MotoGP LIVE Valencia-1 Q2: Pol Espargaró at the top!

Article updated live until the end of the session.

This may be the 22nd time that the Ricardo Tormo Circuit has hosted a Grand Prix since the first visit in 1999, but this one will be remembered!

Especially at Yamaha, penalized by the FIM, with Valentino Rossi forced to be temporarily replaced, with Maverick Viñales forced to start from the pit lane, with Fabio Quartararo not really serene, with a possible world title already devalued in the eyes of many and, to top it all off, with the coronavirus which now affects the official team !

Certainly, despite the pleasant surprise of Garrett Gerloff and the good behavior of Franco Morbidelli, it's a very difficult end to the season for Iwata's men, when we should only be focused on the situation at the end of the championship:  3 races to complete and 75 points potentially to be won for the 6 drivers still realistically in the running for the world title !

News, which also includes back from Valentino Rossi to business, the beginnings of Lorenzo Savadori at Aprilia, the absence of Iker Lecuona at Tech3 and the very recent formalization of the arrival of Luca Marini in MotoGP next year, also revolves around the weather forecasts, very tormented but improving this European Grand Prix weekend in Valencia.

Yesterday, on a wet track in the morning and dries with patches of moisture in the afternoon, Jack Miller, Aleix Espargaró, Franco Morbidelli, Takaaki Nakagami, Pol Espargaró, Álex Rins, Brad Binder, Andrea Dovizioso, Fabio Quartararo and Joan Mir pre-qualified for Q2, and this morning's FP3 on wet asphalt did not change this order established on Friday.

On this second day of the first Valencian weekend, a big storm hit Cheste between 5 and 7 a.m. but, since then, the wind has weakened and the track very slowly began to dry... until heavy rain returns during Moto3 qualifying! The tires will therefore be treaded and the temperatures are now 19° in the air and 22° on the ground... but with the sun starting to dry out the trajectories!

Miguel Oliveira et Johann zarco have just been drafted into Q1, and the expression is appropriate. The 12 drivers will now compete for only 15 minutes to determine their place on the first 4 rows of the starting grid.

Valencia Europe MotoGP™	2019	2020
FP1	1'31.455 Fabio Quartararo (See here)	1'42.063 Jack Miller (See here)
FP2	1'30.735 Fabio Quartararo (See here)	1'32.528 Jack Miller (See here)
FP3	1'30.232 Fabio Quartararo (See here)	1'40.007 Johann Zarco (See here)
FP4	1'30.484 Maverick Viñales (See here)	1'41.573 Miguel Oliveira (See here)
Q1	1'30.538 Alex Rins (See here)	1'40.771 Miguel Oliveira (See here)
Q2	1'29.978 Fabio Quartararo (See here)	1'40.434 Pol Espargaró (See here)
Warm up	1'31.136 Marc Márquez (See here)
Course	Marquez, Quartararo, Miller (See here)
All time lap record	1'29.401 Jorge Lorenzo (2016)

When the red lights go out... alex rins is the first to set off on the track while Jack Miller and Johann Zarco remain in their box.

Everyone is on rain tires but we see Franco Morbidelli only do one lap before returning to have your rear wheel changed…

The medium/medium tire combination is favored by all pilots except Andrea Dovizioso and Franco Morbidelli which use a tender at the rear.

Alex Rins established the first reference in 1'42.420 before ceding command to Takaaki Nakagami in 1'41.618.

Franco Morbidelli and Alex Rins regained the advantage, the Suzuki rider running in 1'41.254 when Johann Zarco and Jack Miller take the trail.

A little after mid-session, Takaaki Nakagami wins in 1'40.530.

In his first flying lap, Jack Miller releases the big attack and slides in all the corners before placing his Ducati in second position. We wait for the rest…

There are two minutes left when Alex Rins improves the reference to 1'40.525. At this moment, Takaaki Nakagami fall without seriousness but the appearance of the yellow flags obliges Johann zarco to relax his effort even though he was undoubtedly going to achieve the best time.

The French driver has one lap left to make another attempt, and this gives him fourth place on the grid. During this time, Pol Espargaro seized leadership in 140434.

The last 5 minutes LIVE…


Qualification 2 standings for the MotoGP European Grand Prix in Valencia:

Qualification 1 ranking for the MotoGP European Grand Prix in Valencia:

Credit rankings: MotoGP.com