Misano Adriatico (Italy) (AFP)
Spaniard Maverick Vinales will start from pole position in the MotoGP Grand Prix of San Marino on Sunday, ahead of Italian Franco Morbidelli, but Frenchman Fabio Quartararo has kept his chances of increasing his championship lead by qualifying third.
Vinales broke the absolute track record on Saturday with a time of 1 min 31 sec.
411 / 1000th and the Yamaha took the first four positions on the grid, the veteran Italian Valentino Rossi, 41, securing the 4th fastest time after taking the best in the 3rd free practice session in the morning.
"I was absolutely at the limit and I got the most out of the bike. I feel very good on the bike," said the Spaniard, who is however used to missing his starts on race day.
"I especially want to have fun and have the best possible performance" in the race, said Vinales on Saturday, currently 5th in the world championship standings.
Championship leader Quartararo had dominated free practice since Friday but was unable to counter Vinales in qualifying and was even overtaken by teammate Morbidelli.
"I'm happy even though I thought I would feel better but the front wheel slipped in some corners and that surprised me a bit. The most important thing is to be in the front row," said the young Frenchman who had finished 2nd last year on the same track, also starting from the first row.
His closest rival in the championship, the Italian Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati), could not do better than 9th and will start from the 3rd row on Sunday.
"The Ducatis are not at their best in Misano but they are more consistent than us," said the driver from Nice, adding that it was important for this reason to get the maximum number of points at Misano.
The other French rider engaged in MotoGP, Johann Zarco (Ducati-Avintia), will for his part occupy the 10th position on the grid.
"We need a little more time to find the settings that are most favorable to me to ride the bike perfectly and find myself regularly in the top 5," he said on Saturday.
- The KTMs disappoint -
The disappointment came from the KTMs with only an 11th place for Pol Espargaro on a factory machine.
The Spaniard crashed at the start of the qualifying session after having to go through Q1 and was unable to complete a timed lap until the very end of the session.
The Portuguese Miguel Oliveira, winner of the last Grand Prix of Styria, obtained the 12th time on a KTM of the French satellite team Tech3.
For the first time since the start of the season, a small audience is admitted to the Misano circuit.
He is totally committed to the cause of Valentino Rossi, 41, the local of the stage.
The latter announced on Friday that he would be "99%" still present in MotoGP next year.
He will most likely drive for the Yamaha-SRT team for which Fabio Quartararo is currently racing, who must for his part take his place in the Yamaha factory team.
The French pilot paid tribute to Valentino Rossi on Saturday for his performances.
After five events, Quartararo is three points ahead of Dovizisio after winning the first two events but recording poor results in the last two.
The good performances of the Yamaha at Misano, however, give them hopes for the race and to increase their lead in the championship before the next GP, that of Emilia-Romagna, which will be contested on the same circuit in a week.
Six-time world champion and title holder, the Spaniard Marc Marquez is still far from the circuits due to a fractured right arm suffered during the first event of the season and his Honda team find themselves relegated to the back of the grid in his absence, his younger brother Alex Marquez having achieved only the 21st time on Saturday and Stefan Bradl the 19th.
Briton Cal Crutchlow (Honda-LCR) also had to forfeit qualifying and the race on Sunday.
He still has pain in his arm after an operation which is proving difficult to heal.
© 2020 AFP