MotoGP 2018: Zarco draws first blood, grabs Qatar pole

Johann Zarco smashes 10-year-old circuit record to grab pole position for the season opener in Qatar. 

MotoGP is finally back as the 2018 season is now underway at Qatar. And suffice it to say, the new season has kicked off with a bang! The rookie sensation of 2017, Johann Zarco, has straightaway got down to business as he grabbed the first pole of this year at Qatar. What’s more impressive is that Zarco smashed the ten-year-long circuit lap record to score this pole position. Not to mention, he yet again outclassed the Factory Yamaha riders despite being running a satellite bike. Reigning champion Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda) finished second, while Pramac Ducati’s Danilo Petrucci completed the top three.

During the practice and qualifying session, it was clear that the top ten riders were all very close – in FP4, the top nine riders were separated by only half a second. For most of the part, though, the Ducatis looked stronger than the rest, especially Andrea Dovizioso (Factory Ducati) and Petrucci. In fact, Dovizioso was on pole until the very last minute with a 1:54.074 lap time. However, in the last minutes, the game changed and how! Zarco pulled a stunner out of nowhere as he clocked 1:53.680 – which is three-tenths faster than Lorenzo’s track record from 10 years ago! Not only that, both Marquez and Petrucci were also able to beat the track record, seconds after Zarco’s record run.

LCR Honda’s Cal Crutchlow was quite impressive as well as he nudged past Dovizioso by 0.002s to grab the fourth spot on the grid. Joining Crutchlow and Dovizioso in the second row will be Suzuki’s Alex Rins in sixth place. Rins looked quite strong in practice and was consistently fast over the weekend.

Dani Pedrosa of Repsol Honda will lead the third row in seventh, ahead of Valentino Rossi (8^th) and Jorge Lorenzo (9^th). Jack Miller will start from tenth, while last year’s winner here, Maverick Vinales (Factory Yamaha) is placed 12^th.

Again, the top 10 riders have only a second between them, so it could be anyone’s race tomorrow. Expect a tight battle at the season opener!