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Aleix Espargaro takes Assen pole in rain affected Q2

The MotoGP race at the Iveco Daily TT Assen will see Aleix Espargaro get away from pole position on the grid on Saturday, ahead of Marc Marquez and Dani Pedrosa on row one, after light rain disrupted Q2.

A group of riders were bunched up in an early dash from pit lane as they sensed light rain could become heavier right at the beginning of the Q2 run, with NGM Forward Racing’s Espargaro initially hanging behind that group and judging the conditions best for the first pole of his Grand Prix career.

The 1’38.789 time which took pole was over five seconds slower than the FP4 pace, whilst Repsol Honda pair Marquez and Pedrosa managed to get onto the front row despite trailing Espargaro by 1.4s and 1.9s respectively.

Another good effort from Andrea Iannone (Pramac Racing) put him at the front of the second row, where he will be joined by Cal Crutchlow (Ducati Team) – who sneaked through from Q1 and took advantage for fifth despite struggling in free practice.

Crutchlow’s compatriot and former teammate Bradley Smith (Monster Yamaha Tech3) completes row two, ahead of Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team), Stefan Bradl (LCR Honda MotoGP) and Jorge Lorenzo (Movistar Yamaha MotoGP) who are all on the third row.

Alvaro Bautista (GO&FUN Honda Gresini), Pol Espargaro (Monster Yamaha Tech3) and Valentino Rossi (Movistar Yamaha MotoGP) were all four seconds down on the pole time and will therefore all be on the fourth row.

Several riders even switched to wet tires before the end of the session as the rain got heavier, but fortunately there were no crashes despite the tricky conditions.

Lineup

Pos. Rider Num. Nation Team Constructor Time
1 Aleix Espargaro 41 ESP NGM Mobile Forward Racing YAMAHA 1'38.789
2 Marc Marquez 93 ESP Repsol Honda Team HONDA 1'40.194
3 Dani Pedrosa 26 ESP Repsol Honda Team HONDA 1'40.732
4 Andrea Iannone 29 ITA Pramac Racing DUCATI 1'40.786
5 Cal Crutchlow 35 GBR Ducati Team DUCATI 1'40.796
6 Bradley Smith 38 GBR Monster Yamaha Tech 3 YAMAHA 1'40.818
7 Andrea Dovizioso 4 ITA Ducati Team DUCATI 1'41.140
8 Stefan Bradl 6 GER LCR Honda MotoGP HONDA 1'41.982
9 Jorge Lorenzo 99 ESP Yamaha Factory Racing YAMAHA 1'42.259
10 Alvaro Bautista 19 ESP Go & Fun Honda Gresini HONDA 1'42.884
11 Pol Espargaro 44 ESP Monster Yamaha Tech 3 YAMAHA 1'43.085
12 Valentino Rossi 46 ITA Yamaha Factory YAMAHA 1'43.625
13 Karel Abraham 17 CZE Cardion AB Motoracing HONDA 1'34.907
14 Hiroshi Aoyama 7 JPN Drive M7 Aspar HONDA 1'34.930
15 Yonny Hernandez 68 COL Pramac Racing DUCATI 1'35.056
16 Scott Redding 45 GBR Go & Fun Honda Gresini HONDA 1'35.059
17 Danilo Petrucci 9 ITA IodaRacing Project IODA-SUTER 1'35.346
18 Colin Edwards 5 USA NGM Mobile Forward Racing YAMAHA 1'35.484
19 Broc Parkes 23 AUS Paul Bird Motorsport PBM 1'35.513
20 Hector Barbera 8 ESP Avintia Racing MotoGP FTR-KAWASAKI 1'35.631
21 Michael Laverty 70 GBR Paul Bird Motorsport ART & PBM 1'35.731
22 Nicky Hayden 69 USA Drive M7 Aspar HONDA 1'35.792
23 Mike Di Meglio 63 FRA Avintia Racing MotoGP FTR-KAWASAKI 1'35.980