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Jorge Lorenzo starts second for the Catalan Grand Prix, making it nine times in a row the Spaniard has started from the front row at the venue.

Lorenzo, who was fastest Ducati at the test at the circuit and second fastest overall on Friday, says he's enjoying the roll of recent firsts in red - with this front row his first for the Borgo Panigale Factory, following a first podium in Jerez and leading for the first time in Mugello.

"We saw in the test that here I have the speed and confidence to do better than Mugello, although this morning I struggled and we made a radical change to the bike for the afternoon." He said

"I struggled a bit but was consistent and didn’t make too many mistakes. A good point of the bike is that we don’t have too much graining on the front for tomorrow, but at the rear we’re missing a bit of grip so tomorrow in Warm Up we’ll try and find that."

"This is a hard track to ride and tomorrow will be a nightmare for everyone but I’m improving and I’m smoother with the throttle, so let’s see. In Jerez it was the first podium, then in Mugello the first time I led, now here the first time on the front row – so let’s try and keep this going." He concluded

souce: motogp.com

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Reigning Champion Marc Marquez kept his stranglehold on the timesheets at the Catalan GP in FP3, as the track layout reverted to the chicane used in 2016 and the third practice session solely dictated entry to Q2. Just a tenth behind the number 93 was his teammate Dani Pedrosa, with Alvaro Bautista completing the top three.

Both Marquez and Bautista were crashers in the session, sliding out at Turn 10 in high synchronicity but low drama for both. Johann Zarco was another who fell, taking a dusty sprint back to the pits.

Aleix Espargaro put in a stunner to go through to Q2 in P4 at his home race after some recent struggles, ahead of Mugello winner Andrea Dovizioso. Jorge Lorenzo - second fastest on Friday - put in another impressive turn of speed in P6 - and only 0.008 behind teammate 'DesmoDovi'.

Andrea Iannone took seventh to move through to Q2 and is back to full strength after suffering with illness at his home race last time out, ahead of a solid double top ten for Octo Pramac Racing as Scott Redding pipped teammate Danilo Petrucci to P8. Hector Barbera was the final rider automatically going through to Q2.

That makes no Yamahas automatically moving through, with Jonas Folger the quickest for the Japanese manufacturer in eleventh. High profile names heading to Q1 include Cal Crutchlow, Championship leader Maverick Vinales and nine-time World Champion Valentino Rossi - last year's victor on the layout now being used in 2017.

FP3 Result:

Pos. Rider Team Time Gap 1st/Prev.
1 Marc MARQUEZ Repsol Honda Team 1'44.178  
2 Dani PEDROSA Repsol Honda Team 1'44.279 0.101 / 0.101
3 Alvaro BAUTISTA Pull&Bear Aspar Team 1'44.395 0.217 / 0.116
4 Aleix ESPARGARO Aprilia Racing Team Gresini 1'44.409 0.231 / 0.014
5 Andrea DOVIZIOSO Ducati Team 1'44.615 0.437 / 0.206
6 Jorge LORENZO Ducati Team 1'44.623 0.445 / 0.008
7 Andrea IANNONE Team SUZUKI ECSTAR 1'44.656 0.478 / 0.033
8 Scott REDDING OCTO Pramac Racing 1'44.676 0.498 / 0.020
9 Danilo PETRUCCI OCTO Pramac Racing 1'44.681 0.503 / 0.005
10 Hector BARBERA Reale Avintia Racing 1'44.740 0.562 / 0.059
11 Jonas FOLGER Monster Yamaha Tech 3 1'44.763 0.585 / 0.023
12 Cal CRUTCHLOW LCR Honda 1'44.803 0.625 / 0.040
13 Maverick VINALES Movistar Yamaha MotoGP 1'44.889 0.711 / 0.086
14 Loris BAZ Reale Avintia Racing 1'44.985 0.807 / 0.096
15 Valentino ROSSI Movistar Yamaha MotoGP 1'45.053 0.875 / 0.068
16 Johann ZARCO Monster Yamaha Tech 3 1'45.240 1.062 / 0.187
17 Tito RABAT EG 0,0 Marc VDS 1'45.252 1.074 / 0.012
18 Jack MILLER EG 0,0 Marc VDS 1'45.289 1.111 / 0.037
19 Sylvain GUINTOLI Team SUZUKI ECSTAR 1'45.912 1.734 / 0.623
20 Pol ESPARGARO Red Bull KTM Factory Racing 1'46.243 2.065 / 0.331
21 Karel ABRAHAM Pull&Bear Aspar Team 1'46.259 2.081 / 0.016
22 Sam LOWES Aprilia Racing Team Gresini 1'46.267 2.089 / 0.008
23 Bradley SMITH Red Bull KTM Factory Racing 1'46.853 2.675 / 0.586

Source: MotoGP.com

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Dani Pedrosa took a stunning pole position in the heat haze of the Catalan GP, storming clear of the field by three tenths to return to the top for the second time this year.

Compatriot Jorge Lorenzo shot into second after also proving second fastest on Friday, as the two home heroes led the charge. Third was an incredible front row for Mugello podium finisher Danilo Petrucci, as the Italian kept his momentum from a stunning home race last time out.

Marc Marquez was one of the key headline makers, as the reigning Champion will head the second row but suffered a spate of crashes on Saturday. His final fall in Q2 took him out of contention for pole, with Marquez looking to wipe the slate clean overnight before trying to hunt down the win.

The sun shone more on Aleix Espargaro in fifth as his impressive pace from the morning continued into Q2, with another home hero just behind him in seventh – Reale Avintia Racing’s Hector Barbera.

Mugello winner Andrea Dovizioso heads up row three, ahead of Q1 graduates Jonas Folger and Maverick Vinales in a tough day for the Yamaha machines.

Alvaro Bautista completed the top ten and was another multiple crasher on Saturday, with Scott Redding and Andrea Iannone in P11 and P12 respectively.

The headlines were also thick and fast in Q1, as nine-time World Champion Valentino Rossi missed the cut only marginally to start P13, ahead of rookie sensation Johann Zarco. Cal Crutchlow lines up P17 and was another crasher.

Qualifying Result:

Pos. Rider Team Time Gap 1st/Prev.
1 Dani PEDROSA Repsol Honda Team 1'43.870  
2 Jorge LORENZO Ducati Team 1'44.201 0.331 / 0.331
3 Danilo PETRUCCI OCTO Pramac Racing 1'44.220 0.350 / 0.019
4 Marc MARQUEZ Repsol Honda Team 1'44.320 0.450 / 0.100
5 Aleix ESPARGARO Aprilia Racing Team Gresini 1'44.348 0.478 / 0.028
6 Hector BARBERA Reale Avintia Racing 1'44.381 0.511 / 0.033
7 Andrea DOVIZIOSO Ducati Team 1'44.451 0.581 / 0.070
8 Jonas FOLGER Monster Yamaha Tech 3 1'44.600 0.730 / 0.149
9 Maverick VINALES Movistar Yamaha MotoGP 1'44.620 0.750 / 0.020
10 Alvaro BAUTISTA Pull&Bear Aspar Team 1'44.740 0.870 / 0.120
11 Scott REDDING OCTO Pramac Racing 1'44.852 0.982 / 0.112
12 Andrea IANNONE Team SUZUKI ECSTAR 1'44.928 1.058 / 0.076

Source: MotoGP.com

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Marc Marquez  went quickest in both practice sessions on Day 1 of his second home Grand Prix of the year, and the one closest to his hometown of Cervera.

With the stakes high and a lot of friends, family and fans in attendance, it was the best possible start for the reigning Champion as he aims to take his second win of the year.

He says he feels good - and had a good base to start from after attending the recent private test at the newly modified venue -  and will focus on trying the hard rear tyre tomorrow as the curtain comes up on Saturday.

"Today I feel pretty good with the bike because of the test we did here and it was the first Friday maybe that we had a good base." he Said

"But anyway, this afternoon we tried a few things on the bike, on the second run; we saw it was not so good, we went back and put in the new tyres. But, we’re feeling good and are looking forward to tomorrow and trying the hard rear, so we can try to understand which one is best for the race."

"We tried a few things on the electronics and the engine, we tried a different way like in Mugello so we can understand because the pace was good there." Added Marquez

"It felt a little bit strange, so we came back and everything ran okay, so we look forward to tomorrow and to improve. Of course, the home race is always special and you enjoy it even more than other races. Sometimes it’s too busy! But anyway with all the fans, friends, family here, you always enjoy it more."

Source: MotoGP.com

 

         

 

 

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