Ducati’s Andrea Dovizioso claimed a brilliant second premier class pole position at the Motegi track in Japan four years after claiming his first. Still recovering from his crash last time out,
Yamaha Valentino Rossi will start from second on the grid with Repsol Honda’s Dani Pedrosa completing the top three.
World Championship title leader Marc Marquez will lead the second row followed by compatriot Jorge Lorenzo. Pramac racings Andrea Iannone will start from sixth, taking seventh Rookie Pol Espargaro on his Tech3 machine. Dovizioso’s Team-mate Cal Crutchlow and LCR Honda’s Stefan Bradl took eighth and ninth respectively. Rounded out the top ten is Monster Tech3 Yamaha’s Bradley Smith. By Laura Turner
