At another time, we would have spoken of first private, but the second category is now devoted to independents, that is to say unofficial or satellite motorcycles, although the presence of Aprilia seems a little strange there. First place in this category is the goal that the German driver of the Tech 3 team has set for tomorrow.
He was already second among the independents at the end of the three free practice sessions, behind Cal Crutchlow and in front Scott Redding and his teammate Johann zarco. He then occupied seventh place in the general classification, only seven hundredths behind Valentino Rossi fifth, also on Yamaha.
During FP4, he did very well with the third performance behind Marc Marquez et Johann zarco. It was a good performance guarantee for the race, achieved with a medium rear tire and a full tank.
During qualifying, the situation was less favorable for him with the soft rear tire and the tank very little filled. He was only able to obtain the ninth time, but it was far from catastrophic because he would thus share the third row of the starting grid with Valentino Rossi et Jorge Lorenzo. Great company!
To Jonas Folger, who are " Overall, I am very satisfied with the result of my qualification as well as my time. It was very close throughout the day with the other drivers, and it was also a challenge because a few problems occurred.
“Still, we did a solid job of finding the right balance today and in the end we found a good solution. This was especially true in FP4 where we used the medium tire, which is the racing tire, and a full tank of fuel, so I was confident and consistent.
“In Q2, with the soft tires and little fuel, I couldn't find those extra two tenths, but anyway, we can be happy with 9th place on the grid. Tomorrow is the big day, and it will be a close race, but I think we have a positive pace and therefore a good chance. »
Qualification results:
1. Dani Pedrosa ESP Repsol Honda Team (RC213V) 1m 38.249s
2. Marc Marquez ESP Repsol Honda Team (RC213V) 1m 38.298s +0.049s
3. Cal Crutchlow GBR LCR Honda (RC213V) 1m 38.453s +0.204s
4. Maverick Vinales ESP Movistar Yamaha MotoGP (YZR-M1) 1m 38.677s +0.428s
5. Andrea Iannone ITA Team Suzuki Ecstar (GSX-RR) 1m 38.744s +0.495s
6. Johann Zarco FRA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 (YZR-M1)* 1m 38.861s +0.612s
7. Valentino Rossi ITA Movistar Yamaha MotoGP (YZR-M1) 1m 38.908s +0.659s
8. Jorge Lorenzo ESP Ducati Team (Desmosedici GP17) 1m 38.910s +0.661s
9. Jonas Folger GER Monster Yamaha Tech 3 (YZR-M1)* 1m 39.108s +0.859s
10. Jack Miller AUS Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS (RC213V) 1m 39.125s +0.876s
11. Scott Redding GBR Octo Pramac Racing (Desmosedici GP16) 1m 39.152s +0.903s
12. Aleix Espargaro ESP Factory Aprilia Gresini (RS-GP) 1m 39.400s +1.151s
13. Danilo Petrucci ITA Octo Pramac Racing (Desmosedici GP17) 1m 39.090s
14. Andrea Dovizioso ITA Ducati Team (Desmosedici GP17) 1m 39.255s
15. Pol Espargaro ESP Red Bull KTM Factory Racing (RC16) 1m 39.282s
16. Bradley Smith GBR Red Bull KTM Factory Racing (RC16) 1m 39.321s
17. Alvaro Bautista ESP Pull&Bear Aspar Team (Desmosedici GP16) 1m 39.462s
18. Tito Rabat ESP Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS (RC213V) 1m 39.564s
19. Karel Abraham CZE Pull&Bear Aspar Team (Desmosedici GP15) 1m 39.678s
20. Loris Baz FRA Reale Avintia Racing (Desmosedici GP15) 1m 39.824s
21. Hector Barbera ESP Reale Avintia Racing (Desmosedici GP16) 1m 39.906s
22. Sam Lowes GBR Factory Aprilia Gresini (RS-GP)* 1m 40.213s
23. Takuya Tsuda JPN Team Suzuki Ecstar (GSX-RR) 1m 40.386s
