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On the last Saturday of qualifying of the season, held at the Ricardo Tormo Circuit in Valencia, a sunny day and a large crowd in the stands greeted the riders.
Marc Márquez started the day by placing fifth in FP3, going straight into Q2. In the session to decide the grid, the Repsol Honda Team rider set a 1:29.826 for second place, which will allow him to start the last race of the year from the front row.
Pol Espargaró had to go through Q1, and a small crash a few minutes from the end of the session prevented him from making it into Q2. With a best time of 1:30.936, he will start 22nd.
Rider Statements
“The target was to try and be on the second or third row because being honest, I didn’t think a 29 was possible with the pace we have now. The team has done a great job this weekend and we worked a lot today for the race. I’d like to be on the podium tomorrow, I have some possibilities, but I am not the fastest guy at the moment. It’s going to be a big fight tomorrow. A front row and fighting for the podium are very good preparations for 2023, which we are also thinking about. I’m still quite sick, a little better than yesterday but a front row start is probably the best medicine I can get!”
“Of course today did not go to plan. I mean, in Free Practice 4 I was fourth, the pace was good and I was riding well. But in FP3 and Q1 I couldn’t get the lap, the crash in Q1 really ended our hopes. It’s going to be a long and tough race and it will be really difficult to do anything from that far back on the grid. Valencia is a circuit I like a lot and it’s the last one of the year, so why not go for it? I want to do a good result for me and for the guys here who have kept working all year long for me – no matter what.”