Pedrosa On Pole As Title Rivals Stumble In Catalonia
Muhammad Rameez Published June 10, 2017 | 09:40 PM
MONTMELS, Spain, , (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 10th Jun, 2017 ) - Dani Pedrosa claimed pole position for Sunday's Catalan MotoGP after a qualifying session to forget for leading championship contenders Maverick Vinales, Valentino Rossi and Marc Marquez on Saturday.
Pedrosa banked his second pole of the season with a best time of 1min 43.870 to start ahead of Ducati pair Jorge Lorenzo and Danilo Petrucci on the front row. "I am very happy today because normally in qualifying I struggle a lot," said Pedrosa, who is fifth in the championship standings despite failing to finish two of the six races so far this season.
"We were trying a lot of things today because it was an important day and the heat was very high, testing tyres and testing settings. "We manage to improve, but we hope tomorrow the bike is well for the race.
"At the moment very happy. Second pole of the year is super." Pedrosa's Honda teammate Marquez endured a far more difficult day as he struggled for grip under the baking Spanish sun with track temperatures close to 50 degrees Celsius.
However, the three time world champion still managed to salvage the fourth best time despite crashing twice in qualifying and four times overall on Saturday. Championship leader Vinales starts down in ninth after having to edge out Yamaha teammate Rossi by fourth hundredths of a second just to qualify for the second session.
That left Rossi 13th fastest as he continues to battle back from chest and stomach injuries that saw him hospitalised in a motocross training accident last month. Andrea Dovizioso, Vinales's closest challenger for the title after his win at the Italian Grand Prix last weekend, starts from seventh.
The Yamahas struggles opened the door for Lorenzo to have a rare good day since he controversially left Yamaha behind to join Ducati. Lorenzo has been outperformed by teammate Dovizioso so far this season as he languishes down in eight in the title race.
However, he is confident of delivering his first win for the Italian team after qualifying on the front row of the grid for the first time this season. "Today is the first front row with Ducati so I am satisfied," said Lorenzo.
"I think finally we improve the bike a lot in the free practice four so we have great pace for the race tomorrow. "Tomorrow for sure will be a very hard race, but little-by-little we are demonstrating some things that show that we are coming (up)." Petrucci trails Lorenzo by just four points in the championship standings after netting a podium finish on home soil at Mugello last weekend, but believes matching that feat could prove a step too far on Sunday.
"We will see tomorrow, hopefully top five will be possible," he said. "I don't know (about) the podium. It will be very, very difficult."
Related Topics
Recent Stories
Shayan, Rashid, Junaid to represent Pakistan in U12 Regional Qualifying Jrs
Govt committed to empower youth with modern tech, IT: PM
Olympic Games Paris 2024: How teams qualified
LESCO detects 74,285 power pilferers in 219 days
RTO destroys huge quantity of non-duty paid cigarettes
Rain-windstorm/thunderstorm expected in most parts of country: PMD
Pakistan's total liquid foreign reserves reach $ 13.28 billion
Pakistan to tour New Zealand for 3 ODIs, 5 T20Is next March
ENGRO announces strong results for 1st quarter 2024
RDA inflows rise to $7.660 bn in March 24
US economic growth slows significantly in first quarter
FPCCI welcomes direct flights between Pakistan-Azerbaijan
More Stories From Sports
-
Shayan, Rashid, Junaid to represent Pakistan in U12 Regional Qualifying Jrs
18 minutes ago -
Olympic Games Paris 2024: How teams qualified
26 minutes ago -
Pakistan to tour New Zealand for 3 ODIs, 5 T20Is next March
15 minutes ago -
1st-ever National Sports Revival conference starts next month
2 hours ago -
Usain Bolt named ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 Ambassador
2 hours ago -
Wapda Inter-Unit Kabaddi Tournament to start from April 28
2 hours ago
-
Zone-VI Whites qualify for final in cricket tournament
3 hours ago -
Int’l tennis player Hamza receives cash award incentive for outstanding performance
4 hours ago -
Chief Minister KP to open Inter-Madrasa, Special Games on April 30
4 hours ago -
Bisma Maroof retires from all cricket
2 hours ago -
IOC Refugees Olympic Team to be announced on May 2
5 hours ago -
Bismah Maroof announces immediate retirement from international cricket
7 hours ago