Andrea Dovizioso put in a superb lap at the Automotodrom circuit in Brno to clinch pole position for the Czech Grand Prix.
The Ducati Team rider set a time of 1’54.689 on his second run in Q2 and will start from pole for the tenth round of the season, which gets underway on Sunday at 14.00 CET over a distance of 21 laps. The last time Dovizioso set the quickest time in qualifying was the Malaysian GP in 2016, and the last time a Ducati was on pole in Brno was even further back, in 2008 with Casey Stoner. This morning Andrea set the tenth time in FP3 to move straight into the Q2 session in the afternoon.
Fourth place on the grid and a row 2 start goes to Jorge Lorenzo, who this morning was third overall in the combined three free practice sessions. The Spanish rider set a best time of 1’55.038 during his second run in Q2.
Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team #04): 1st (1’54.689)
“Until now it’s been an almost perfect weekend! We immediately started off quickly and this allowed us to work calmly for the race and arrive competitive in qualifying. More than the pole position, which is in any case important, I’m pleased with the time that we did. I didn’t expect to set this lap time, but when the others began to push hard I realised that my bike was so quick and I could push really hard as well. The Desmosedici responded well and I set an extraordinary time. For the race it’s not easy to understand who’s going to be in a good position, but my feeling is very good.”
Jorge Lorenzo (Ducati Team #99): 4th (1’55.038)
“Today I’m very pleased because we were able to overturn the situation we found ourselves in yesterday. The modifications we made to the bike gave good results this morning, I found the bike easier to ride and I could lap with more confidence, using the new fairings which help in this sense. What is more important however is the step forward we’ve made: we came very close to the front row and we will start from fourth, which is in any case a good position. For tomorrow it’ll be very important to choose the correct rear tyre to get an idea of where we can arrive in the race.”
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