Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/513060
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 17 MAY 2015 55 THE final qualif ying session leaves the Honda rider first, but Lorenzo demonstrated a consist- ent pace that could prove useful on race day... The final qualif ying session of the Monster Energy Grand Prix sees Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) back in pole posi- tion for the third time this sea- son. He was over half a second quicker than Andrea Dovizio- so (Ducati Team), with Jorge Lorenzo (Movistar Yamaha Mo- toGP) left to take third place on the front row in Sunday's race. The pole position changed hands several times during the final round, but Marquez dropped his time to 1'32.246 to take his third pole position of the season. The World Cham- pion clearly sees Lorenzo as a threat though: "In qualif ying we used the best setup that we had found. We were lucky that the track was in good condi- tion which allowed me to ride normally. I am happy with pole position and tomorrow a tough race awaits us, because Jorge especially has a very good pace. We will try to be as close to him as we can!" Lorenzo seems to agree, be- lieving he can do better: "The conditions were difficult on the track, you have to be care- ful with slicks and stay confi- dent. We were lucky on the last lap to have 99% of the track dry and I pushed quite a bit. It was a pity that I didn't ride any good laps and was slower than I was in FP3. I made a mistake in sec- tor three and lost probably half a second, but I was lucky not to go outside of the track and ride a very good sector four, which put me on the first row." Dovizioso was satisfied with a front row start, but also believes he has more pace to extract: "The front row is fine and it is also very important because in MotoGP it's always essential to start as far up the grid as pos- sible. I could probably have been a bit closer to Marquez and try and go for pole, but in any case I set a good lap time". The second row will be headed by Cal Crutchlow (CWM-LCR Honda). The Brit has remained among the fastest in the week- end 's practice sessions. His po- sition also places him as the best satellite rider, ahead of country- man Bradley Smith (Monster Yamaha Tech 3), who was sixth after leading FP2 on Friday. Between Crutchlow and Smith, Andrea Iannone (Ducati Team) managed a creditable fifth. As we have seen in Free Practice, the rider is recovering after dislocating his shoulder during testing in Mugello. Valentino Rossi (Movistar Yamaha MotoGP) will start sev- enth in the attempt to defend his lead in the championship stand- ings. His main rivals, Marquez and Lorenzo, will start the race way ahead on the front row, so his chances will lie in choosing the right tyre and an aggressive initial push to avoid losing the front runners. Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda Team) continues his comeback after undergoing surgery to solve the problems in his right forearm. Tomorrow he starts from a respectable 8th on the grid and he appears happy with his pace: "This first qualif ying session back has not gone badly. We could have gone a little fast- er but in the end I didn't quite manage it. The positive news is that today I am feeling a little better physically than yesterday and that's a good thing!" Sport Starting Grid -2015 French MotoGP Grand Prix Pos Driver Team Time Laps 1. M. Marquez Repsol Honda 01:32.246 9 2. A. Dovizioso Ducati 01:32.749 8 3. J. Lorenzo Yamaha 01:32.846 8 4. C. Crutchlow LCR 01:32.897 9 5. A. Iannone Ducati 01:33.001 9 6. B. Smith Tech 3 01:33.299 9 7. V. Rossi Yamaha 01:33.352 9 8. D. Pedrosa Repsol Honda 01:33.419 9 9. D. Petrucci Pramac 01:33.556 9 10. A. Espargaro Suzuki 01:33.665 6 11. Y. Hernandez Pramac 01:33.714 9 12. P. Espargaro Tech 3 01:33.724 8 MOTOGP Marquez overshadows all to claim pole Dovizioso, Marquez and Lorenzo