Movistar Yamaha MotoGP's Valentino Rossi scored a front row position today in a hot qualifying session, ahead of tomorrow's Monster Energy Grand Prix Ceské republiky, securing second place. Maverick Viñales was on the pace, but struggled to find those all-important tenths in the second sector, ending the session in seventh position.

Rossi had already shown he was comfortable on his Yamaha YZR-M1 in the morning practice session and felt he was up to the task to challenge his rivals for a position on the front row. The Doctor left pit lane mid-field and quickly found a good place on track to start his first flying lap, claiming fourth on his first attempt. Unable to improve on his second try, he returned to the box with six and a half minutes remaining.

He was pushed down to fifth place, but this was short-lived, as Jorge Lorenzo's time was cancelled due to exceeding track limits. One and a half minutes later, Rossi was back out for his second run and, as many riders flashed red sectors, the nine-time World Champion responded brilliantly. He set a 1'55.073s, 0.092s from pole, on his third time attack, and will start tomorrow's race from second place on the front row.

Viñales was keen to earn a strong starting position during the 15-minute qualifying heat. He ensured he was one of the last men heading out of pit lane as the session began, to get enough clear space on track to really put the hammer down. His first flying lap had him shoot up directly to sixth place. Though he improved his time on his second hot lap, he dropped to seventh before quickly returning to the box with six minutes on the clock.

The young gun found himself back in sixth place one minute later as he rejoined the track. As many riders put in a fast time, he held ninth place when he put in another solid effort. He bettered his time to 1'55.911s to secure seventh place on the grid for the race, but again wasn't able to hold the spot and slipped back to eighth. The Spaniard made his final try count as the flag came out. His time dropped to a 1'55.663s with his final push, 0.682s from first, enough to secure seventh position on tomorrow's grid.


Valentino Rossi - Position: 2nd - Time: 1'55.073 - Laps 7

"Today I tried to brake later and open the throttle early. I already felt good on the first run, but the first lap is always a bit difficult. I knew I had a good potential and on the second run I was in the right position, with clear track in front, and I rode well. I was able to push without making any mistakes. It's a shame for the pole, because we were close, but the second place is a very good result and front row is a good place to start the race from tomorrow."

Maverick Viñales - Position: 7th - Time: 1'55.663 - Laps: 7

"It was very difficult in qualifying, because we didn't find a good set-up and I couldn't make the bike turn the way I wanted it to. We still have time to deeply check the information we collected today and try to prepare a different set-up for tomorrow's warm up. I think I can make some steps forward in the race. My race pace is not so bad, but anyway we have to improve."
Massimo Meregalli

Movistar Yamaha MotoGP - Team Director

"Starting from first row is always a vital component to having a good race weekend. Valentino was feeling very comfortable on his bike in FP3 and FP4 and he again showed his pace in Q2. His first run was already competitive but, with clear track ahead of him, he really got up to speed on the second outing and came very close to the pole with a 1'55.073s lap. Maverick made some big changes to his bike, but there's still some fine-tuning to be done. He had a strong race pace this morning, but there's room for improvement in the second sector, as seen in this afternoon's qualifying session. Though the weather conditions for the race remain a question mark, we will prepare something for tomorrow's warm up to see if we can gain a few more tenths before we get into the race-mood."