Dani Pedrosa starts sixth on the second Repsol Honda ahead of Aleix Espargaro and Cal Crutchlow but Bradley Smith lines up ninth after a disastrous session which saw him crash on both Yamaha YZR-M1s available to him.
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Valentino Rossi is facing intensifying pressure from Yamaha teammate Jorge Lorenzo, who could use this weekend’s Japanese Grand Prix to narrow their gap as the season finale draws near.
Lorenzo, who goes into the race trailing series leader Rossi by 14 points, set a blistering best lap of 1m 44.731secs while Rossi ran eighth a few 0.823secs down.
Redding endured a hard weekend last time out in Aragon, missing out on a place in the all important second qualifying session and then finishing outside the top ten after encountering a number of technical issues in the race itself. Rossi is widely held to be the master in wet conditions, while Lorenzo, by his own admission, lacks consistency when wet weather prevails. On the other hand, Rossi is equally determined to win the tenth world title in his career, especially as it is in his grasp. In 2004 Motegi replaced Suzuka circuit as the host of the Japanese Grand Prix and remains a circuit that produces lots of memorable and exciting racing moments as the end of the season comes in sight. “This year we go there eager to do another great battle so hopefully we could do another nice race and try to make the championship tighter”, he said. “So I know it’s not going to be easy, but I think we have the potential”. I feel good. In Aragon, during the test, I crashed but there were no further consequences, only a little abrasion on my arm.
“It’s always difficult to improve in MotoGP so we have to work hard and try to stay at the top”. Marc Marquez is ready to pounce having qualified third while the Ducatis of Andrea Dovizioso and Andrea Iannone will pose a threat from fourth and fifth respectively. “The grip is very good”. “Both of their riders are one step in front”.
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“I am very happy about the shoulder because five days ago I was very anxious about the pain and the condition, but luckily everything improved so much”, he said.
