Valentino Rossi takes pole with Assen track record
Friday 26 June 2015 21:34, UK
Valentino Rossi smashed the track record at Assen to take pole position for the Dutch MotoGP.
World championship leader Rossi beat Australian Casey Stoner's 2012 pole record by over a second with a lap of one minute 32.627 seconds to secure his first pole since Valencia in 2014.
The Italian, who leads Yamaha team-mate Jorge Lorenzo by a point in the standings, is bidding this weekend to win at Assen for the seventh time and break the tie for six victories he currently holds with legendary Italian compatriot Giacomo Agostini.
Suzuki's Aleix Espargaro was second fastest while world champion and fellow Spaniard Marc Marquez, on a Honda, completed the front row for Saturday's race.
Lorenzo, who has won the last four races, could only manage eighth on the grid.
"Assen is always special for me, because I have great memories here. I have won here in the past and a lot of important races in my career took place at this circuit," said Rossi.
"I love this track, because it's fantastic. There's already a lot of crowd assembled here and this is a good moment, because it gives you a special feeling when you get the pole position, especially for me, because it doesn't happen that often.
"Getting pole position is vital. Today's result is important because I wanted to start more in front, because we always struggle a lot when qualifying on the second and third row."
Lorenzo refused to rule himself out of contention for a fifth successive win despite having to start from eighth spot.
"The challenge for tomorrow is to make a good start," said the Spaniard.
"The race is very long so the most important thing is that there won't be any rain and I think that with some patience we can little by little make our way to the top."
Dutch MotoGP starting grid
1. Valentino Rossi (ITA/Yamaha) 1min 32.627sec (lap record)
2. Aleix Espargaro (ESP/Suzuki) at 0.231sec
3. Marc Marquez (ESP/Honda) 0.259
4. Dani Pedrosa (ESP/Honda) 0.360
5. Pol Espargaro (ESP/Yamaha Tech3) 0.386
6. Andrea Iannone (ITA/Ducati) 0.389
7. Cal Crutchlow (GBR/Honda LCR) 0.401
8. Jorge Lorenzo (ESP/Yamaha) 0.415
9. Maverick Vinales (ESP/Suzuki) 0.449
10. Andrea Dovizioso (ITA/Ducati) 0.485
11. Danilo Petrucci (ITA/Ducati Pramac) 0.499
12. Bradley Smith (GBR/Yamaha Tech3) 0.609
