For the sixth time this year, the fourth in a row, Johann managed to qualify on the front row, obtaining the second time 0.3 behind Marc Marquez on the difficult Valencia turnstile. Zarco had already achieved pole position at Assen and Motegi this year, third times at Le Mans and Phillip Island, as well as second time at Sepang. The variety of layouts of these different circuits proves the versatility of the Tech 3 driver’s talent.
Johann's progress in Valencia was impressive, starting with fifth place on the first day in 1'31.054, 0.414 behind Jorge Lorenzo's best time. On Saturday morning, he ranked second in the combined free practice rankings in 1'30.501, 0.246 behind leader Marc Marquez. And he did not weaken in the afternoon and finished second in Q2 in 1'30.246, 0.349 behind the leader of the World Championship.
It was a surprise without really being a discovery. A surprise, obviously because it was Johann's first qualifying session in Valencia in MotoGP. A discovery, no, because in 8 participations in a Grand Prix on the Ricardo Tormo circuit, he had already won 4 places on the front row: in 2011 with the third time in 125, then over the last three years with the second time in Moto2 in 2014 and 2015, then pole again in Moto2 last year. And this kind of statistic can give confidence for Sunday because in the last 4 years he has finished on the podium 3 times, including on the top step in 2016.
According to Johann zarco, who are " I'm very happy with how we still built our weekend. From Japan we are working really well during testing. We were missing a little thing on Friday when accelerating. The bike was spinning too much and we improved things today by focusing on the rear suspension. Each session is well constructed and this fourth consecutive first line confirms it.
“It's the last race of the season and I want to shine before starting to prepare for 2018. Márquez will have to think about the title, he will certainly only take the same risks if his race was without stakes. Lorenzo and Iannone will be there, but I think we can think about victory.
“To do this, we will have to get off to a good start and try to establish a rapid pace without delay. I will do the race on soft tyres, and that should help me to be in the running straight away. »
Qualification results:
1. Marc Marquez ESP Repsol Honda
(RC213V) 1m 29.897s [Lap
3/6] 315km/h (Max)
2. Johann
Zarco FRA Monster Yamaha Tech3 (YZR-M1)* 1m 30.246s
+0.349s [7/8] 313km/h
3. Andrea
Iannone ITA Suzuki Ecstar (GSX-RR) 1m 30.399s
+0.502s [7/9] 316km/h
4. Jorge
Lorenzo ESP Ducati Team (GP17) 1m 30.460s
+0.563s [2/5] 319km/h
5. Dani
Pedrosa ESP Repsol Honda (RC213V) 1m 30.589s
+0.692s [6/9] 318km/h
6. Michele
Pirro ITA Ducati Team (GP17) 1m 30.764s
+0.867s [6/7] 319km/h
7. Valentino
Rossi ITA Movistar Yamaha (YZR-M1) 1m 30.848s
+0.951s [8/9] 313km/h
8. Aleix Espargaro ESP Factory Aprilia Gresini (RS-GP) 1m 30.857s +0.960s [4/8] 314km/h
9. Andrea
Dovizioso ITA Ducati Team (GP17) 1m 30.961s
+1.064s [7/9] 321km/h
10. Alex
Rins ESP Suzuki Ecstar (GSX-RR)* 1m 30.972s
+1.075s [2/9] 319km/h
11. Pol Espargaro ESP Red Bull KTM Factory (RC16) 1m 31.044s +1.147s [3/7] 317km/h
12. Jack Miller AUS EG 0,0 Marc VDS (RC213V) 1m 31.190s +1.293s [4/7] 321km/h
13. Maverick
Viñales ESP Movistar Yamaha (YZR-M1) 1m
31.030s 316km/h
14. Tito Rabat ESP EG 0,0 Marc VDS (RC213V) 1m 31.197s 315km/h
15. Danilo
Petrucci ITA Octo Pramac (GP17) 1m
31.216s 318km/h
16. Cal
Crutchlow GBR LCR Honda (RC213V) 1m
31.297s 316km/h
17. Bradley Smith GBR Red Bull KTM Factory (RC16) 1m 31.300s 317km/h
18. Karel
Abraham CZE Pull&Bear Aspar (GP15) 1m
31.325s 320km/h
19. Mika Kallio FIN Red Bull KTM Factory (RC16) 1m 31.361s 315km/h
20. Hector
Barbera ESP Reale Avintia (GP16) 1m
31.487s 324km/h
21. Alvaro
Bautista ESP Pull&Bear Aspar (GP16) 1m
31.578s 319km/h
22. Scott
Redding GBR Octo Pramac (GP16) 1m
31.625s 318km/h
23. Loris
Baz FRA Reale Avintia (GP15) 1m
31.775s 315km/h
24. Sam Lowes GBR Factory Aprilia Gresini (RS-GP)* 1m 31.816s 313km/h
25. Michael Van Der Mark NED Movistar Yamaha (YZR-M1) 1m 32.504s 311km/h
*Rookie
Reference times:
Test record: 1'29.401 by Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha) in 2016
Lap record: 1'31.171 by Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha) in 2016
Best top speed: 335,9 km/h for Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati) in 2015
Provisional ranking of the World Championship:
1 MARQUEZ Marc SPA 282 points
2 DOVIZIOSO Andrea ITA 261
3 VIÑALES Maverick SPA 226
4 ROSSI Valentino ITA 197
5 PEDROSA Dani SPA 185
6 ZARCO Johann FRA 154
7 LORENZO Jorge SPA 137
8 PETRUCCI Danilo ITA 121
9 CRUTCHLOW Cal GBR 104
10 FOLGER Jonas GER 84
11 BAUTISTA Alvaro SPA 75
12 MILLER Jack AUS 73
13 REDDING Scott GBR 64
14 ESPARGARO Aleix SPA 62
15 IANNONE Andrea ITA 60
16 ESPARGARO Pol SPA 55
17 RINS Alex SPA 46
18 BAZ Loris FRA 45
19 ABRAHAM Karel CZE 30
20 RABAT Tito SPA 29
Ranking of independent drivers:
1 ZARCO Johann FRA 154 points
2 PETRUCCI Danilo ITA 121
3 CRUTCHLOW Cal GBR 104
Ranking of the best rookie (beginner):
1 ZARCO Johann FRA 154 points
2 FOLGER Jonas GER 84
3 RINS Alex SPA 46
4 LOWES Sam GBR 5
Classification by manufacturers:
1 HONDA 332 points
2 DUCATI 303
3 YAMAHA 301
4 SUZUKI 87
5 APRILIA 64
6 KTM 64
Team ranking:
1 REPSOL HONDA TEAM 467 points
2 MOVISTAR YAMAHA MOTOGP 423
3 DUCATI TEAM 398
4 MONSTER YAMAHA TECH 3 238
5 OCTO PRAMAC RACING 185
6 TEAM SUZUKI ECSTAR 107
7 PULL&BEAR ASPAR TEAM 105
8 LCR HONDA 104
9 EG 0,0 MARC VDS 102
10 RED BULL KTM FACTORY RACING 79
11 REALE AVINTIA RACING 72
12 APRILIA RACING TEAM GRESINI 67
Photo © Tech 3
