Aleix Espargaro has handed Ecstar Suzuki their debut MotoGP pole position at Barcelona this lunchtime and if that wasn’t enough, team-mate Maverick Vinales is next to him on the front row just a tenth behind.
Espargaro smashed the outright lap record of 1'40.893 with a 1’40.546 on the softest-option Bridgestone tyre with three minutes left and then Vinales, a minute later, hopped into second with a 1’40.629 which shifted Movistar Yamaha’s Jorge Lorenzo into third place after he had also gone under Dani Pedrosa’s circuit best lap.
Reigning champion Marc Marquez had occupied top spot with nine minutes left, setting a 1’40.794 to better Espargaro’s existing 1’40.943 while Cal Crutchlow occupied third and Vinales fourth place.
Lorenzo came out for his second run and bagged a 1’40.646 as Dani Pedrosa had to abort a potential pole lap after getting stuck behind Yonny Hernandez. Lorenzo’s third run didn’t produce anything better and Marquez also had to be content with his performance for fourth place.
Andrea Dovizioso was top Ducati man in fifth with a 1’40.907 after a slow last sector lost a front-row spot while Pedrosa, who came through qualifying one with a lap of 1’41.188 ends in sixth place.
Valentino Rossi was again lacklustre in seventh place - but one ahead of his usual spot - and Bradley Smith joins him on the third row with a 1’41.068, just one one one-hundredth slower than The Doctor.
Crutchlow ended down in ninth place after he crashed while trying to follow Pedrosa on his final run. Yonny Hernandez picked up 10th place with Pol Espargaro, who also crashed, in 11th place.
Andrea Iannone, who headed free practice four and came through qualifying one, will start from 12th place. Scott Redding is 14th behind Hector Barbera while Eugene Laverty crashed at turn five for the second time today in free practice four and will start from 22nd.
