Vinales on pole in Yamaha hat-trick
LE MANS, France: Spain’s Maverick Vinales ensured a Yamaha lock-out at the front of the grid for Sunday’s French MotoGP after pipping championship leader Valentino Rossi to pole position at Le Mans.
Italian veteran Rossi and Vinales, 22, are attempting to reassert control of their title destiny after their early season form disintegrated last time out in Spain.
The 38-year- old Rossi leads the championship with 62 points after four rounds, while Vinales is a close second after winning the first two races in Qatar and Argentina.
“It was a tricky qualifying, because the track was not at its best, but anyway our bike is really good here,” said Vinales, who remained cautious over Sunday’s weather conditions after he and Rossi had struggled in Friday’s rain-hit practice sessions. “We have to be really careful with the weather, we also have to pay a lot of attention if we have a flag to flag, a wet race or even on the dry, we still have to improve.”
MotoGP rookie Johann Zarco will start Sunday’s race in third to complete a Yamaha hat-trick on the front row.
Defending world champion Marc Marquez of Spain is on the second row after qualifying fifth-fastest on his Honda on Saturday.
“We modified the setting a bit, and that, together with this track and this asphalt, makes our bike work well,” said Rossi. “In the end it was a really good qualifying.”
Australia’s Jack Miller, also on a Honda machine, qualified in 11th after he somehow emerged unscathed from a horror crash in fourth practice in which he lost control of his bike, slammed into a tyre wall and was tossed high into the air.