Vinales Beats Espargaro in Dramatic Misano MotoGP Qualifying
Madrid (Dsipatches) - Yamaha's Maverick Vinales took pole ahead of KTM standout Pol Espargaro in MotoGP qualifying at Misano, as tempers flared between Marc Marquez and Valentino Rossi.
Marquez, who had a crash in the FP4 session that preceded qualifying, was sat behind Rossi on his final Q2 lap and looked on course to secure a front row spot.
But after the championship leader overtook Rossi at Curvone, the Yamaha man closed back up after Marquez ran wide and launched it down the inside of the Honda man at the hairpin-like Turn 14, with both riders' laps compromised as Rossi ran wide.
Marquez was thus left fifth on the grid, five tenths off Vinales and two places up on Rossi.
Practice pace-setter Fabio Quartararo had taken the early lead in the Q2 pole shoot-out with a 1m32.686s, and bettered that with a 1m32.571s next time by as he and Franco Morbidelli made it a Petronas Yamaha 1-2 at the conclusion of the opening runs.
Morbidelli then looked set to challenge his teammate's benchmark, only to have his fastest lap thwarted by a slide that very nearly led to a highside.
But Quartararo himself likewise struggled to improve, and while he backed out of his final attempt, Espargaro - who had tucked in behind the rookie - eclipsed him with 1m32.560s.
This meant the Spaniard briefly held provisional pole for KTM, only for Vinales to find another three tenths for a 1m32.265s.
Marquez, who had a crash in the FP4 session that preceded qualifying, was sat behind Rossi on his final Q2 lap and looked on course to secure a front row spot.
But after the championship leader overtook Rossi at Curvone, the Yamaha man closed back up after Marquez ran wide and launched it down the inside of the Honda man at the hairpin-like Turn 14, with both riders' laps compromised as Rossi ran wide.
Marquez was thus left fifth on the grid, five tenths off Vinales and two places up on Rossi.
Practice pace-setter Fabio Quartararo had taken the early lead in the Q2 pole shoot-out with a 1m32.686s, and bettered that with a 1m32.571s next time by as he and Franco Morbidelli made it a Petronas Yamaha 1-2 at the conclusion of the opening runs.
Morbidelli then looked set to challenge his teammate's benchmark, only to have his fastest lap thwarted by a slide that very nearly led to a highside.
But Quartararo himself likewise struggled to improve, and while he backed out of his final attempt, Espargaro - who had tucked in behind the rookie - eclipsed him with 1m32.560s.
This meant the Spaniard briefly held provisional pole for KTM, only for Vinales to find another three tenths for a 1m32.265s.