McWilliams took pole at Phillip Island on the Proton KR 500

On this day, October 20, 17 years ago, Jeremy McWilliams put in a blinding lap late in qualifying for the 2002 Australian Grand Prix to secure pole position on the KR Proton (Click here for a feature on the machine). I remember watching it on the monitors in the Phillip Island media centre, the excitement in the room was palpable as we watched a major upset unfold in front of us. 

Garry McCoy had already shocked many by leading Friday’s qualifying session before being pipped for provisional pole by Brazil’s Alex Barros.

Everyone expected the four-stroke juggernaut to take over in the final qualifying session but instead the two-strokes staged a monumental comeback to fill the entire front row for Sunday’s 27 lap race.

First to go to the top of the timesheets was Valentino Rossi who set a 1m32.979 lap with 20 minutes left in the session. McCoy retaliated with a 1m32.802 with 13 minutes remaining. Ukawa also dropped in to the 1m32s bracket shortly after to go second quickest with 10 minutes left. Only McCoy, Ukawa and Rossi had recorded 1m32s laps at that stage of the game.

Jeremy McWilliams then put in a flyer of lap to shoot the top of the time-sheets with a 1m32.671. He nearly lost the rear in the fast left-hander that is turn 11 and had to momentarily get out of the throttle, so we knew his lap could have been quicker save for that mistake.

Garry McCoy came straight back with a 1m32.595 to take the top spot before being knocked off by Jurgen Van Den Goorbergh on 1m32.554.

Jeremy McWilliams then knocked everybody’s socks off with a fantastic 1m31.919 on what was undoubtedly the least powerful motorcycle in the field. Everybody expected the fast and flowing Phillip Island circuit to be a four-stroke haven but the less powerful two-strokes were proving superior to the much more powerful new four-stroke machines.

McWilliams held on to that pole position as the session concluded. Garry McCoy along with Nobuatsu Aoki and Jurgen Van Den Goorbergh served to make it a complete two-stroke front row in what was a big upset. 

2002 Australian Grand Prix Qualifying Results

1. McWilliams 1m31.919
2. McCoy 1m32.325
3. Aoki 1m32.477
4. Goorbergh 1m32.509
5. Barros 1m32.572
6. Ukawa 1m32.592
7. Rossi 1m32.849
8. Biaggi 1m32.889
9. Capirossi 1m32.918
10. Kato 1m32.927
11. Laconi 1m32.927
12. Roberts 1m33.116Itoh 1m33.160
13. Hopkins 1m33.424
14. Gibernau 1m33.433
15. Nakano 1m33.471Jacque 1m33.565
16. Harada 1m33.572
17. Pitt 1m33.842
18. Checa 1m33.848
19. Cardoso 1m34.447 (Friday Time)
20. Abe 1m35.317 (Friday Time)

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2002 Australian Grand Prix

Unfortunately the dream didn’t follow through to Sunday which was unfortunate not only for McWilliams, but also for me. I had sussed his good pace early on and had put $50 on him at 200:1 for the win early on in the piece! I wrote the qualifying report above and this race report below during proceedings. 

Garry McCoy got a great start from the front row but was quickly passed by Barros, Rossi and Ukawa. Van Den Goorbergh then shuffled McCoy back to 5th on the run to Honda Corner.

Alex Barros put the hammer down straight away and had gapped Rossi by nearly a full second as they crossed the line to commence lap two. Van Den Goorbergh got the better of Ukawa for 3rd place on lap three as McCoy had drifted further back to 6th.

Barros then set a new race lap record on lap eight, 1m32.377s, under Roberts lap record from 1999 but still outside McWilliams pole time. Capirossi retired from the race.

Kato had been leading the battle for 3rd for a few laps before being shuffled to the back of his group of 3 riders which included Kato and Van Den Goorbergh.

Rossi had a fantastic 11th lap to eclipse the lap record just set by Barros with a 1m32.233, closing within 7-tenths of the Brazilian. Laconi retired to the pits.

The next lap around Rossi had closed right on to the tail of Barros after another great lap. Rossi on a medium rear while Barros was on a medium-soft rear, both riders on Medium front Michelins. Itoh went out of the race.

By half-race distance the competition had clearly become a two man affair, Barros and Rossi. McCoy entered the pits on lap 14 to get a new tyre after his rear tyre blistered. He rejoined the race with a fresh tyre but at the back of the field. 

Barros and Rossi continued their battle for the lead and lapped McCoy with nine laps to run. But McCoy stayed right on their tails even though he was a lap down, getting some excellent TV time for himself and sponsor Red Bull in the process.

John Hopkins slid off on lap 21 but managed to rejoin.

Rossi hit the lead with four laps to go as Barros looked to be suffering from a lack of grip from his medium-soft rear Michelin.

But Barros came back at Rossi under brakes for Honda Corner with two laps to run, only to run in a little deep and Rossi got him right back.

Barros did the exact same thing on the last lap but went in even more deep and had to take the escape road, leaving Rossi to cruise home on the final lap and take the win.

Barros recovered enough to take 2nd place, some 10-seconds down on Rossi. Third placed Tohru Ukawa took the final podium spot 11-seconds behind the winner.

2002 Australian Grand Prix Qualifying Race Results

1. Rossi
2. Barros
3. Ukawa
4. Kato
5. Goorbergh
6. Biaggi
7. Aoki
8. Jacque
9. Roberts
10. McWilliams
11. Checa
12. Gibernau
13. Nakano
14. Harada
15. Cardoso
16. Hopkins
17. Pitt
18. McCoy

DNF – Itoh, Capirossi, Laconi

Source: MCNews.com.au

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Marc Marquez has qualified on pole position for the first time in the MotoGP class at Motegi, meaning he has qualified on pole position in the premier class at least once at every track on the current calendar and at a total of 20 different circuits. Mick Doohan holds the record in the premier class with 24 different tracks, followed by Valentino Rossi (21), Marquez (20) and Casey Stoner/Kevin Schwantz (18).

This is the 62nd pole position for Marc Marquez on what is his 124th start in the premier class, meaning he has once again qualified on pole position in exactly half of the races he has competed in since he stepped up to the premier class in 2013.

In addition, this is Marc Marquez’ 90th pole position on what is the 202nd start of his Grand Prix career (44.5%).

Marc Marquez – P1

“First pole position on the MotoGP bike in Motegi is great, I didn’t know it was the last one! It’s a circuit that I usually struggle at a bit but today the setup was working very well in Qualifying and I was able to ride in a different way. It’s important to start on pole at the home of Honda. I felt very strong during Free Practice 4 but the conditions weren’t really normal. It was still a bit wet out on track, tomorrow we will have a lot of pressure from Yamaha and Dovizioso I think, so we still need to work a bit in Warm Up. The target is to fight for the victory, let’s see what the conditions are.”

Franco Morbidelli has qualified in second place, equalling his best qualifying result in the MotoGP class from Jerez earlier this year. In addition, this is Morbidelli’s third front-row start in the premier class, all achieved this year and the third time he’s out-qualified team-mate Quartararo.

Franco Morbidelli – P2

“We did a great job in the wet today after working very well together and after doing a good job yesterday in the dry conditions. It was half wet and half dry in qualifying, but we were able to be fast again so it was an amazing session. I wasn’t expecting to be as fast as I was because I hadn’t tried out the conditions on slick tyres at the end of FP4. The conditions affected qualifying a little bit and we were a second quicker yesterday, so it’s hard to say how much we’ve improved versus our opposition, but we’ll see what happens now in the race.”

Completing the front row is Fabio Quartararo. Since his first front row of his rookie season in Jerez this year when he was on pole position, the Frenchman has only missed out the front on three occasions: Le Mans, Brno and Silverstone.

Fabio Quartararo – P3

“We’ve had good pace in the wet and good pace in the dry this weekend but our weak point has been in the damp, so I was able to make a big step in those conditions today. It wasn’t in our plan but it’s great to have ticked it off. We’ll work a little more in warm-up tomorrow morning to improve our race pace, we need to make a good start, and then let’s see what happens. But I’m feeling good and I think we can fight for the podium again. I’ll give my 100% and try to fight with the guys.”

If Fabio Quartararo wins the race in Japan (20 years and 183 days old), he will be the second-youngest rider to win a premier class Grand Prix race behind Marc Marquez, who was 20 years and 63 days old when he won at the Americas GP back in 2013.

Fabio Quartararo must be more than 75 points ahead of Joan Mir after Motegi to win the fight for the Rookie of the Year. He is currently 85 ahead, and Mir is his only remaining rival.

Maverick Viñales, who has finished on the podium once in the MotoGP class at Motegi with a third place in 2016 with Suzuki, has qualified in fourth place, which is the 13th time this year he starts from the front two rows of the grid.

Maverick Viñales – P4

“Honestly, in these drying conditions, our bike is always difficult, but overall today has been very positive. Being the first rider on the second row was close to the objective, so we can be happy and positive. I think tomorrow we have a good opportunity again to make it a good race. We will for sure try to battle at the front, I will do my best.”

With Franco Morbidelli, Fabio Quartararo and Maverick Viñales, this is the fourth time this year there are three Yamaha riders within the top four in qualifying along with Catalunya, San Marino and Thailand. The last podium finish for Yamaha riders at Motegi was in 2015 as Valentino Rossi took second followed by Jorge Lorenzo in third.

After passing through Q1, Cal Crutchlow, who finished second last year at Motegi, qualified fifth, which is his best qualifying result since he was third on the grid in Americas earlier this year. That was his only front row start of the season so far.

Cal Crutchlow – P5

“It was difficult conditions because there were a lot of wet patches, but it’s difficult every corner or every lap of every circuit. But I’m 34 years old, I shouldn’t be riding like that, putting my neck on the line week in, week out! But it’s good fun, it’s entertaining and I felt good so I was able to push. I made a mistake in the third sector, I ran on the water and I couldn’t get off it so I lost three tenths or something, but I did my best and my best is second row and we’ll see what we can do tomorrow.”

Jack Miller, who failed to score point on his two visits in MotoGP in Japan, has qualified in sixth and is top Ducati. It’s his second successive sixth place to make it the 11th time this year he has qualified on the first two rows.

Jack Miller – P6

“I am quite satisfied with the work done today. The second row is always a good result that allows you to start from a good position. It is clear that I was expecting to do a bit more, but I wasn’t able to do a perfect lap. The feeling is very positive, the bike is working well. I think I can have a good race.”

Last year’s pole-sitter Andrea Dovizioso, who has been on pole at Motegi three times, has qualified seventh. Only twice has he qualified lower on the grid at Motegi: ninth in 2017, when he fought back to take the win, and 13th in his rookie year in MotoGP in 2008. This is the eighth time this year Dovizioso has failed to qualify on the first two rows.

Andrea Dovizioso – P7

“Our qualifying session was a bit difficult because there were still some damp patches on the track, and I wasn’t able to have a really fluid riding style there. It’s a pity about the third row, but we are in quite good shape for the race: let’s hope the warm-up tomorrow morning is dry because we still have to do an important test, with the aim of being protagonists in the race.”

Danilo Petrucci, who finished third place at Motegi in the wet in 2017, has qualified in eighth position, which is the 10th time this season he has qualified within the front three rows of the grid but his second best qualifying result at Motegi.

Danilo Petrucci – P8

“Our intention was to at least get onto the second row, but the track conditions were rather complicated, and it was easy to make a mistake: unfortunately, I made one right on the last lap and wasn’t able to improve my time. In any case, I think we can be competitive tomorrow and, even though I’m starting a little bit further back on the grid, I’m convinced I can do a good race.”

Valentino Rossi, who was the first Yamaha rider across the line last year in Motegi in fourth, has qualified 10th, which is only the third time on his 20 visits to that track in the premier class he has failed to qualify within the front three rows of the grid.

Valentino Rossi – P10

“This weekend so far we tried something that was a little bit different to improve the braking, which is a difficult job, but we‘re trying. Today I still wasn‘t fantastic on braking, but apart from that we‘re all very close in general in terms of the setting. I expected more from Q2, try to start a bit better, because in FP4 I wasn‘t so bad, but it is the way it is. We wait to see what the conditions will be like tomorrow, because it looks like it will be completely dry. My pace in the dry was good yesterday. Today it was quite dry, but the conditions were difficult for everybody. We need to understand if we can improve a little bit for tomorrow, so I can have enough pace to recover positions.”

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Motegi MotoGP Qualifying Results

Pos	Rider	Motorcycle	Q	Time/Gap
1	Marc MARQUEZ	HONDA	Q2	1m45.763
2	Franco MORBIDELLI	YAMAHA	Q2	+0.132
3	Fabio QUARTARARO	YAMAHA	Q2	+0.181
4	Maverick VIÑALES	YAMAHA	Q2	+0.327
5	Cal CRUTCHLOW	HONDA	Q2	+0.426
6	Jack MILLER	DUCATI	Q2	+0.574
7	Andrea DOVIZIOSO	DUCATI	Q2	+0.647
8	Danilo PETRUCCI	DUCATI	Q2	+0.664
9	Aleix ESPARGARO	APRILIA	Q2	+0.795
10	Valentino ROSSI	YAMAHA	Q2	+0.795
11	Alex RINS	SUZUKI	Q2	+0.837
12	Joan MIR	SUZUKI	Q2	0.853
13	Takaaki NAKAGAMI	HONDA	Q1	+0.303
14	Francesco BAGNAIA	DUCATI	Q1	+0.899
15	Pol ESPARGARO	KTM	Q1	+0.959
16	Miguel OLIVEIRA	KTM	Q1	+1.199
17	Mika KALLIO	KTM	Q1	+1.284
18	Karel ABRAHAM	DUCATI	Q1	+1.426
19	Jorge LORENZO	HONDA	Q1	+1.797
20	Hafizh SYAHRIN	KTM	Q1	+1.827
21	Sylvain GUINTOLI	SUZUKI	Q1	+2.491
22	Andrea IANNONE	APRILIA	Q1	+2.548
23	Tito RABAT	DUCATI	FP2	*2.394

Source: MCNews.com.au

Motegi 2019 MotoGP Qualifying

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As expected FP3 on Saturday morning was held in wet conditions thus the automatic promotions through to Q2 were decided on Friday’s times that had seen Fabio Quartararo top proceedings ahead of Maverick Vinales.

Danilo Petrucci was quickest in the wet Saturday morning session and it was wet again when riders hit the track for FP4 on Saturday afternoon. The track was drying halfway through FP4 though and Jack Miller was the first man to decide that there was enough of a dry line to have a run against the clock on slicks.

Miller worked his way up to speed for the first few laps before he clocked the quickest time of the session with eight minutes remaining.  Now though almost the entire field was out feeling their way around on slicks and building up speed. It was not long before Miller’s time was beaten by half the field as the track dried further while Jack was in the pits. Marc Marquez ended up topping the FP4 session from Maverick Vinales and Fabio Quartararo. 

Q1 got underway immediately after FP4 on the still drying track. LCR Honda duo Takaaki Nakagami and Cal Crutchlow were the early pace-setters. Pol Espargaro and Alex Rins seemed to be the prime threats to spoil the dual LCR promotion to Q2.  Nakagami was strong throughout the session, despite his shoulder injury, but was frustratingly pipped at the post by Alex Rins, the Suzuki man securing the final promotion spot through to Q1 while Crutchlow topped the session. 

The track was drier again when Q2 got underway but it was clear no lap records were about to be set. Still, it was remarkable just how fast the riders were lapping despite the track being far from perfect and actually still a little bit damp in some places. It took only a couple of laps for Marc Marquez to get within a second of his best dry time on Friday. Absoloutely ridiculous. 

The track dried further as the session progressed which allowed his pursuers to get closer and closer with each lap but Marquez responded by lowering the benchmark further to 1m45.763s. 

In the dying seconds Franco Morbidelli got closest to Marquez but it was the World Champion that took pole position, the last track on the calendar he was yet to score a pole position at but now job done. 

Fabio Quartararo rounds out the front row ahead of Maverick Vinales who made it three Yamahas in the top four. 

Cal Crutchlow put in a great late charge and almost looked as though he might take pole late in the session before a stumble through the final sector proved costly and the Brit had to settle for fifth.

Jack Miller was the fastest Ducati and rounds out the second row ahead of Andrea Dovizioso and Danilo Petrucci.

Aleix Espargaro put the Aprilia inside a top ten that was rounded out by Valentino Rossi ahead of the Suzuki pairing of Alex Rins and Joan Mir. 

Earlier in the afternoon Luca Marini had taken Moto2 pole position in wet conditions ahead of Augusto Fernandez and Lorenzo Baldassarri. Australian Remy Gardner will start from the fourth row after qualifying tenth. 

Moto3 qualifying also took part in wet conditions and Italian Niccolo Antonelli set the pace to take pole position ahead of Alonso Lopez while Tatsuki Suzuki round out the front row on home tarmac.

The forecast for Sunday are for better conditions with a strong chance of a fine day. 

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Motegi MotoGP Qualifying Results

Pos	Rider	Motorcycle	Q	Time/Gap
1	Marc MARQUEZ	HONDA	Q2	1m45.763
2	Franco MORBIDELLI	YAMAHA	Q2	+0.132
3	Fabio QUARTARARO	YAMAHA	Q2	+0.181
4	Maverick VIÑALES	YAMAHA	Q2	+0.327
5	Cal CRUTCHLOW	HONDA	Q2	+0.426
6	Jack MILLER	DUCATI	Q2	+0.574
7	Andrea DOVIZIOSO	DUCATI	Q2	+0.647
8	Danilo PETRUCCI	DUCATI	Q2	+0.664
9	Aleix ESPARGARO	APRILIA	Q2	+0.795
10	Valentino ROSSI	YAMAHA	Q2	+0.795
11	Alex RINS	SUZUKI	Q2	+0.837
12	Joan MIR	SUZUKI	Q2	0.853
13	Takaaki NAKAGAMI	HONDA	Q1	+0.303
14	Francesco BAGNAIA	DUCATI	Q1	+0.899
15	Pol ESPARGARO	KTM	Q1	+0.959
16	Miguel OLIVEIRA	KTM	Q1	+1.199
17	Mika KALLIO	KTM	Q1	+1.284
18	Karel ABRAHAM	DUCATI	Q1	+1.426
19	Jorge LORENZO	HONDA	Q1	+1.797
20	Hafizh SYAHRIN	KTM	Q1	+1.827
21	Sylvain GUINTOLI	SUZUKI	Q1	+2.491
22	Andrea IANNONE	APRILIA	Q1	+2.548
23	Tito RABAT	DUCATI	FP2	*2.394

Source: MCNews.com.au