MotoGP: Qualifying Bodes Well for the San Marino GP

Not too hot, not to cold…that’s Misano for Saturday’s qualifying event. After seeing Friday’s FP1 & FP2 sessions obliterated by a damp, but not wet, track, MotoGP riders found things for Saturday to be just right. The first chance for Jonathan Rea to get a proper go at the Honda RC213V, the Honda WSBK rider is merely “filling in” for the injured Casey Stoner, but many in the paddock believe that a good showing from Rea could land him on the Honda Gresini machine for next year — the last prototype seat in MotoGP still available.

While we will undoubtedly have to wait a bit longer to see that seat filled and sorted, the big attention for the day was the battle between the two Spaniards, as Dani Pedrosa is running out of rounds to catch up to rival Jorge Lorenzo in the Championship. Needing a win this weekend to keep those hopes alive, many GP fans are hoping for another battle between the two riders, like the one we recently saw in Brno. If the qualifying session is any proof of the matter, racing on Sunday should be quite good.

The Dani Pedrosa Show for the majority of the hour-long session, qualifying for the San Marino GP showed a strong pace from Jorge Lorenzo, as well as moments of clarity for Cal Crutchlow and Stefan Bradl. The Englishman has another front-row start, while Bradl continues to impress in his rookie debut. Meanwhile, Ben Spies’s bad luck continued, as the American crash mid-session, and had to complete qualifying on his “B” bike, which had a different setup from his peppy “A” machine.

Qualifying Results from the San Marino GP at Misano, Italy:

Pos.	Rider	Nation	Team	Bike	KM/H	Time	Diff.
1	Dani PEDROSA	SPA	Repsol Honda Team	Honda	289.4	1’33.857	–
2	Jorge LORENZO	SPA	Yamaha Factory Racing	Yamaha	284.1	1’33.875	0.018
3	Cal CRUTCHLOW	GBR	Monster Yamaha Tech 3	Yamaha	283.2	1’34.001	0.144
4	Stefan BRADL	GER	LCR Honda MotoGP	Honda	284.1	1’34.221	0.364
5	Alvaro BAUTISTA	SPA	San Carlo Honda Gresini	Honda	283.4	1’34.299	0.442
6	Valentino ROSSI	ITA	Ducati Team	Ducati	280.7	1’34.619	0.762
7	Andrea DOVIZIOSO	ITA	Monster Yamaha Tech 3	Yamaha	281.0	1’34.916	1.059
8	Ben SPIES	USA	Yamaha Factory Racing	Yamaha	285.9	1’34.988	1.131
9	Jonathan REA	GBR	Repsol Honda Team	Honda	285.6	1’35.358	1.501
10	Nicky HAYDEN	USA	Ducati Team	Ducati	280.0	1’35.401	1.544
11	Karel ABRAHAM	CZE	Cardion AB Motoracing	Ducati	281.9	1’35.648	1.791
12	Randy DE PUNIET	FRA	Power Electronics Aspar	ART	269.1	1’35.756	1.899
13	Hector BARBERA	SPA	Pramac Racing Team	Ducati	284.6	1’36.048	2.191
14	Aleix ESPARGARO	SPA	Power Electronics Aspar	ART	268.7	1’36.284	2.427
15	Michele PIRRO	ITA	San Carlo Honda Gresini	FTR	271.1	1’36.340	2.483
16	James ELLISON	GBR	Paul Bird Motorsport	ART	266.1	1’37.124	3.267
17	Mattia PASINI	ITA	Speed Master	ART	267.1	1’37.162	3.305
18	Yonny HERNANDEZ	COL	Avintia Blusens	BQR	266.3	1’37.316	3.459
19	Danilo PETRUCCI	ITA	Came IodaRacing Project	Ioda-Suter	265.0	1’37.751	3.894
20	Colin EDWARDS	USA	NGM Mobile Forward Racing	Suter	265.3	1’38.068	4.211
21	David SALOM	SPA	Avintia Blusens	BQR	266.1	1’40.075	6.218