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General

MotoGP Austin qualifying

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Last year's pole time was a 2m03.118s, for those of you playing at home.
Marquez sets the first time. It's a 2m03.675s. Quick.
How dented will Marquez's confidence be for this session, having crashed three times today?
We now have all 12 riders on track.
Riders file out of pitlane, Vinales, Zarco, Folger and Lorenzo staying put initially.
Green flag
Q2 is go.
Dovizioso does have two Ducatis at his disposal for this session, despite stopping on track late in FP4 with an electrical problem.
Marquez has started all four MotoGP races at Austin from pole, and won them. Will that continue today? Vinales is your best bet for change.
Nearly time for Q2, starring (in race number order): Dovizioso, Zarco, Vinales, Pedrosa, Iannone, Crutchlow, Miller, Redding, Rossi, Marquez, Folger, Lorenzo.
Some save that, for Baz. Coming soon to highlights packages near you.
Petrucci will start 13th, ahead of Baz, Barbera, Rabat, Abraham, Smith, Bautista, Lowes, Pol Espargaro and Aleix Espargaro.
That means Miller and Lorenzo are going through, with 2m04.438s and 2m04.648s laps respectively.
Baz was gone, there. He was basically sitting on the asphalt at one stage.
Replays show Baz nearly dropped the Avintia Ducati at the final corner. Nice save, even if the moment could have cost him a shot at Q2.
Lorenzo does not improve, ut neither does Baz, after losing time in the final sector.
Petrucci grabs third for Pramac Ducati, pipping Baz.
Smith is up to seventh for KTM.
Checkered flag
The chequered flag is out, last laps here for these riders.
Lorenzo currently has a 0.583s advantage over Baz on the order.
Lorenzo and Baz both fastest of all through the first sector, Miller has returned to pitlane, curiously.
We're into the final 90 seconds, it's go time for anyone looking to progress to Q2 at the expense of Miller and/or Lorenzo.
Lowes, who has crashed twice today, has improved to a 2m08.340s. That's 3.902s off the pace currently set by Miller.
Now, other than Aleix, we have every rider on track.
Aleix Espargaro has looked to leave the Aprilia garage on his second bike, it seems, but it didn't want to play and he has just run it back to the team. Less glamorous shades of Marc Marquez's Austin qualifying dash in 2015...
Miller and Lowes are the only riders on track at the moment, with five minutes to go.
Halfway through this session, Miller and Lorenzo are going through. They are followed by Baz, Barbera, Rabat, Petrucci, Bautista, Abraham, Smith, Lowes and Pol Espargaro, with Aleix Espargaro not setting a time before his crash.
Miller was actually the rider closest to making Q2 in this group, finishing 11th on the combined practice times with a lap he turned this morning.
Aleix Espargaro actually made it past the apex at Turn 1 before losing his Aprilia. He doesn't currently have a second bike to jump on, after suffering a mechanical problem in FP4 a short time ago.
Pol Espargaro's crash is basically a carbon copy of all of the falls we've seen at Turn 2 so far today, with riders losing the front end as they turn in.
Crash
Pol Epargaro has crashed at Turn 2. That KTM has definitely seen better days.
Crash
Aleix Espargaro has fallen at Turn 1. The Aprilia rider has had a torrid day, crashing twice in FP3 this morning, then having a mechanical problem in FP4.
Lorenzo slots into second with a 2m04.687s, 0.249s behind Miller, while Baz is third from Bautista and Smith.
Stopwatch
Baz is the first man over the line with a 2m05.264s, but is quickly displaced at the top by Miller with a 2m04.438s.

By: Mitchell Adam

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