Repsol Honda RC213V rider Dani Pedrosa left it until the very last moment to claim a dazzling first pole position of the year at Mugello today, setting the fastest-ever lap of the spectacular 5.245km Mugello circuit in the Tuscan foothills.

Team-mate Marc Marquez was hardly less impressive. The 20-year-old class rookie bounced back from a shocking crash yesterday – possibly the fastest ever in Grand Prix history – to claim sixth place, on the second row of the grid.

Pedrosa is the only rider to win more than one race this year, and is aiming for a third win in succession to cement his World Championship points lead. His progress had started relatively slowly yesterday, when he was only fifth fastest. Overnight work adjusting his Honda RC213V to the fast and flowing circuit bore fruit, however; and a supreme effort at the very end of the crucial 15-minute final qualifying saw him edge Spanish rival Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha) to second.

Bad weather on Friday meant a damp start to free practice, robbing all riders of set-up time at the spectacular Italian circuit, which combines a long and undulating 1.1-km straight with fast looping corners and high-speed to-and-fro chicanes. The forecast was for continued rain, but the second of three days confounded the predictions, with sunshine breaking through a patchy cloud cover.

A strong qualifying performance put Stefan Bradl (LCR Honda RC213V) as next-best Honda, placed fifth in the middle of the second row, equalling his best grid positions so far this year. German former Moto2 champion Bradl is pushing to wipe out the memory of a disappointing tenth two weeks ago at Le Mans, when he slipped off while running with the front group, as well as a pair of earlier non-finishes.

Marquez had a miraculous escape from serious injury on Friday afternoon after locking the front wheel at 337 km/h, running off the track, and then leaping clear at barely undiminished speed before the bike struck a trackside wall. He returned today sporting a white bandage on his bruised and scraped chin, the only visible injury, though he also hurt an arm and a leg in the crash. Nothing daunted, he lay second in final qualifying in the closing stages, when he was pushed to sixth. After two pole positions this year, it is only the second time in five races the reigning Moto2 champion and MotoGP-class rookie has not been on the front row.

Alvaro Bautista (Team GO&FUN Honda Gresini RC213V) will start directly behind Marquez on row three, after qualifying ninth. The Spanish rider is the only man in the field using Showa suspension, combining racing with a testing/development role.

Team GO&FUN Honda Gresini team-mate Bryan Staring qualified 22nd, on the Honda CBR1000RR-powered CRT machine, escaping unhurt from a tumble in morning free practice. The Australian GP rookie, learning the circuits as he goes along, is looking to score his first World Championship points as he finds his feet in the class.




Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda): first – 1m 47.157s

“Today the track conditions were good, the tyres worked well and we improved the bike. All this helped us a lot to increase our pace and this is the most important thing. Qualifying was difficult, because we were behind for a large part of the session, but we managed a great last lap and took pole. Now we have some ideas to improve the bike for tomorrow and hope to have a strong race.”

Stefan Bradl (LCR Honda RC213V): fifth – 1m 47.737s

“Actually this fifth position is very important for us and I am pleased with the improvement we achieved. All the Honda riders have a better pace thanks to the better temperature of the asphalt. The qualifying was a bit tough for us as we were waiting until the last moment to get the best lap time. I am looking forward to the race tomorrow because we have the potential to take the first podium. I am sure it will be an exciting race with the guys in the front.”

Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda RC213V): sixth – 1m 47.763s

“Sixth place today was the best that we could have hoped for and I am very happy with this result. At the end of qualifying I was able to put in a hot lap, but the race tomorrow is going to be difficult and tough. I won’t be 100 percent physically, because I’m bruised and sore. My shoulder is bothering me the most, and we will see how it responds tomorrow. We are going to give our all, in any case, and see where we end up.”

Alvaro Bautista (Team GO&FUN Honda Gresini): ninth – 1m 48.355s

“I am not particularly happy with our position on the grid for tomorrow. I felt I could do a better lap than that because we have improved my confidence with the bike compared to yesterday ... but we didn’t manage it. My race pace is good, and hopefully if we can get a good start we can stick with the lead group and fight for a top-five position at the end.”

Bryan Staring (GO&FUN Honda Gresini FTR Honda): 22nd – 1m 51.981s

“This is proving to be a difficult weekend for me. I am struggling to get a feel for the track and the crash this morning made things even more difficult. We made some improvements this afternoon but the gap to the guys in front is still too big. Despite everything I am still confident for the race, because I think if we can make a good start and follow some guys who know the track well I can get a better reference.”

Qualifying position

1 Dani Pedrosa 1'47.157 SPA HONDA Repsol Honda Team
2 Jorge Lorenzo 1'47.226 SPA YAMAHA Yamaha Factory Racing
3 Andrea Dovizioso 1'47.628 ITA DUCATI Ducati Team
4 Cal Crutchlow 1'47.632 GBR YAMAHA Monster Yamaha Tech 3
5 Stefan Bradl 1'47.737 GER HONDA LCR Honda MotoGP
6 Marc Marquez 1'47.763 ESP HONDA Repsol Honda Team
7 Valentino Rossi 1'47.872 ITA YAMAHA Yamaha Factory Racing
8 Nicky Hayden 1'48.006 USA DUCATI Ducati Team
9 Alvaro Bautista 1'48.355 SPA HONDA Go & Fun Honda Gresini
10 Michele Pirro 1'48.564 ITA DUCATI Ignite Pramac Racing
11 Bradley Smith 1'48.706 GBR YAMAHA Monster Yamaha Tech 3
12 Aleix Espargaro 1'48.765 ESP ART Power Electronics Aspar
13 Andrea Iannone 1'49.265 ITA DUCATI Ignite Pramac Racing
14 Randy De Puniet 1'49.266 FRA ART Power Electronics Aspar
15 Hector Barbera 1'49.847 SPA FTR Avintia Blusens
16 Danilo Petrucci 1'50.518 ITA IODA Came IodaRacing Project
17 Colin Edwards 1'50.701 USA FTR NGM Forward Racing
18 Claudio Corti 1'50.729 ITA FTR NGM Forward Racing
19 Michael Laverty 1'50.787 WAL ART Paul Bird Motorsport
20 Karel Abraham 1'51.089 CZE ART Cardion AB Motoracing
21 Yonny Hernandez 1'51.239 COL ART Paul Bird Motorsport
22 Bryan Staring 1'51.981 AUS HONDA Go & Fun Honda Gresini
23 Hiroshi Aoyama 1'52.148 JPN FTR Avintia Blusens
24 Lukas Pesek 1'52.345 CZE IODA Came IodaRacing Project
25 Ben Spies 1'51.105 USA DUCATI Ignite Pramac Racing

Championship standings

1 Dani Pedrosa 83 pts SPA HONDA Repsol Honda Team
2 Marc Marquez 77 pts ESP HONDA Repsol Honda Team
3 Jorge Lorenzo 66 pts SPA YAMAHA Yamaha Factory Racing
4 Cal Crutchlow 55 pts GBR YAMAHA Monster Yamaha Tech 3
5 Valentino Rossi 47 pts ITA YAMAHA Yamaha Factory Racing
6 Andrea Dovizioso 39 pts ITA DUCATI Ducati Team
7 Alvaro Bautista 38 pts SPA HONDA Go & Fun Honda Gresini
8 Nicky Hayden 35 pts USA DUCATI Ducati Team
9 Aleix Espargaro 20 pts ESP ART Power Electronics Aspar
10 Andrea Iannone 18 pts ITA DUCATI Ignite Pramac Racing
11 Stefan Bradl 17 pts GER HONDA LCR Honda MotoGP
12 Bradley Smith 17 pts GBR YAMAHA Monster Yamaha Tech 3
13 Michele Pirro 13 pts ITA DUCATI Ignite Pramac Racing
14 Ben Spies 9 pts USA DUCATI Ignite Pramac Racing
15 Hector Barbera 7 pts SPA FTR Avintia Blusens
16 Randy De Puniet 6 pts FRA ART Power Electronics Aspar
17 Danilo Petrucci 4 pts ITA IODA Came IodaRacing Project
18 Yonny Hernandez 3 pts COL ART Paul Bird Motorsport
19 Michael Laverty 3 pts WAL ART Paul Bird Motorsport
20 Karel Abraham 1 pts CZE ART Cardion AB Motoracing
21 Hiroshi Aoyama 1 pts JPN FTR Avintia Blusens
22 Colin Edwards 1 pts USA FTR NGM Forward Racing
23 Lukas Pesek 0 pts CZE IODA Came IodaRacing Project
24 Claudio Corti 0 pts ITA FTR NGM Forward Racing
25 Bryan Staring 0 pts AUS HONDA Go & Fun Honda Gresini
26 Blake Young 0 pts USA APRILIA Attack Performance

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