Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/598356
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 8 NOVEMBER 2015 57 MOTOGP Sport Jorge Lorenzo smashes lap record, Rossi crashes in Valencia qualifying Jorge Lorenzo smashed the lap record on his way to pole ahead of Marquez and Pedrosa, as Rossi crashes and finishes Q2 in 12th JORGE Lorenzo set a new lap record at the Ricardo Tormo Circuit in Valencia as he surged to pole position for the Mo- toGP title decider, while rival Valentino Rossi crashed. Lorenzo posted two laps quick enough for pole position, the fastest a 1:30.011 to fin- ish half a second clear of Marc Márquez. Rossi finished last in Q2, aca- demic due to his grid penalty, but fell at Turn 8 during the closing stages as his team-mate romped to top spot. Dani Pedrosa was third for Honda, as Suzuki rider Aleix Espargaró scored fourth posi- tion after progressing from Q1. Cal Crutchlow collected fifth for LCR Honda, ahead of Brad- ley Smith and Ducati's Andrea Iannone. Pol Espargaró will start the race from eighth position, in front of Andrea Dovizioso and Danilo Petrucci. Maverick Viñales suffered a huge crash in Q1 but remount- ed and qualified for Q2, where he set the 11th best time. Ducati wild card rider Michele Pirro was the quickest of the riders who was unable to progress through to Q2 but will start from 12th place due to Rossi's penalty. Stefan Bradl will line-up from 13th position from Aprilia, while Héctor Barberá crashed at Turn 2 en-route to 14th spot. Loris Baz's Forward swan- song will get underway from 15th place on the grid, ahead of Nicky Hayden, who will move to World Superbikes next year. Yonny Hernández is set to start from 17th, ahead of Álvaro Bautista and Scott Redding, who slid out at Turn 1 during the fourth practice session. Jack Miller, Mike di Meglio, Anthony West, Eugene Laverty – who suffered a crash early on at Turn 4 – Toni Elias and Broc Parkes completed the runners. As a result of his sanction, Rossi will start the race from 26th position on the grid as he bids to hold on to his champi- onship lead. Jorge Lorenzo 2015 Valencian MotoGP Grand Prix Pos Driver Team Time Laps 1. J. Lorenzo Yamaha 01:30.011 8 2. M. Marquez Repsol Honda 01:30.499 8 3. D. Pedrosa Repsol Honda 01:30.516 8 4. A. Espargaro Suzuki 01:30.917 7 5. C. Crutchlow LCR 01:30.948 7 6. B. Smith Tech 3 01:31.012 9 7. A. Iannone Ducati 01:31.056 9 8. P. Espargaro Tech 3 01:31.080 8 9. A. Dovizioso Ducati 01:31.245 8 10. D. Petrucci Pramac 01:31.292 8 11. M. Vinales Suzuki 01:31.340 7 12. V. Rossi Yamaha 01:31.471 6 MotoGP reveals 22-bike entry list for 2016 MOTOGP organisers have re- vealed a provisional 22-bike entry list for the 2016 season, officially confirming the ex- pected departures of Forward Yamaha and AB Motoracing. The bulk of the field had al- ready been confirmed prior to this weekend's finale, with no major rider changes among the leading teams. Forward Yamaha and AB Motoracing, which has pre- dominantly fielded Karel Ab- raham in recent years, will leave the category, reducing the number of full-time riders from 25 to 22. The factory Yamaha, Honda, Ducati, Suzuki and Aprilia squads will feature unchanged line-ups next year, as will Tech 3. Forward Yamaha refugee Loris Baz has switched to Av- intia alongside Héctor Bar- berá, while Yonny Hernández has moved to Aspar to join Eu- gene Laverty. Scott Redding will link up with Danilo Petrucci at Pramac Ducati, allowing Jack Miller to switch from LCR Honda to Marc VDS Racing. The Belgian squad will ex- pand to two bikes next year, allowing 2014 Moto2 champi- on Tito Rabat to join the field: he is the only rider set to debut in the category. The entry list also confirms that Alex de Angelis, who is currently recovering from in- juries he sustained in Japan, will again be the solo rider for Ioda. MotoGP entry list for 2016 season: 4 A. Dovizioso / Ducati Racing Team / Ducati 6 S. Bradl / Aprilia Racing Team Gresini / Aprilia 8 H. Barberá / Avintia Racing / Ducati 9 D. Petrucci / Octo Pramac Racing / Ducati 15 A. De Angelis / Iodaracing Project / ART 19 A. Bautista / Aprilia Racing Team Gresini / Aprilia 25 M. Viñales / Team Suzuki Ecstar / Suzuki 26 D. Pedrosa / Repsol Honda Team / Honda 29 A. Iannone / Ducati Racing Team / Ducati 35 C. Crutchlow / LCR Honda / Honda 38 B. Smith / Monster Yamaha Tech 3 / Yamaha 41 A. Espargaró / Team Suzuki Ecstar / Suzuki 43 J. Miller / Marc VDS Racing Team / Honda 44 P. Espargaró / Monster Yamaha Tech 3 / Yamaha 45 S. Redding / Octo Pramac Racing / Honda 46 V. Rossi / Movistar Yamaha / Yamaha 50 E. Laverty / Aspar MotoGP Team / Ducati 53 T. Rabat / Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS / Honda 68 Y. Hernández / Aspar MotoGP Team / Ducati 76 L. Baz / Avintia Racing / Ducati 93 M. Márquez / Repsol Honda Team / Honda 99 J. Lorenzo / Movistar Yamaha / Yamaha