ALEIX ESPARGARÓ RIDES OUTSTANDING QUALIFIERS BUT MISSES Q2 BY 40 THOUSANDTHS. HE WILL START FROM THE FIRST SPOT ON THE FIFTH ROW
NINTH ROW FOR REDDING, HINDERED BY POOR GRIP
The outcome of Espargaró's assault on Q2 was decided twice by thousandths of a second. In the morning in FP3, when he missed going straight through to the final qualifiers by 82 thousandths and then in Q1 when a pass on the decisive lap forced him into third place with a time of 1'38.389, just 40 thousandths behind Viñales, who took the spot that pushed him through Q2. Aleix is well aware of the potential to have an Aprilia RS-GP in the race tomorrow ready to make a play for his chances, partially because of the good pace achieved on used tyres in the last free practice session.
Scott Redding finished with a time of 1'39.918, hindered by a lack of grip today, and he will start from the ninth row.