MotoGP Indianapolis: Marc Marquez claims pole position in Honda 1-2
Marc Marquez led a Honda one-two in MotoGP qualifying to take pole position for this weekend's race at Indianapolis
The reigning world champion set his best time of 1m31.884s on his first flying lap of the session, which at the time put him three tenths clear of factory Honda team-mate Dani Pedrosa.
While Pedrosa improved with four minutes to go in the pole-deciding Q2 segment, he could only reduce his deficit to Marquez.
Jorge Lorenzo salvaged Yamaha's day by climbing onto the front row with his final lap of qualifying, jumping from seventh to third as the chequered flag came out.
His team-mate, championship leader Valentino Rossi, continued to struggle on the Indianapolis road course, ending the session eighth having briefly been as high as third a few minutes before the end.
Lorenzo's lap knocked Cal Crutchlow off the front row on his LCR Honda, while Danilo Petrucci, who was fastest in Q1, landed fifth place after spending a lap tucked up behind the factory Ducati of Andrea Dovizioso.
That made Petrucci the leading Ducati in qualifying, with Andrea Iannone the first of the Italian manufacturer's factory bikes in seventh, and Dovizioso, who joined Petrucci in progressing from Q1 to the main session, only 10th.
QUALIFYING RESULTS:
| Pos | Rider | Team | Bike | Time | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Marc Marquez | Honda | Honda | 1m31.884s | - |
| 2 | Dani Pedrosa | Honda | Honda | 1m32.055s | 0.171s |
| 3 | Jorge Lorenzo | Yamaha | Yamaha | 1m32.186s | 0.302s |
| 4 | Cal Crutchlow | LCR | Honda | 1m32.208s | 0.324s |
| 5 | Danilo Petrucci | Pramac Racing | Ducati | 1m32.243s | 0.359s |
| 6 | Bradley Smith | Tech 3 | Yamaha | 1m32.269s | 0.385s |
| 7 | Andrea Iannone | Ducati | Ducati | 1m32.468s | 0.584s |
| 8 | Valentino Rossi | Yamaha | Yamaha | 1m32.511s | 0.627s |
| 9 | Maverick Vinales | Suzuki | Suzuki | 1m32.571s | 0.687s |
| 10 | Andrea Dovizioso | Ducati | Ducati | 1m32.636s | 0.752s |
| 11 | Pol Espargaro | Tech 3 | Yamaha | 1m32.670s | 0.786s |
| 12 | Aleix Espargaro | Suzuki | Suzuki | 1m32.814s | 0.930s |
| 13 | Scott Redding | Marc VDS | Honda | 1m33.170s | 1.286s |
| 14 | Hector Barbera | Avintia Racing | Ducati | 1m33.199s | 1.315s |
| 15 | Yonny Hernandez | Pramac Racing | Ducati | 1m33.278s | 1.394s |
| 16 | Jack Miller | LCR | Honda | 1m33.381s | 1.497s |
| 17 | Stefan Bradl | Aprilia Gresini | Aprilia | 1m33.822s | 1.938s |
| 18 | Alvaro Bautista | Aprilia Gresini | Aprilia | 1m33.839s | 1.955s |
| 19 | Eugene Laverty | Aspar | Honda | 1m33.978s | 2.094s |
| 20 | Nicky Hayden | Aspar | Honda | 1m34.030s | 2.146s |
| 21 | Alex de Angelis | IodaRacing Project | ART/Aprilia | 1m34.226s | 2.342s |
| 22 | Mike Di Meglio | Avintia Racing | Ducati | 1m34.322s | 2.438s |
| 23 | Toni Elias | AB Motoracing | Honda | 1m35.167s | 3.283s |
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