Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda RC213V) will start tomorrow evening’s season-opening Qatar Grand Prix from the front row of the grid after a dazzling performance in MotoGP’s new-look qualifying format.

The Spaniard was third fastest in the 15 minute session that was topped by reigning World Champion Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha). Stefan Bradl (LCR Honda RC213V) and Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda RC213V) both secured second-row starts, placing fifth and sixth fastest under the Losail floodlights.

Conditions at the desert-based circuit have been typically tricky since practice began on Thursday, with wind blowing sand onto the track making grip worryingly inconsistent. Yesterday evening a rare rain shower affected the Moto2 and Moto3 practice sessions.

Tonight’s MotoGP qualifying session was an historic occasion for motorcycle Grand Prix racing – the first time that qualifying has been split into two groups. The new format divides MotoGP riders into two groups following the first three practice sessions: the fastest ten and the rest.

After a final 30 minute practice session, qualifying then takes place in two 15 minute outings, with the slower group out on track first, in Qualifying 1. The fastest two riders from that session are then seeded through to the Qualifying 2 session, in which they get the chance to battle with the fastest ten riders for the best grid positions. The Moto2 and Moto3 classes continue with a traditional qualifying format.

The introduction of the new system adds extra tension to qualifying, with riders having only enough time for two short runs, which leaves no room for even the tiniest of errors by rider or team. Tonight was particularly tense, with riders wondering how the new format would work for them.

Like many of his rivals, Pedrosa struggled to find a fully clear track during the 15 minute session. Nonetheless he was happy that he made it onto the front row and he has some ideas to further improve his factory RC213V that he will evaluate in evening warm-up.

Stefan Bradl (LCR Honda RC213V) will start the first race of his second season in the premier class from the middle of the second row, between Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati) and Marquez. The impressive German paced himself perfectly, gradually picking up speed throughout practice to find his maximum pace when he needed it most. After solving an issue with front-end feeling during the first three sessions he made another crucial change for qualifying that worked out well.

Marquez performed brilliantly in his first MotoGP qualifying session, even though sixth place didn’t quite match his position at the end of the first three practice sessions. Yesterday evening the 20-year-old was the fastest man on track, outpacing Lorenzo by one thousandths of a second! He attributed his sixth place on the grid to a couple of minor errors that he made in his first qualifying run and an inability to reach his maximum straight out of the pits. That skill will surely come with more time on a MotoGP bike.

Alvaro Bautista (Team GO&FUN Honda Gresini RC213V) enjoyed the new qualifying format, but he struggled with front-end feeling. The Spaniard has a good race pace and feels that the race will go better for him, especially if he can get away with the leading group.

Bryan Staring (GO&FUN Honda Gresini FTR Honda) will start his first MotoGP race from 23rd on the grid. The Australian – riding a CBR1000RR-powered FTR Honda CRT bike – is still getting acclimatised to MotoGP machinery and was happy enough with his first qualifying session in the premier class.

Race night gets underway with the Moto3 race at 7pm (local time), followed by Moto2 at 8.20pm and MotoGP at 10pm.




Dani Pedrosa, Repsol Honda: 3rd – 1m 55.151s

“Today we were able to improve a lot and take a front-row start for tomorrow. It is important to start high up the grid whenever you can, because there are some very fast riders up against us. We still need to improve a few things with the bike and I hope that we can have a good race. The key will be to choose a good tyre compound and find a strong pace.”

Stefan Bradl, LCR Honda MotoGP: 5th – 1m 55.477s

“Fifth position was our target because our rivals are very strong at every circuit and in all conditions, so we must be very happy with our performance today. During free practice four we improved our set-up and the front-end feeling which was the key to going faster. I was not completely happy so we made another adjustment before QP and we were lucky because it worked well. This new qualifying system made everybody nervous but, in the end, it was exciting. Everyone used the same strategy and there was a lot of traffic, but we will get used to this and I think it’s more fun for the fans.”

Marc Marquez, Repsol Honda: 6th – 1m 55.645s

“Today was my first MotoGP qualifying session and the first time that we’d had the short 15 minute run, but the result was what we had expected. I still need to be a bit more ‘explosive’ and push hard from the start. We got the sixth fastest time, as on my opening two fast laps I made mistakes and lost a few thousandths. That is something that we have to improve. We still have the warm-up tomorrow, in which we need to continue working on our pace and from there, we need to choose the best tyre for the race. The important thing will be to make a good start and see what happens.”

Alvaro Bautista, Team GO&FUN Honda Gresini: 8th – 1m 55.711s

“The new qualifying format was good fun, but in 15 minutes you don’t have time to make any mistakes. I didn’t have much feel for the front tonight and we tried to fix that but we’re still not happy. My pace on used tyres isn’t bad so we’ll try to improve the setting in the warm-up and I’m confident that if we make a good start I can run with the front group. The race is long and this track isn’t easy so anything could happen.”

Bryan Staring, GO&FUN Honda Gresini: 23rd – 1m 58.912s

“I am satisfied because I feel I am slowly getting to grips with MotoGP. My position on the grid isn’t the best but for me it was important to go into the race having taken some steps to further improve my feeling with this bike and we did that. I feel more relaxed today and I am sure we can start to make some real progress soon. Unfortunately it takes time but I have a very supportive team.”

Pole position : 1m54.714s (168.800km/h) Jorge Lorenzo, Yamaha
Circuit Best Lap : 1m53.927s (170.003km/h) Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha, 2008)

Qualifying position

1 Jorge Lorenzo 1'54.714 SPA YAMAHA Yamaha Factory Racing
2 Cal Crutchlow 1'54.916 GBR YAMAHA Monster Yamaha Tech 3
3 Dani Pedrosa 1'55.151 SPA HONDA Repsol Honda Team
4 Andrea Dovizioso 1'55.160 ITA DUCATI Ducati Team
5 Stefan Bradl 1'55.477 GER HONDA LCR Honda MotoGP
6 Marc Marquez 1'55.645 ESP HONDA Repsol Honda Team
7 Valentino Rossi 1'55.711 ITA YAMAHA Yamaha Factory Racing
8 Alvaro Bautista 1'55.870 SPA HONDA Go & Fun Honda Gresini
9 Bradley Smith 1'56.315 GBR YAMAHA Monster Yamaha Tech 3
10 Andrea Iannone 1'56.523 ITA DUCATI Pramac Racing Team
11 Nicky Hayden 1'56.667 USA DUCATI Ducati Team
12 Aleix Espargaro 1'57.064 ESP ART Power Electronics Aspar
13 Ben Spies 1'57.440 USA DUCATI Pramac Racing Team
14 Randy De Puniet 1'57.551 FRA ART Power Electronics Aspar
15 Lukas Pesek 1'57.926 CZE IODA Came IodaRacing Project
16 Yonny Hernandez 1'58.058 COL ART Paul Bird Motorsport
17 Hiroshi Aoyama 1'58.263 JPN FTR Avintia Blusens
18 Karel Abraham 1'58.271 CZE ART Cardion AB Motoracing
19 Colin Edwards 1'58.361 USA FTR NGM Forward Racing
20 Danilo Petrucci 1'58.486 ITA IODA Came IodaRacing Project
21 Claudio Corti 1'58.755 ITA FTR NGM Forward Racing
22 Hector Barbera 1'58.806 SPA FTR Avintia Blusens
23 Bryan Staring 1'58.912 AUS HONDA Go & Fun Honda Gresini
24 Michael Laverty 1'59.572 WAL ART Paul Bird Motorsport

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