from Twowheelsblog
Getting stung by a wasp in FP4 must have given Dani Pedrosa some extra sting as he wasn’t only fastest rider in today’s exciting qualifying session at the Circuito de Catalunya, he also shattered Casey’s Stoner 2008 lap record (when real qualifying tires still exsisted) by almost three tenths of second, taking his second consecutive pole position of the season.
Pedrosa qualifying lap in 1.40.893 was so stunning that Cal Crutchlow who qualified in second - and edged out Yamaha factory rider Jorge Lorenzo in his last flying lap by 0.065s, was more than six tenths adrift!
Lorenzo loosing control is something that you never see nowadays. The Spaniard at the the start of QP2 session was forced to return to his garage as his first bike had some sort of technical problem - it seemed a clutch issue - and he had to use his spare bike to post the third best time and close out the front row.
Alvaro Bautista’s weekend further improved as he qualified fourth - his best this season - and ahead of an excellent Nicky Hayden and strangely enough Marc Marquez in sixth, especially after his top position in FP3-
Valentino Rossi will open the third row in 7th - his usual and struggling qualifying position - and he’ll have two Ducati’s rider next to him, Andrea Iannone (who used a tow by Pedrosa) and Andrea Dovizioso (9th - after his two front rows at Le Mands and Mugello) and who was 1.160s from the top of the timesheets.
Closing out the top 12 of QP2 were Stefan Bradl, Bradley Smith and Aleix Espargaro.
2013 MotoGP Catalunya QP2 results:
01- Dani Pedrosa – Repsol Honda Team – Honda RC213V – 1’40.893
02- Cal Crutchlow – Monster Yamaha Tech 3 – Yamaha YZR M1 – + 0.608
03- Jorge Lorenzo – Yamaha Factory Racing – Yamaha YZR M1 – + 0.673
04- Alvaro Bautista – GO&FUN Honda Gresini – Honda RC213V – + 0.821
05- Nicky Hayden – Ducati Team – Ducati Desmosedici GP13 – + 0.907
06- Marc Marquez – Repsol Honda Team – Honda RC213V – + 0.949
07- Valentino Rossi – Yamaha Factory Racing – Yamaha YZR M1 – + 1.066
08- Andrea Iannone – Energy T.I. Pramac Racing – Ducati Desmosedici GP13 – + 1.070
09- Andrea Dovizioso – Ducati Team – Ducati Desmosedici GP13 – + 1.160
10- Stefan Bradl – LCR Honda MotoGP – Honda RC213V – + 1.197
02- Cal Crutchlow – Monster Yamaha Tech 3 – Yamaha YZR M1 – + 0.608
03- Jorge Lorenzo – Yamaha Factory Racing – Yamaha YZR M1 – + 0.673
04- Alvaro Bautista – GO&FUN Honda Gresini – Honda RC213V – + 0.821
05- Nicky Hayden – Ducati Team – Ducati Desmosedici GP13 – + 0.907
06- Marc Marquez – Repsol Honda Team – Honda RC213V – + 0.949
07- Valentino Rossi – Yamaha Factory Racing – Yamaha YZR M1 – + 1.066
08- Andrea Iannone – Energy T.I. Pramac Racing – Ducati Desmosedici GP13 – + 1.070
09- Andrea Dovizioso – Ducati Team – Ducati Desmosedici GP13 – + 1.160
10- Stefan Bradl – LCR Honda MotoGP – Honda RC213V – + 1.197
