With tablecloths in the rain on Phillip Island: "scared" and "big eggs"

(Motorsport-Total.com) – The MotoGP qualifications for the Australian Grand Prix at Phillip Island and this crucial segment of Q2 have been nerve-wracking. The reason was the traditionally changing weather on the island off Melbourne.

As the Premier clbad drivers for Q2 made their way to the runway, a light drizzle broke out. However, this first receded and Jack Miller, Mark Marquez, Andrea Iannone, Johann Zarco and Marquez again rolled in that order one after the other.

Just as the majority of the 12 participants in Q2 for the last attack put new tires on, the rain started again. Most then gave up on one last attack, but most of all "Jackbad" Miller and Maverick Vinales again tried to improve their lap times.

Crazy Qualifying: A Glorious First for Honda

With the slicks on wet track, Ducati's Ducati driver for Pramac Ducati, set a personal best in the first sector, but then suffered a heavy fall in the fourth sector to the original straight and had to realize that the home race was not more than a sixth. The starting place was in it.

Yamaha rider Vinales raised his eyebrows as he set the fastest time on the wet track in the first three sectors. In the fourth sector, however, he also lost time and finally had to settle for second place on the grid.

Phillip Iceland won the pole position of the new world champion Marquez for the fifth time in a row. In addition, with the next Honda driver only on grid 14 (Takaaki Nakagami), for the first time since the beginning of the MotoGP era (2002), Honda only has one bike in the top 10 of the grid!

Mark: "No risk today"

The conditions have even "scared" Marquez, he admits. "It was so difficult to understand where the limit was. We are driving almost full at more than 200 km / h. That's why dropping raindrops on the visor really scares you, "says Marquez. that he did not address his last planned attempt.

"I was still out of the stands with the second tire, but I saw that it was raining again, so I thought to myself:" I do not take any chances today. now, if someone rolls faster, it rolls faster but the race is over Tomorrow and next week is the next, "said the World Champion against the many accidents that occurred this weekend, which have leads Cal Crutchlow to the hospital.

Vinales must give up its last attempt

Vinales, who eventually lost to Marquez by 0.310 seconds, tried it in the finals despite raindrops. Despite pole position despite difficult conditions, the Yamaha rider lost so much time in the last sector of the lap that no improvement was possible.

"The conditions were really difficult, there were some declines in the first sector, but the third sector was completely dry and in the fourth sector, it was still wet, so I could not go faster, in the area. together, I am satisfied, "said Vinales. one of his best qualifications of the season. On the Austin Circuit of the Americas, he was also the second fastest in the Q2 and even inherited the Marquez pole because he was blocked by the stewards of the race.

If Phillip Island had not started dribbling again, Vinales would have even wanted to launch a third attack on the pole, he admits. However, the stronger rain in the end prevented the expected final attack with his second bike.

Zarco: "You have to operate a switch in the brain"

The Tech 3 Yamaha Zarco rider took third place behind the two Spaniards Marquez and Vinales. The Frenchman confessed, just after the time hunting in the Parc Fermé, that he was "really scared" by the conditions of treachery and just happy to be able to "breathe deeply, because everything went well" .

In his detailed comment after the qualifiers, Zarco underlines his own statements: "It was really stressful: two minutes before qualifying started, while I was still sitting in the pits, I saw how much he it was raining everywhere give a bike for rain, but everyone slips on the track. "

So, Zarco decided to take risks, but did not feel comfortable. "With the raindrops on the visor and on the windshield, you do not know how hard it is to attack, but you have to defeat it because you know that asphalt is usually dry In this situation, you have to activate a switch in the brain, and that's what makes the task so difficult, "says Zarco, confessing," After that fear, I'm really happy with third place on the grid. "

Miller: "My heart slipped into my pants"

Suzuki rider Alex Rins, fifth on the grid behind teammate Andrea Iannone, is in the top three, saying the conditions were "sometimes very dangerous". "But I gave everything and I'm satisfied," relieved the Spaniard.

And what does Miller say? The local hero is recognized as one of the most intrepid pilots of the MotoGP circus. Unforgettable because he was the only one on the wet track early in the year to qualify for the Grand Prix of Argentina with slicks en route and thus earned pole position. Again, "Jackbad" cleanly pulls on the accelerator, where he has to survive at one point or another from the shock.

"She's a little scared me," says Miller, about her Ducati Pramac, confessing, "I'm glad she was able to stay on two wheels, I had some tough times to overcome, and turn 12 was the worst.I was on a good ride, I believe in my best when she suddenly slipped off the throttle when I pulled the throttle. Was a bit slippery than I thought, and I had to lift my elbows and take my foot off the relaxation However, given the circumstances, the timing was good, but my heart slipped into the pants ! "

Rossi: "He needed big eggs"

And Valentino Rossi, who has won six wins at Phillip Island in the premier category, qualifies the conditions of meeting extremely delicate. "It was really hard, it was raining little and we did not know exactly where we could go with the tablecloths, but we had to give 100% back and forth," said the Yamaha rider.

"For me personally, these are not the best conditions," admitted Rossi, who narrowly missed the second row with seventh place behind Miller. "Yeah, it was a big risk and you had to be very brave," says "The Doctor", then: "Ma had to stab with tablecloths in the corners, although you would not know if it would be dry or wet, really brave, he needed big eggs. "

Dovizioso: In the perspective of Crutchlow, "the risk is too great"

Ducati rider Andrea Dovizioso, who was fighting with Rossi for the 2018 European title, was only ninth in qualifying, two behind the Yamaha star. For Dovi, it is the worst start of the season and also owes its success to the fall of Cal Crutchlow, Friday, while admitting the Italian.

"It was really easy to falter under these conditions," said Dovizioso. "It sank at every turn, but the asphalt remained dry, but you can not know in advance if it will be in the next corner." always be pretty dry. "

"Unfortunately, we have seen a lot of injured riders here, and when we fall on this track, the risk of injury is greater because we are so fast here, it was difficult to eliminate that in qualifying and ultimately the risk was easy too big, "admits" Dovi ".