At the end of FP4 and after the first salvo fired during Q.2, we did not see who could deprive Marc Márquez a new pole position this season. The Honda official was on cloud nine, seeming to circle around his competitors. No one then, except himself, and it is the internal enemy who once again showed himself to be MM93's most formidable adversary. Explanation.
More than a 1s5 on his teammate Pedrosa second during FP4, such a high price from the start of qualifying, the HRC driver, leader of the championship, seemed to be demonstrating this Saturday at Motegi, still under the yoke of the rain. But the sky cleared and some tried the slicks bet. Of which Valentino Rossi. A choice that seized up the beautiful mechanics from a distance Márquez.
The latter explains in complete transparency: “ I did a good lap first and thought it would be enough to put me in front of everyone. I came back to the pit and asked if anyone had ridden slicks. I was told that Valentino was filming with it. So, without hesitation, I decided to do the same thing ».
« I started to ride carefully because when you crash with slicks you can hurt yourself a lot. But that wasn't the case. This choice was not the right one. We lost pole. But we will have other cards to play ».
Implied, for victory, Márquez will be there. That said, it will be necessary to settle the accounts of Petrucci who had resisted him until the last round Misano in similar wet track conditions. And we will have to put in step one zarco in pole position which remains Yamaha's last rampart to a triumph for the title holder who would take a serious chance of his own succession if he materializes this Sunday. This without counting on a Lorenzo fifth and one Dovizioso certainly only ninth but tenacious... To be honest, this pole position was better to take...
#JapaneseGP MotoGP J.2: Chronos
| 1 | 5 | johann zarco | Yamaha | 1'53.469 | ||
| 2 | 9 | Danilo PETRUCCI | Ducati | 1'53.787 | 0.318 | 0.318 |
| 3 | 93 | Marc Márquez | Honda | 1'53.903 | 0.434 | 0.116 |
| 4 | 41 | Aleix Espargaro | Aprilia | 1'53.947 | 0.478 | 0.044 |
| 5 | 99 | Jorge Lorenzo | Ducati | 1'54.235 | 0.766 | 0.288 |
| 6 | 26 | Dani PEDROSA | Honda | 1'54.342 | 0.873 | 0.107 |
| 7 | 38 | Bradley SMITH | KTM | 1'54.872 | 1.403 | 0.530 |
| 8 | 44 | Pol Espargaró | KTM | 1'54.906 | 1.437 | 0.034 |
| 9 | 4 | Andrea Dovizioso | Ducati | 1'55.064 | 1.595 | 0.158 |
| 10 | 42 | Alex Rins | Suzuki | 1'55.483 | 2.014 | 0.419 |
| 11 | 29 | Andrea Iannone | Suzuki | 1'55.617 | 2.148 | 0.134 |
| 12 | 46 | Valentino ROSSI | Yamaha | 1'57.786 | 4.317 | 2.169 |
| Q1 Results: | ||||||
| Q2 | 44 | Pol Espargaró | KTM | 1'55.258 | ||
| Q2 | 38 | Bradley SMITH | KTM | 1'55.844 | 0.586 | 0.586 |
| 13 | 76 | Loris BAZ | Ducati | 1'55.862 | 0.604 | 0.018 |
| 14 | 25 | Maverick VIÑALES | Yamaha | 1'55.916 | 0.658 | 0.054 |
| 15 | 35 | Cal Crutchlow | Honda | 1'55.952 | 0.694 | 0.036 |
| 16 | 19 | Alvaro BAUTISTA | Ducati | 1'56.292 | 1.034 | 0.340 |
| 17 | 8 | Hector BARBERA | Ducati | 1'56.668 | 1.410 | 0.376 |
| 18 | 22 | Sam LOWES | Aprilia | 1'56.771 | 1.513 | 0.103 |
| 19 | 53 | Tito RABAT | Honda | 1'56.903 | 1.645 | 0.132 |
| 20 | 17 | Karel ABRAHAM | Ducati | 1'57.144 | 1.886 | 0.241 |
| 21 | 7 | Hiroshi AOYAMA | Honda | 1'57.157 | 1.899 | 0.013 |
| 22 | 45 | Scott REDDING | Ducati | 1'57.787 | 2.529 | 0.630 |
| 23 | 21 | Katsuyuki NAKASUGA | Yamaha | 1'57.861 | 2.603 | 0.074 |
| 24 | 31 | Kohta NOZANE | Yamaha | 2'01.730 | 6.472 | 3.869 |
