Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/841483
maltatoday SUNDAY, 25 JUNE 2017 Sport 50 TECH 3 rookie Johann Zarco claimed his maiden MotoGP pole position during a wet qual- if ying session for the Dutch Grand Prix at Assen. Zarco clocked a time of 1:46.141 to wind up 0.065s fast- er than reigning World Cham- pion Marc Márquez, with Pra- mac's Danilo Petrucci in third. Petrucci set a sequence of rapid times early on in Q2 to grab provisional pole but he was shuff led down by Zarco and Márquez during the clos- ing stages. Valentino Rossi took fourth, while Scott Redding crashed at the final chicane en route to fifth spot, with Jonas Folger completing a strong day for Tech 3 in sixth. Álvaro Bautista, Cal Crutch- low and Andrea Dovizioso will form the third row of the grid, the Ducati rider having recov- ered from a crash at Turn 8. Aprilia's Sam Lowes made it through to Q2 for the first time and challenged for the second row, but an engine failure de- nied him a final effort and he slipped down to 10th. Championship leader Mav- erick Viñales was never a con- tender for pole position and took a low-key 11th, while Dani Pedrosa was the slowest Q2 runner and will start from 12th. Andrea Iannone narrowly missed out on a Q2 slot and will line up from 13th on the grid, ahead of 2016 Dutch Grand Prix victor Jack Miller. Loris Baz was on course for a Q2 slot but his lap faded in the final sector and he wound up 15th, in front of Aleix Espar- garó and Suzuki 's Álex Rins, returning after a lengthy injury layoff. Karel Abraham was 18th, while Pol Espargaró took 19th before crashing in the final minute. Héctor Barberá claimed 20th, while Jorge Lorenzo's difficult season continued as he failed to make the top 10 during Friday's dry sessions, leading to him partaking in Q1. Lorenzo was only 11th fastest in the first 15-minute session, meaning he will start the race from a lowly 21st on the grid, his worst qualif ying perfor- mance in MotoGP. KTM's Bradley Smith and Marc VDS' Tito Rabat were the slowest runners in Q1 as they finished 22nd and 23rd respec- tively. MOTOGP Zarco stuns Assen for first MotoGP pole French rookie lights up the TT Circuit Assen for an incredible first premier class pole position 2017 Dutch MotoGP Grand Prix - Qualifying Pos Driver Team Time Laps 1. J. Zarco Tech 3 01:46.141 8 2. M. Marquez Repsol Honda 01:46.206 8 3. D. Petrucci Pramac 01:46.526 8 4. V. Rossi Yamaha 01:46.705 8 5. S. Redding Pramac 01:47.574 6 6. J. Folger Tech 3 01:47.663 8 7. A. Bautista Aspar 01:47.812 9 8. C. Crutchlow LCR Honda 01:48.042 8 9. A. Dovizioso Ducati 01:48.079 7 10. S. Lowes Aprilia 01:48.128 6 11. M. Viñales Yamaha 01:48.266 8 12. D. Pedrosa Repsol Honda 01:49.623 8