Malaysian MotoGP: Top 5 quotes after qualifying
Andrea Dovizioso powers to a superb pole position for the Malaysia Grand Prix at Sepang.
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
| Cla | # | Rider | Bike | Time | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 |  Andrea Dovizioso |
Ducati | 2'11.485 | |
| “It was a really strange qualifying session, I reckon I was the only one to fit a soft rear tyre on the first run, and I wasn’t sure that I had made the right choice. Instead our strategy worked well because we were able to immediately set the best time, on my first lap, without even pushing that hard. Then I stopped to try the hard tyre and I didn’t think I could improve. Instead I managed to do so and I am really happy because I even think that with an extra lap I could have gone even faster.” | |||||
| 2 | 46 | Valentino Rossi |
Yamaha | 2'11.731 | 0.246 |
| "It was a difficult session and completely different from normal. In qualifying you usually have two laps and after that another new tyre and another two laps. Today we had to start, try to not make any mistakes, put temperature into the tyres, but at the same time you have to push. Second place is very good. I feel comfortable, especially because we improved both the setting and the braking compared to the FP4. We have to work, but starting from the front row is very good." | |||||
| 3 | 99 |  Jorge Lorenzo |
Yamaha | 2'11.787 | 0.302 |
| "In Sepang, in the rain, I‘ve always been fast, so it doesn‘t surprise me that this weekend I would be competitive in the rain, because the grip of the track is very good. Maybe I pushed a bit too much in the beginning. On some laps I could have slowed down to cool down the tyres to attack on the last lap, but I didn‘t do this, I just kept running and at the end the tyre was too hot to improve the last three or four tenths. Anyway it‘s a good position, third place in the rain, and I‘m quite happy." | |||||
| 4 | 93 | Marc Marquez |
Honda | 2'11.874 | 0.389 |
| “Today has been a good day; I feel rather better than yesterday, thanks to the doctors, and that's important. I am gradually regaining strength and I’m sure tomorrow I will be better still. In the morning, in the dry, I felt good. In the afternoon, as we missed yesterday’s session in the wet, we felt it a little. However, in FP4 I felt pretty good, although for Q2 I still wanted to do better and for that reason we made a couple of changes to the setup – which didn’t end up working as we were hoping for. Anyway I think that in both dry and wet conditions we are ready to fight for the podium.” | |||||
| 5 | 35 |  Cal Crutchlow |
Honda | 2'12.558 | 1.073 |
| “I think today we salvaged a second-row position after a disastrous qualifying for me when I crashed in the really tricky conditions. Everybody was completely at the limit and the tyres weren’t working so well in the hotter conditions. In FP4 they were fantastic, then in the Q1 session they were getting worse and by Q2 worse again. I made a mistake in Q2 by slipping off, and I think I did well to get back on the bike because the handlebar was totally bent and the brake lever completely pointing down. To ride the bike with the handlebar as bad as this and still improve the lap time was quite good, but a little dangerous, so I don’t plan on doing it again! I had to make sure I wasn’t 12th on the grid though. Now we have to look forward to tomorrow, we have a good pace in the dry and a good pace in the rain too so, let’s see what happens.” | |||||
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