ducati Team (GP17) 1m 54.235s +0.766
- Dani Pedrosa ESP Repsol Honda (RC213V) 1m 54.342s +0.873
- Bradley Smith GBR Red Bull KTM Factory (RC16) 1m 54.872s +1.403
- Pol Espargaro ESP Red Bull KTM Factory (RC16) 1m 54.906s +1.437
- Andrea Dovizioso ITA Ducati Team (GP17) 1m 55.064s +1.595
- Alex Rins ESP Suzuki Ecstar (GSX-RR) 1m 55.483s +2.014
- Andrea Iannone ITA Suzuki Ecstar (GSX-RR) 1m 55.617s +2.148
- Valentino Rossi ITA Movistar Yamaha (YZR-M1) 1m 57.786s +4.317
- Loris Baz FRA Reale Avintia (GP15) 1m 55.862
- Maverick Vinales ESP Movistar Yamaha (YZR-M1) 1m 55.916
- Cal Crutchlow GBR LCR Honda (RC213V) 1m 55.952
- Alvaro Bautista ESP Pull&Bear Aspar (GP16) 1m 56.292
- Hector Barbera ESP Reale Avintia (GP16) 1m 56.668
- Sam Lowes GBR Factory Aprilia Gresini (RS-GP) 1m 56.771
- Tito Rabat ESP EG 0,0 Marc VDS (RC213V) 1m 56.903
- Karel Abraham CZE Pull&Bear Aspar (GP15) 1m 57.144
- Hiroshi Aoyama JPN EG 0,0 Marc VDS (RC213V) 1m 57.157
- Scott Redding GBR Octo Pramac (GP16) 1m 57.787
- Katsuyuki Nakasuga JPN Yamaha Factory (YZR-M1) 1m 57.861
- Kohta Nozane JPN Monster Yamaha Tech3 (YZR-M1) 2m 01.730
Provisional ranking of the World Championship:
1 Marc MARQUEZ-Honda 224 points
2 Andrea DOVIZIOSO-Ducati 208
3 Maverick VIÑALES-Yamaha 196
4 Dani PEDROSA-Honda 170
5 Valentino ROSSI-Yamaha 168
6 Johann ZARCO-Yamaha 117
7 Jorge LORENZO-Ducati 106
8 Danilo PETRUCCI-Ducati 95
9 Cal CRUTCHLOW-Honda 92
10 Jonas FOLGER-Yamaha 84
11 Alvaro BAUTISTA-Ducati 70
12 Jack MILLER-Honda 56
13 Scott REDDING-Ducati 56
14 Aleix ESPARGARO-Aprilia 53
15 Loris BAZ-Ducati 39
16 Andrea IANNONE-Suzuki 37
17 Pol ESPARGARO-KTM 37
18 Karel ABRAHAM-Ducati 28
19 Tito RABAT-Honda 28
20 Alex RINS-Suzuki 27
Photos © Gresini Aprilia Racing
