Spaniard Marc Márquez (Repsol Honda RC 213 V) achieved his fourth consecutive best qualification at the Austin American circuit by being the fastest in the official practice for the MotoGP Grand Prix of the Americas.
Márquez set a best time of 2: 03.188 that beat Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha YZR M 1) by 69 thousandths of a second and beat Italian Valentino Rossi (Yamaha YZR M 1) by almost five tenths of a second, who achieved his fastest lap from behind of the Spanish Maverick Viñales (Suzuki GSX-RR).
Viñales was fifth in Austin, although he will benefit from the sanction imposed in the Argentine race on Italian Andrea Iannone (Ducati Desmosedici GP16), for which he loses three places in Austin and goes from fourth place he occupied in the official test session to seventh, just behind his own teammate, Andrea Dovizioso.
Aleix Espargaró (Suzuki GSX-RR) achieved a time of 2: 04.849 in the first classification, which was his best time of the whole weekend and which allowed him to enter the second classification together with the British Bradley Smith (Yamaha YZR M 1 ), who on his last lap left out his own teammate, the Spanish Pol Espargaró (Yamaha YZR M 1), who had earned that right.
Héctor Barberá (Ducati Desmosedici GP14.2) was another of those who fought to enter the second classification but on his last fast lap he met Álvaro Bautista (Aprilia RS-GP) in his career and both got into a fight that them it hurt both and left them with no options for improvement.
With almost no time for rest, the second classification began, with the asphalt completely dry and with Jorge Lorenzo as the first leader with a time in his second lap that was already the fastest of the whole weekend, 2: 03.613, and seven tenths second behind the best time, in those moments, of Marc Márquez (2: 04.399), although it is true that in the free practice the double MotoGP world champion was better, getting a 2: 03.741.
The strategy of the triple Yamaha world champion was clear, to go out for the best time as quickly as possible, in case the rain returned to do its thing, but Marc Márquez still had not said his last word and in the third lap already he became a leader.
The Repsol Honda rider stopped his time at that time at 2: 03.188, which was already four tenths of a second faster than Lorenzo’s, with Italian Valentino Rossi (Yamaha YZR M 1) in third position, but more than 1.1 seconds off Marquez.
After the pertinent passage through workshops to replace the tire again, the current world champion returned to the track and on his fifth lap he scratched a few tenths of his time to with 2: 03.257 to get barely 69 thousandths of a second behind the Repsol Honda rider, that at that time he was also leaving his workshop.
Márquez could not reduce his time, although he showed a very high pace since the two / three laps he did on the American track he completed all in the same second (2:03).
With Iannone penalized, the second row of the starting formation in Austin will be occupied by Maverick Viñales, British Cal Crutchlow (Honda RC 213 V) and Italian Andrea Dovizioso.
The third row is for Andrea Iannone, with Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda RC 213 V) and Aleix Espargaró (Suzuki GSX-RR) at his side.
The oldest of the Espargaró brothers starred in a day in constant progression by reducing his time in the first classification, which gave him a pass to the second, and in this he also scratched another four tenths to place his best time at 2: 04.408.
His brother Pol (Espargaró) finished thirteenth, or what is the same, fifth line of the starting lineup, along with fellow Spaniard Héctor Barberá and Irishman Eugene Laverty, both on Ducati Desmosedici GP14.2 trails, while Álvaro Bautista placed his Aprilia RS-GP in the nineteenth place, ahead of Tito Rabat and his Honda Rc 213 V. EFE
Marc Márquez’s fourth consecutive best ranking in Austin
