Welcome to the beta version of the new Women & Golf website. Our web monkeys are still hard at work and welcome your feedback.  

Advertisement

MotoGP Qatar: Iannone heads Lorenzo into qualifying

Factory Ducati’s Andrea Iannone has topped the third MotoGP free practice session in Qatar, dropping well into the 1’54s bracket and heading champions Jorge Lorenzo and Marc Marquez while Valentino Rossi could only muster seventh on the combined timesheet.

Iannone dropped in a 1’54.639 with only two minutes of the session left - aided no doubt by a 217mph top speed compared to just 209mph for the Movistar Yamaha and Repsol Hondas - and last ditch efforts by both the Spaniards weren’t enough to topple the Italian.

Iannone dipped under the 1’54 barrier twice on successive laps during his third and final run while Lorenzo set his time early on his last run and then settled back into early 1’55s. Marquez was uncharacteristically wayward in his last exit, lurching from a 1’57.170 to a 1’54.990, back to a 1’58.138 before setting his own personal best time to nick third place.

Advertisement

Andrea Dovizioso found eight-tenths of a second between sessions to bag fourth place and had set the fastest time of 1’55.229 with nine minutes left to run before he was demoted by Lorenzo. Maverick Vinales was also skirting around the top three but just didn’t have the outright top speed and lost out each time on the run to the line in comparison to the Ducatis. He eventually slotted into fifth place setting a 1’54.976, his sole lap in the 1’54s.

Dani Pedrosa, on the second Repsol-backed RC213V, also led the session at the very start but he slipped backwards to sixth. The Spaniard set his quickest lap of 1’55.113 on the third lap of his last run but he then dropped back to cruising laps of 2’06, 2’07 and 2’04, so could have been struck by a problem.

Rossi put in a solid session of 1’55s laps, the best of 1’55.175 his last but he is half a second off the pace of his countryman and only one place ahead of Hector Barbera on the Avintia Ducati, who continues to impress and put in quick laps without the benefit of a tow.

Britain’s Scott Redding ended in ninth place on a 1’55.339 but crashed on his last lap. Pol Espargaro completed the all-important top ten and bagged the last automatic place in qualifying two, dumping out Monster Yamaha team-mate Bradley Smith before brother Aleix made sure there was no way back for the Oxfordshire copper top.

Smith crashed for the second time this weekend, losing the front into turn six on the brakes and going down hard. He will have a fight on his hands to get through qualifying one tomorrow. He was shadowed by Loris Baz, who also crashed, and the still-injured Danilo Petrucci.

It was bad news for Cal Crutchlow who wasn’t able to put in one of his usual bite-the-screen laps and the LCR Honda man ended down in 15th and 1.3s off the pace. Yonny Hernandez was next along, followed by Jack Miller, who was another faller. Eugene Laverty upped his pace by six-tenths of a second and ended on a 1’57.135.

Click here for times

Articles you may like

Advertisement

More MotoGP

Advertisement
linkedin facebook pinterest youtube rss twitter instagram facebook-blank rss-blank linkedin-blank pinterest youtube twitter instagram