Arriving at Jerez, the Yamaha troops had this trend in mind: their bike has triumphed seven times on this track and has remained undefeated there for two years. If Honda also has seven successes at Jerez, the last dates back to 2014 with Marc Márquez. So, nothing to worry about. Unfortunately, this edition of the Spanish Grand Prix seems to be turning in favor of the competition with the winged coat of arms. Casa Particular in Viñales fourth and Rossi seventh could only watch as three RC213Vs settled on the first line at the end of the qualifications. But, as always, the Doctor does not throw in the towel.
« We can still progress during the twenty minutes of warm-upp”. Don't count on Valentino Rossi to give up. Honda's domination may be asserting itself this year at Jerez, but the nine-time winner has no intention of giving up on winning the 3th Grand Prix in history, which would also be the 000th.rd from Yamaha. However, we will have to find something and combine the find with some success.
Because the M1 version 2017 suffers with a hard Michelin tire which delights the Hondas: “ the warm-up will be very important for the race. Tomorrow it will be hot and we will have to decide on a decisive tire choice. It looks like the hard option is the one to take but unfortunately, it doesn't work on the Yamaha. But very good on Hondas. So we have problems but we will try to change the settings on Sunday ».
On the fate of his teammate Casa Particular in Viñales, he analyses : " I think he only tried mediums but I could be wrong. I also have trouble with my left side. The hard tire doesn't work for us, it's durable, but it doesn't allow us to be fast enough. So we'll see if we can race with the medium. You will have to make a wise choice ».
Last year, Red had dominated the debates with the 2016 chassis of the M1 today in the hands of the Tech3 drivers. On this point, the Doctor specifies: “ Zarco is always very fast at the start and then our bike shows its greater potential during the second part of the race. Well, at least that’s what I hope here… »
Valentino Rossi with his 1'38.908 min returned 0.659 sec to the best time signed by Pedrosa. It will be recalled that it is only from the next meeting at Le Mans that Michelin will offer its hard casing tire. “ High temperatures normally make our lives harder » finishes the man from Tavullia. “ What is worrying is that in past years the Honda riders suffered here but this year Pedrosa, Marquez and Crutchlow are better than us. We are worse than during the first Grands Prix. During the first two races, our bike was superior to the competition. But we can progress. We'll see what the race tells us ».
#SpanishGP J.2: MotoGP Chronos
1. Dani Pedrosa ESP Repsol Honda Team (RC213V)
1m 38.249s [Lap 6/7] 291km/h (Top Speed)
2. Marc Marquez ESP Repsol Honda Team (RC213V) 1m 38.298s +0.049s [8/8] 291km/h
3. Cal Crutchlow GBR LCR Honda (RC213V) 1m 38.453s +0.204s [6/7] 291km/h
4. Maverick Vinales ESP Movistar Yamaha MotoGP (YZR-M1) 1m 38.677s +0.428s [3/7] 292km/h
5. Andrea Iannone ITA Team Suzuki Ecstar (GSX-RR)
1m 38.744s +0.495s [3/8] 291km/h
6. Johann zarco ENG Monster Yamaha Tech 3 (YZR-M1)*
1m 38.861s +0.612s [6/8] 291km/h
7.
Valentino Rossi ITA Movistar Yamaha MotoGP (YZR-M1)
1m 38.908s +0.659s [6/7] 290km/h
8. Jorge Lorenzo ESP Ducati Team (Desmosedici GP17)
1m 38.910s +0.661s [6/8] 293km/h
9. Jonas Folger GER Monster Yamaha Tech 3 (YZR-M1)*
1m 39.108s +0.859s [8/8] 291km/h
10. Jack Miller AUS Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS (RC213V) 1m 39.125s +0.876s [3/8] 290km/h
11. Scott Redding GBR Octo Pramac Racing (Desmosedici GP16) 1m 39.152s +0.903s [5/8] 292km/h
12. Alex Espargaro ESP Factory Aprilia Gresini (RS-GP) 1m 39.400s +1.151s [2/5] 288km/h
13. Danilo Petrucci ITA Octo Pramac Racing (Desmosedici GP17) 1m 39.090s 290km/h
14. Andrea Dovizioso ITA Ducati Team (Desmosedici GP17) 1m 39.255s 294km/h
15. Espargaro Pol ESP Red Bull KTM Factory Racing (RC16) 1m 39.282s 294km/h
16. Bradley Smith GBR Red Bull KTM Factory Racing (RC16) 1m 39.321s 291km/h
17. Alvaro Bautista ESP Pull&Bear Aspar Team (Desmosedici GP16) 1m 39.462s 291km/h
18. Tito Rabat ESP Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS (RC213V) 1m 39.564s 292km/h
19. Karel Abraham CZE Pull&Bear Aspar Team (Desmosedici GP15) 1m 39.678s 294km/h
20. Loris Baz FRA Reale Avintia Racing (Desmosedici GP15) 1m 39.824s 287km/h
21. Hector Barbera ESP Reale Avintia Racing (Desmosedici GP16) 1m 39.906s 293km/h
22. Sam Lowes GBR Factory Aprilia Gresini (RS-GP)*
1m 40.213s 287km/h
23. Takuya Tsuda JPN Team Suzuki Ecstar (GSX-RR)
1m 40.386s 287km/h
