Misano MotoGP qualifying
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Ponsson-watch: The Frenchman is last, five seconds off the pace on a 1m37.180s, which is at least clearly an improvement from Friday and comfortably puts him within 107 percent of the ultimate pace.
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Halfway into Q1: 1 Pedrosa; 2 Iannone; 3 Pirro; 4 Morbidelli; 5 Bautista; 6 A Espargaro; 7 Nakagami; 8 Smith; 9 P Espargaro; 10 Bradl; 11 Redding; 12 Abraham; 13 Luthi; 14 Simeon; 15 Syahrin; 16 Ponsson.
Stopwatch
Pedrosa goes quicker still, 1m32.389s.
Iannone not looking too comfortable on the GSX-RR, but despite shipping three tenths in the third sector he moves up to second behind Pedrosa.
Stopwatch
Dani Pedrosa goes top, 1m32.499s. Very good pace early on in this Q1. Pirro up to second, Morbidelli third.
Crash
Avintia rider Xavier Simeon has crashed. The Belgian is running Rabat's Ducati GP17 this weekend, with Ponsson on the GP16 instead.
Bautista goes a tenth slower, Iannone's first proper effort is only good enough for third.
Stopwatch
Pedrosa a tenth up with his first attempt, but he's instantly shuffled down to second by a superb 1m32.679s from Pirro.
Stopwatch
Iannone rolls out of his first attempt, and it's World Superbike-bound Alvaro Bautista who sets the initial pace on a 1m33.101s.
Green flag
The Maniac heads out right away, eager to fire in an early benchmark.
Watch out also for Morbidelli, who like Iannone only just missed out on an automatic Q2 berth, as well as Pedrosa and Ducati wildcard Pirro.
Watch out also for Morbidelli, who like Iannone only just missed out on an automatic Q2 berth, as well as Pedrosa and Ducati wildcard Pirro.
Iannone is the clear favourite to advance to Q2 here. His recent form has been mixed but qualifying pace has not been a problem - this is his first Q1 appearance since this race last year, when the GSX-RR was clearly not as strong.
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Q1 roster: Iannone; Morbidelli; Pedrosa; Pirro; Bautista; Nakagami; Redding; A Espargaro; Bradl; Syahrin; Smith; Abraham; Simeon; Luthi; P Espargaro; Ponsson.
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Checkered flag
FP4 has just concluded, with Yamaha's Maverick Vinales setting the pace from Jorge Lorenzo, Andrea Dovizioso, Marc Marquez and Valentino Rossi.
There's the five riders you'd probably expect to be fighting for victory tomorrow - but Vinales must qualify high up because starts have been the bane of his existence in 2018.
There's the five riders you'd probably expect to be fighting for victory tomorrow - but Vinales must qualify high up because starts have been the bane of his existence in 2018.
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The big on-track talking point is debutant Christophe Ponsson, Avintia Ducati's stand-in for the injured Tito Rabat.
To put it mildly, the reception to the presence of the unheralded Frenchman has been mixed - with some questioning his credentials and a fair few MotoGP regulars unnerved by his lack of preparation.
He's been tiptoeing around the 107-percent mark all weekend, but needed to make the grade in just one practice session to qualify - duly completing the task in FP2 and then again in FP4.
To put it mildly, the reception to the presence of the unheralded Frenchman has been mixed - with some questioning his credentials and a fair few MotoGP regulars unnerved by his lack of preparation.
He's been tiptoeing around the 107-percent mark all weekend, but needed to make the grade in just one practice session to qualify - duly completing the task in FP2 and then again in FP4.
Autosport
Marquez, of course, has been in the centre of the big off-track talking point of the weekend, his rivalry with rival Valentino Rossi taking a slightly manufactured new turn as the Italian turned down a handshake in the press conference.
This prompted something of a show of solidarity from Marquez's future Honda teammate Jorge Lorenzo.
This prompted something of a show of solidarity from Marquez's future Honda teammate Jorge Lorenzo.
Today looks to be an opportunity for Marc Marquez's rivals, with both Ducati and Yamaha seemingly ahead of Honda in the pecking order around Misano - although the championship leader is never too far back.
Hello and welcome to our live coverage of MotoGP qualifying at the Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli, the host of the San Marino Grand Prix.
By: Matt Beer
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