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Jerez de la Frontera, July 25 (IANS) Fabio Quartararo (Petronas Yamaha SRT) has claimed back-to-back pole positions at the Circuito de Jerez-Angel Nieto thanks to a 1:37.007 in Q2 at the Gran Premio Red Bull de Andalucia.
Maverick Vinales (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) set a faster lap than the Championship leader, but his lap was cancelled due to exceeding track limits. There were no such troubles for third on the grid Francesco Bagnaia (Pramac Racing) though as the Italian picked up his maiden MotoGP front row.
Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) went out for an out-lap after completing 10 laps in FP4, but the reigning World Champion pulled in and went straight out the back of the box. The team confirmed via social media that he wasn't going to take any further part in Q1, with Repsol Honda confirming the number 93 won't be racing in Andalucia. Team Manager Alberto Puig said: "We won't take any more risks, Marc won't race."
Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) and Bagnaia set the first banker laps, but soon enough Vinales was at the summit with a 1:37.217. Quartararo responded by slotting into P2, before Bagnaia split the Yamaha riders as the Italian improved again. Heading into the pitlane, Vinales led Bagnaia and Quartararo by two tenths, with Binder, TakaakiNakagami (LCR Honda Idemitsu) and Q1 graduate Franco Morbidelli (Petronas Yamaha SRT) sitting on the provisional second row.
Because Pol Espargaro (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) had crashed at Turn 2, Vinales' first flying lap on his second run couldn't count because of the yellow flags. Unaffected by the yellow flags, Bagnaia - closely followed by Valentino Rossi (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) - improved his time to strengthen his claim of a first front row start, with The Doctor climbing to P5 before Nakagami displaced the nine-time World Champion.
Vinales was a tenth under Quartararo's pole time at the second time split but coming out of Turn 7, he was a centimetre too wide and was on the green asphalt. The Spanish GP runner-up completed his lap and beat Quartararo's time, but Race Direction immediately scrubbed the lap and Viñales stayed second, handing Quartararo his eighth MotoGP pole position - his third consecutive in Jerez.
--IANS
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