Marc Marquez qualified on a very close second row for tomorrow’s Japanese Grand Prix, which will be his first opportunity to clinch the 2018 MotoGP Title.

On a sunny Saturday at Twin Ring Motegi, Marc was fourth in this morning’s FP3 session and first in FP4 before setting the sixth-fastest time in qualifying, less than three tenths of a second from pole position.

Dani Pedrosa will start the Grand Prix, which begins at 2 p.m. local time and 7 a.m. Central European time, from the fourth row of the grid.

Marc Marquez

6th 1'44.889

“In FP4 I crashed on the bike that I was feeling very strong and constant with, while my second bike had quite a different setup that I didn’t like as much. We had no time to change it, so I started qualifying expecting to struggle a bit, although still with the aim of earning a start position on the front two rows. That said, we know that our race pace is good for tomorrow, and we’re happy with that. We’ll try to start well, and then we’ll see where we are at the end of the first lap; from then on we’ll try and manage the race well, with the target of getting on the podium and, if possible, of fighting for the victory.”

Dani Pedrosa

11th 1'45.519

“This weekend we tried to improve in qualifying, but it didn’t work out, which is a pity because a good starting position is very important at this track. We’ll have to recover, even if it’s always tough to overtake in the first few laps. We have to make a good tyre choice and start well, and then we’ll see what options we have.”

MotoGP 2018
Qualifying Round 16   Japan

Qualifying Classification

Sunny
Humidity
60%
Track Temp
29°C
Air Temp
20°C
Pos. Rider Num Nation Team Constructor Time/Gap
Location Information

Located amongst the vast natural beauty of the northern Kanto district, the twin ring circuit at Motegi in Japan consists of a 1.5 mile oval and a 2.9 mile road course constructed to international standards. Built by Honda as the ultimate test facility in August 1997, the road circuit became… read more.

Length 4.801 kilometres / 2.983 miles
Width 15 metres
Left corners 6
Right corners 8
Longest straight 0.762 kilometres / 0.473 miles
Constructed 1997

Twin Ring Motegi, Haga District, Tochigi, Japan - View in Google Maps

www.twinring.jp/english

Records

Pole Position 1m 43.018s (167.7km/h) Pedro Acosta (KTM, 2024)
Race Lap 1m 44.461s (165.4km/h) Jorge Martin (Ducati, 2024)
Race Time 42m 09.790s (163.9km/h) Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati, 2024)
2024 Sprint Winner Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati)
2024 Race Winner Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati)