Jorge Lorenzo showed signs of returning to his best form with a magnificent pole position at Misano. The reigning champion smashed the qualifying record to lead a Movistar Yamaha 1-2 with Valentino Rossi taking second on the grid for his home Grand Prix.
Before the day’s proceedings got underway, confirmation was received that Andrea Iannone would take no further part in the weekend due to his back injury sustained in qualifying. Michele Pirro had secured a Q2 spot on the no.51 but because his entry was changed from a wildcard to a replacement, inheriting Iannone’s bike, his practice times were expunged. Aprilia were the chief beneficiary as Alvaro Bautista took them into Q2 for the first time but Pirro topped the times with ease in Q1, ensuring he would still fight for pole.
In truth though, the fight for pole only truly had one contender despite Marc Marquez clocking a 1:32.783 to lead the way early on. With his first timed lap of the afternoon, Lorenzo leapt straight to the top, going four tenths faster than the Honda, and even though Marquez made a sizable improvement next time around, Lorenzo did likewise to maintain his four-tenth cushion.
On the second runs, Valentino Rossi finally started to stake a claim and although a 1:32.342 was deleted for exceeding track limits at the final bend, the home favourite corrected matters shortly afterwards to claim second. His teammate was well out of range though, Lorenzo having broken into the 1:31s to confirm his 64th career pole.
Silverstone winner Maverick Vinales impressed again to snatch third from Marquez while Pirro produced a sensational effort to take fifth, one spot ahead of teammate Andrea Dovizioso. Cal Crutchlow lines up seventh ahead of Dani Pedrosa and the Espargaro brothers as Aleix took ninth and Pol failed to live up to Friday’s heroics, winding up tenth.
2016 GP TIM Di San Marino e della Riviera di Rimini (Qualifying Classification)
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