Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) has taken pole position in Brno, overcoming an ominous-looking Jorge Lorenzo in the final minutes of Q2. Marquez, who topped Friday but had since been overshadowed by compatriot Lorenzo in FP3 and FP4, pulled out an incredible laptime in the session – including overtaking the provisional polesitter’s Yamaha teammate Valentino Rossi into the final corner in a spectacular move.
Marquez had an orange first sector after Lorenzo’s second attempt saw him move further clear at the top, before the timing screens went red in sector 2 and 3 – with the final part of the track the decider. With two tenths to play with, Marquez came up behind the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 of Pol Espargaro and Movistar Yamaha of Valentino Rossi at the final corner – and slotted between the two through the final apex.
Jorge Lorenzo has shown sublime form all Saturday in Brno, including proving the first man to break the lap record in FP3, and also topped FP4 before just losing the pole position to compatriot and championship rival Marc Marquez. Lorenzo’s race pace looks ominous however, with memories of Brno 2015 also sure to be high in rivals’ minds.
Andrea Iannone had an up and down Saturday before just pipping Aleix Espargaro (Team Suzuki Ecstar) to complete the front row, with a technical issue earlier in the day and a crash. Iannone was the last man to cross the line and had to wheel the bike back up pitlane to parc ferme after not having realized how far up the grid he had qualified.
