Italian MotoGP GP: Pedrosa, Espargaró and Viñales take pole positions at Mugello

Spanish riders have once again claimed a triple of first positions in the qualifying sessions of the Italian motorcycle GP. Dani Pedrosa in MotoGP, Pol Espargaró in Moto2 and Maverick Viñales in Moto3 have taken the poles and positioned themselves as favourites to win Sunday’s race.

In the MotoGP category Spanish dominance was absolute, as three Spanish riders will occupy the front row. Jorge Lorenzo seemed the main candidate to take the first position, but while he was lowering his lap times he had to return to his box due to mechanical problems, which prevented him from taking the first place, which went to Dani Pedrosa, who earns his second pole of the season.

In any case, Lorenzo will start from second place ahead of the Honda rider, while Héctor Barberá will close out a historic front row, as Spanish riders had never before filled these privileged positions. Either way, it is likely that Casey Stoner will join the fight in the race, although the Australian could not get past fifth place this Saturday.

In the Moto2 category, Pol Espargaró and Marc Márquez promise a new battle for Sunday. Márquez dominated most of the session, but in the final moments Pol Espargaró moved to the top of the timing sheet, showing that he had recovered from his fall in the last free practice sessions, which had caused him an ankle sprain.

It was also necessary to wait until the final moments of the session to find out the pole-sitter in Moto3. Sandro Cortese seemed set to take that first place until Maverick Viñales set a great final lap that put him in the lead. The third time went to another Spaniard, Alex Rins, while Efrén Vázquez was fourth and Luis Salom ninth.

Via | Plusmoto