Misano MotoGP: Jorge Lorenzo ends Yamaha's pole drought
Jorge Lorenzo took his and the works Yamaha team's first MotoGP pole of 2014 at Misano, as Marc Marquez could only manage fourth
In a fiercely competitive session, Andrea Iannone equalled his career-best start with second place on the Pramac Ducati, Valentino Rossi claimed his first front row start in over a year in third, and just 0.201 seconds covered the top six.
Marquez did spend a brief spell on provisional pole after the first runs, edging out Lorenzo and Andrea Dovizioso - who had been separated by just 0.009s after their first pole bids - by 0.076s.
It was Iannone who set the ball rolling on the second runs as he jumped to the front with a 1m33.289s, thriving on home ground again as he had at Mugello in June.
The Italian will have to wait for his maiden pole, though, with Lorenzo putting in a lap 0.051s to take pole at a track where he has won for the last three years.
Marquez never got himself back into the pole fight, his final improvement only taking his Honda to fourth behind a late surge from Rossi.
The result is the first time since the 2013 Catalunya Grand Prix, 15 months ago, that Marquez has failed to qualify on the front row.
His Honda team-mate Dani Pedrosa and Dovizioso complete the ultra-close first two rows.
The Espargaro brothers and Tech 3's Bradley Smith share row three.
Yonny Hernandez and Stefan Bradl came through from Q1, to the huge frustration of Cal Crutchlow - who had been quickest in the first segment until an electronic problem dissuaded Ducati from sending him out for another run.
Crutchlow will therefore start 13th, one place ahead of fellow Briton Scott Redding. The Gresini rider crashed in both practice four and at the end of Q1, but was unhurt in both incidents.
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Pos | Rider | Team | Bike | Time | Gap |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Jorge Lorenzo | Yamaha | Yamaha | 1m33.238s | - |
2 | Andrea Iannone | Pramac Racing | Ducati | 1m33.289s | 0.051s |
3 | Valentino Rossi | Yamaha | Yamaha | 1m33.302s | 0.064s |
4 | Marc Marquez | Honda | Honda | 1m33.360s | 0.122s |
5 | Dani Pedrosa | Honda | Honda | 1m33.418s | 0.180s |
6 | Andrea Dovizioso | Ducati | Ducati | 1m33.439s | 0.201s |
7 | Pol Espargaro | Tech 3 | Yamaha | 1m33.557s | 0.319s |
8 | Aleix Espargaro | Forward Racing | Forward Yamaha | 1m33.713s | 0.475s |
9 | Bradley Smith | Tech 3 | Yamaha | 1m33.761s | 0.523s |
10 | Stefan Bradl | LCR | Honda | 1m33.995s | 0.757s |
11 | Yonny Hernandez | Pramac Racing | Ducati | 1m34.283s | 1.045s |
12 | Alvaro Bautista | Gresini Racing | Honda | 1m34.640s | 1.402s |
13 | Cal Crutchlow | Ducati | Ducati | 1m34.495s | - |
14 | Scott Redding | Gresini Racing | Honda | 1m34.919s | - |
15 | Hiroshi Aoyama | Aspar | Honda | 1m34.966s | - |
16 | Leon Camier | Aspar | Honda | 1m35.275s | - |
17 | Karel Abraham | Cardion AB Motoracing | Honda | 1m35.292s | - |
18 | Michael Laverty | Paul Bird Motorsport | PBM/Aprilia | 1m35.589s | - |
19 | Alex de Angelis | Forward Racing | Forward Yamaha | 1m35.679s | - |
20 | Broc Parkes | Paul Bird Motorsport | PBM/Aprilia | 1m36.317s | - |
21 | Hector Barbera | Avintia Racing | Avintia/Kawasaki | 1m36.689s | - |
22 | Mike Di Meglio | Avintia Racing | Avintia/Kawasaki | 1m42.497s | - |
23 | Danilo Petrucci | IodaRacing Project | ART/Aprilia | 1m37.417s | - |
Qualifying format: 1st-12th from final Q2 session, 13th-23rd from Q1.
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