Tomorrow to be Marc Marquez’s first chance to clinch 2018 MotoGP Title, at Japanese Grand Prix
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
“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
“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.”
Qualifying Classification
| Pos. | Rider | Num | Nation | Team | Constructor | Time/Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dovizioso Andrea | 4 | ITA | Mission Winnow Ducati | Ducati | 1'44.590 |
| 2 | Zarco Johann | 5 | FRA | Red Bull KTM Factory Racing | KTM | 1'44.658 / 0.068 |
| 3 | Miller Jack | 43 | AUS | Pramac Racing | Ducati | 1'44.727 / 0.137 |
| 4 | Crutchlow Cal | 35 | GBR | LCR Honda | Honda | 1'44.820 / 0.230 |
| 5 | Iannone Andrea | 29 | ITA | Team Suzuki Ecstar | Suzuki | 1'44.832 / 0.242 |
| 6 | Marquez Marc | 93 | SPA | Repsol Honda Team | Honda | 1'44.889 / 0.299 |
| 7 | Vinales Maverick | 25 | SPA | Movistar Yamaha MotoGP | Yamaha | 1'45.140 / 0.550 |
| 8 | Rins Alex | 42 | SPA | Team Suzuki Ecstar | Suzuki | 1'45.225 / 0.635 |
| 9 | Rossi Valentino | 46 | ITA | Movistar Yamaha MotoGP | Yamaha | 1'45.265 / 0.675 |
| 10 | Bautista Alvaro | 19 | SPA | Angel Nieto Team | Ducati | 1'45.396 / 0.806 |
| 11 | Pedrosa Dani | 26 | SPA | Repsol Honda Team | Honda | 1'45.519 / 0.929 |
| 12 | Nakagami Takaaki | 30 | JPN | LCR Honda | Honda | 1'46.168 / 1.578 |
| 13 | Smith Bradley | 38 | GBR | Red Bull KTM Factory Racing | KTM | 1'45.722 Q1 |
| 14 | Espargaro Pol | 44 | SPA | Red Bull KTM Factory Racing | KTM | 1'45.742 / 0.313 |
| 15 | Petrucci Danilo | 9 | ITA | Pramac Racing | Ducati | 1'45.759 / 0.330 |
| 16 | Syahrin Hafizh | 55 | MAL | Monster Yamaha Tech 3 | Yamaha | 1'45.765 / 0.336 |
| 17 | Morbidelli Franco | 21 | ITA | EG 0,0 Marc VDS | Honda | 1'45.969 / 0.540 |
| 18 | Abraham Karel | 17 | CZE | Angel Nieto Team | Ducati | 1'46.072 / 0.643 |
| 19 | Espargaro Aleix | 41 | SPA | Aprilia Racing Team Gresini | Aprilia | 1'46.183 / 0.754 |
| 20 | Nakasuga Katsuyuki | 15 | JPN | Yamalube Yamaha Factory Racing | Yamaha | 1'46.441 / 1.012 |
| 21 | Redding Scott | 45 | GBR | Aprilia Racing Team Gresini | Aprilia | 1'46.571 / 1.142 |
| 22 | Simeon Xavier | 10 | BEL | Reale Avintia Racing | Ducati | 1'46.573 / 1.144 |
| 23 | Luthi Tom | 12 | SWI | EG 0,0 Marc VDS | Honda | 1'46.817 / 1.388 |
| 24 | Guintoli Sylvain | 50 | FRA | Team Suzuki Ecstar | Suzuki | 1'47.106 / 1.677 |
| 25 | Torres Jordi | 81 | SPA | Reale Avintia Racing | Ducati | 1'47.147 / 1.718 |
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
Records
| Pole Position | 1m 43.790s (166.5km/h) Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha, 2015) |
| Race Lap | 1m 45.350s (164km/h) Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha, 2014) |
| Race Time | 42m 21.259s (163.2km/h) Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha, 2014) |
| 2018 Race Winner | Marc Marquez (Honda) |
