The Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Team continued work on an unusual second day at the Circuit of The Americas (COTA). Thunderstorms caused the cancellation of FP3, giving Valentino Rossi and Maverick Viñales just the FP4 track time to get ready for Q2. Despite some treacherous wet patches on the drying circuit, the team-mates didn’t hold back and grabbed second and sixth place respectively on the grid for tomorrow’s race.
After a strong FP4 session, Rossi was quick to head out in Q2 to fully open the throttle once more. A mistake on his first flying lap saw him initially land in 11th place in the timesheets, but his next attempt made him shoot up the order to second.
With six minutes left, he returned to the pit box and still held second place when he came back out. When the times quickened at the end of the session, the Doctor responded by clocking a 2’04.060s, keeping him in second, 0.273s from pole. He had one more try but was unable to edge closer. He will start tomorrow’s race from the middle of the front row.
Viñales let the other Q2 riders leave pit lane ahead of him, ensuring himself of some clear space on track. He was in strong contention at the start of the session. His first hot lap put him temporarily in second place, but as the pace picked up, he was pushed down. He moved back up to fourth on his next try, before heading straight back into the pits with a little more than five minutes to go.
He was soon back out and improved his time once more, but as the pace intensified he found himself in seventh place. Realising how important a front start is at the COTA track, the Spaniard dug deep, and he moved up one more position for a spot on the second row with a 2’04.489s lap, 0.702s from first.
The Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Team continued work on an unusual second day at the Circuit of The Americas (COTA). Thunderstorms caused the cancellation of FP3, giving Valentino Rossi and Maverick Viñales just the FP4 track time to get ready for Q2. Despite some treacherous wet patches on the drying circuit, the team-mates didn’t hold back and grabbed second and sixth place respectively on the grid for tomorrow’s race.
After a strong FP4 session, Rossi was quick to head out in Q2 to fully open the throttle once more. A mistake on his first flying lap saw him initially land in 11th place in the timesheets, but his next attempt made him shoot up the order to second.
With six minutes left, he returned to the pit box and still held second place when he came back out. When the times quickened at the end of the session, the Doctor responded by clocking a 2’04.060s, keeping him in second, 0.273s from pole. He had one more try but was unable to edge closer. He will start tomorrow’s race from the middle of the front row.
Viñales let the other Q2 riders leave pit lane ahead of him, ensuring himself of some clear space on track. He was in strong contention at the start of the session. His first hot lap put him temporarily in second place, but as the pace picked up, he was pushed down. He moved back up to fourth on his next try, before heading straight back into the pits with a little more than five minutes to go.
He was soon back out and improved his time once more, but as the pace intensified he found himself in seventh place. Realising how important a front start is at the COTA track, the Spaniard dug deep, and he moved up one more position for a spot on the second row with a 2’04.489s lap, 0.702s from first.