2012 Misano MotoGP Qualifying Practice Result: Three-Way Pole Battle Settled In Final Moments

Submitted by David Emmett on Sat, 2012-09-15 13:13
in

Results and summary of qualifying for the MotoGP class at Misano:

Dani Pedrosa has secured his fourth pole of the season, taking top qualifying spot after a fascinating battle for the top qualifying spot. The battle for pole started later than usual, the riders taking advantage of the first fully dry track of weekend so far to catch up on the set up work they had missed due to the damp conditions during free practice. It intensified with 15 minutes to go, reaching a crescendo with 5 minutes to go.

Pedrosa had led for much of the session, but his position came under attack from Jorge Lorenzo. Then Lorenzo was toppled from provisional pole, with a brilliant lap from LCR Honda's Stefan Bradl. Bradl's time would stand for five minutes or so, before coming under attack from Cal Crutchlow. But in the final minute, pole would be settled in a straight showdown between Jorge Lorenzo and Dani Pedrosa, Pedrosa finally coming out on top.

Lorenzo starts from 2nd, just missing out in the final section and conceding pole by eighteen hundredths of a second. Cal Crutchlow starts from the front row for the second race in a row, ending qualifying in 3rd. Stefan Bradl heads up the second row, starting from 4th, just ahead of a strong showing by Alvaro Bautista, doing well at Gresini's home race. The new parts Valentino Rossi received for the Ducati appear to have improved the Italian's fortunes, as he will start from 6th, though the gap to Pedrosa is over three quarters of a second.

Andrea Dovizioso heads up the third row, ahead of Ben Spies and a strong showing by Jonathan Rea. Rea has quickly closed the gap to the MotoGP regulars, and lapped just over a third of a second slower than the factory Yamaha man Ben Spies. Nicky Hayden will start from 10th, struggling with a fractured metacarpal bone in his right hand.

Results:

Pos No. Rider Bike Time Diff Diff Previous
1 26 Dani PEDROSA HONDA 1'33.857    
2 99 Jorge LORENZO YAMAHA 1'33.875 0.018 0.018
3 35 Cal CRUTCHLOW YAMAHA 1'34.001 0.144 0.126
4 6 Stefan BRADL HONDA 1'34.221 0.364 0.220
5 19 Alvaro BAUTISTA HONDA 1'34.299 0.442 0.078
6 46 Valentino ROSSI DUCATI 1'34.619 0.762 0.320
7 4 Andrea DOVIZIOSO YAMAHA 1'34.916 1.059 0.297
8 11 Ben SPIES YAMAHA 1'34.988 1.131 0.072
9 56 Jonathan REA HONDA 1'35.358 1.501 0.370
10 69 Nicky HAYDEN DUCATI 1'35.401 1.544 0.043
11 17 Karel ABRAHAM DUCATI 1'35.648 1.791 0.247
12 14 Randy DE PUNIET ART 1'35.756 1.899 0.108
13 8 Hector BARBERA DUCATI 1'36.048 2.191 0.292
14 41 Aleix ESPARGARO ART 1'36.284 2.427 0.236
15 51 Michele PIRRO FTR 1'36.340 2.483 0.056
16 77 James ELLISON ART 1'37.124 3.267 0.784
17 54 Mattia PASINI ART 1'37.162 3.305 0.038
18 68 Yonny HERNANDEZ BQR 1'37.316 3.459 0.154
19 9 Danilo PETRUCCI IODA-SUTER 1'37.751 3.894 0.435
20 5 Colin EDWARDS SUTER 1'38.068 4.211 0.317
21 44 David SALOM BQR 1'40.075 6.218 2.007

 

Round Number: 
13
2012
Results and summary of qualifying for the MotoGP class at Misano:

Comments

Ducati's top speed

Submitted by javi on Sat, 2012-09-15 13:18.

Here a strange fact (or not so much); Rossi and Hayden where both about 9 km/h slower than Pedrosa (top speed). Looks like the new bike still lacks grip at the rear.

Total votes: 32

Kudos

Submitted by v4racer on Sat, 2012-09-15 14:29.

Great work from Rea!

Come on Dani!!!

Total votes: 21

Good Action

Submitted by whorida002000 on Sat, 2012-09-15 17:40.

Those last few minutes of that qualifying session were quite entertaining. Dani Pedrosa seems to be on a roll. Never seen him this consistant.

Total votes: 19

Did prezzy and furasawa have

Submitted by Hugelean on Sun, 2012-09-16 12:15.

Did prezzy and furasawa have a deeper conversation than they let on ??

Total votes: 18

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