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MotoGP Argentina qualifying

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Some unfamiliar names in Q2 as a result of Friday practice, Aspar's Karel Abraham and Avintia's Loris Baz chief among them.

They ended up third and sixth quickest respectively after FP2, which proved decisive after this morning's rain.
So, Q2 is coming up shortly - and Rossi and Pedrosa's extra track time could well put them at an advantage in these tricky conditions.
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Dovizioso will start from P13 on Sunday, followed by Zarco and Redding.

Lorenzo will head up the sixth row in P16 ahead of Miller and Pol Espagaro's KTM, then it's Bradley Smith, Rabat, Hector Barbera, Lowes and Alex Rins bringing up the rear.
Stopwatch
And now Pedrosa goes faster still, a 1m49.235s - it's he and Rossi who will advance. Dovizioso misses out!
Stopwatch
Rossi goes fastest, a 1m49.421s! He's into Q2.
Checkered flag
Chequered flag is out, Lorenzo doesn't improve and misses out on a Q2 place.
Crash
Crash for Sam Lowes at Turn 1.
Pedrosa goes second, and knocks Redding out of the second Q2 spot!
Rossi goes third on a 1m50.062s, just 0.014s slower than Redding. Here comes the crucial final lap now...
Miller is back in the pits, looks like his qualifying is over and done with.
Lorenzo improves to a 1m50.310s, but he stays fourth.
Now Scott Redding puts the Pramac Ducati up to second and into Q2, still half a second slower than Dovizioso.
...as Tito Rabat jumps up to sixth on the second Marc VDS Honda.
Three minutes left and few signs of improvements from the frontrunners...
As things stand, Lorenzo will be starting on Sunday from P14 and Rossi from P15.
Currently Dovizioso and Zarco going through, as the riders pit in and prepare for their second runs.
Five minutes to go, and the order is:

Dovizioso, Zarco, Miller, Lorenzo, Rossi, Pedrosa, Barbera, Redding.
Rossi is fifth, by the way, behind Lorenzo in fourth.
Stopwatch
Here comes Dovizioso, who becomes the first man to break the 1m50s barrier on a 1m49.488s.
Stopwatch
Now Tech3 Yamaha rookie Zarco lowers the bar to a 1m50.269s.
Stopwatch
Jack Miller goes top with a 1m50.319s.
That's one second faster than Lorenzo managed during FP4, which finished 10 minutes before qualifying.
Johann Zarco slots into second, ahead of Dani Pedrosa.
Stopwatch
Here comes Lorenzo, he starts off with a 1m50.591s.
All 13 riders are out, and Lorenzo has started his first flyer.
Here's a reminder of what happened earlier in FP3, when the rain thwarted the hopes of Rossi et al. in making it directly through to Q2:

Argentina MotoGP: Crutchlow tops rain-hit FP3, stars facing Q1

LCR Honda's Cal Crutchlow topped third practice for the Argentinian Grand Prix, as the onset of bad weather left a number of top MotoGP riders having to go through Q1

Argentina MotoGP: Crutchlow tops rain-hit FP3, stars facing Q1
Green flag
And Q1 is go - 15 minutes to decide who goes through.
But it wasn't all smooth sailing for the 2016 world champion, and defending Argentinian GP winner...
Information
No such dramas for Marc Marquez, who has just topped FP4 from fellow Honda rider Cal Crutchlow, who was fastest earlier on in a dry-wet FP3.

Factory Ducati man Dovizioso was third, followed by satellite riders Danilo Petrucci and Jack Miller.
We're just coming up to the end of Free Practice 4 here, with the first segment of qualifying following shortly.

And what a segment it promises to be - Valentino Rossi, Jorge Lorenzo, Andrea Dovizioso and Dani Pedrosa will all be battling for just two places in the top-12 Q2 shootout.
Green flag
Hello and welcome to Autosport and Motorsport.com's live coverage of qualifying for the second round of the MotoGP season at a rather soggy Termas de Rio Hondo in Argentina.

By: Mitchell Adam

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