Jack Miller takes pole in Argentina

Jack Miller uses Ducati power to take pole
Jack Miller uses Ducati power to take pole

Jack Miller’s (Alma Pramac Racing) huge gamble to switch to slicks on a drying track certainly paid off, as he snatched his first ever MotoGP pole position off Repsol Honda rider Dani Pedrosa at the Gran Premio Motul de la Republica Argentina. Miller also becomes the first ever Ducati Independent Team rider to secure pole position.

Johann Zarco (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) was 0.212 seconds off the Australian’s time to put himself third on the grid and impress once again, with the Frenchman now having taken an incredible six front row starts in a row.

After impressing all weekend, Tito Rabat (Reale Avintia Racing) will launch from fourth – his best Premier Class qualifying by some margin. Team Suzuki Ecstar rider Alex Rins lines up fifth after a great session, while Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) couldn’t convert his superior Free Practice pace into pole – the reigning World Champion starts sixth. Initially heading out on his second run to gamble on slicks, the number 93 gave it one lap before coming back in to switch back to wets. “Too much risk," says a rider thinking of the Championship.

[adinserter name="GOOGLE AD"]Q1 graduate Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini) – who was the early pace setting in Q2 after eclipsing the Ducatis – heads up the third row of the grid in seventh. Championship leader Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team) starts eighth on the grid after progressing through from Q1, with Maverick Viñales (Movistar Yamaha MotoGP) lining up alongside the Italian in ninth.

After looking strong all weekend, Cal Crutchlow (LCR Honda Castrol) will aim to pick off some of the riders in front of him on Sunday when he shoots from tenth. Valentino Rossi (Movistar Yamaha MotoGP) couldn’t give the Termas de Rio Hondo grandstands a dream Saturday as he qualified in P11 – 0.022 back from Crutchlow. Andrea Iannone (Team Suzuki Ecstar) will start P12.

A breath-taking MotoGP qualifying session left the Ducati’s of Jorge Lorenzo (Ducati Team), who qualified P14, and Danilo Petrucci (Alma Pramac Racing) – who ended the day P18 – with plenty of work to do. Which three riders will you choose in your MotoGPâ„¢ League?

An unfamiliar looking grid sets us up for a spectacular race at the Termas de Rio Hondo circuit, as the lights go out at 15:00 (GMT -3) for the premier class boys to do battle

Lineup

Pos. Rider Num Nation Team Constructor Time/Gap
1 MILLER Jack 43 AUS Alma Pramac Racing Ducati 1'47.153
2 PEDROSA Dani 26 SPA Repsol Honda Team Honda 1'47.330
3 ZARCO Johann 5 FRA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha 1'47.365
4 RABAT Tito 53 SPA Reale Avintia Racing Ducati 1'47.681
5 RINS Alex 42 SPA Team Suzuki Ecstar Suzuki 1'47.743
6 MARQUEZ Marc 93 SPA Repsol Honda Team Honda 1'47.754
7 ESPARGARO Aleix 41 SPA Aprilia Racing Team Gresini Aprilia 1'47.845
8 DOVIZIOSO Andrea 4 ITA Ducati Team Ducati 1'48.247
9 VINALES Maverick 25 SPA Movistar Yamaha MotoGP Yamaha 1'49.044
10 CRUTCHLOW Cal 35 GBR LCR Honda Honda 1'49.304
11 ROSSI Valentino 46 ITA Movistar Yamaha MotoGP Yamaha 1'49.326
12 IANNONE Andrea 29 ITA Team Suzuki Ecstar Suzuki 1'49.975
13 ABRAHAM Karel 17 CZE Angel Nieto Team Ducati 1'49.878
14 LORENZO Jorge 99 SPA Ducati Team Ducati 1'50.063
15 REDDING Scott 45 GBR Aprilia Racing Team Gresini Aprilia 1'50.175
16 ESPARGARO Pol 44 SPA Red Bull KTM Factory Racing KTM 1'50.324
17 SIMEON Xavier 10 BEL Reale Avintia Racing Ducati 1'50.364
18 PETRUCCI Danilo 9 ITA Alma Pramac Racing Ducati 1'50.449
19 BAUTISTA Alvaro 19 SPA Angel Nieto Team Ducati 1'50.606
20 LUTHI Tom 12 SWI EG 0,0 Marc VDS Honda 1'50.833
21 SMITH Bradley 38 GBR Red Bull KTM Factory Racing KTM 1'51.007
22 MORBIDELLI Franco 21 ITA EG 0,0 Marc VDS Honda 1'51.012
23 SYAHRIN Hafizh 55 MAL Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha 1'51.142
24 NAKAGAMI Takaaki 30 JPN LCR Honda Honda 1'51.387