Pol Espargaro in Q2 first time this season at Red Bull Grand Prix of The Americas QUALIFYING 3rd Rd. MotoGP 2018, Circuit Of The Americas (USA) MotoGP MotoGP moved north across the Americas to arrive at the sweeping and fast undulations of COTA in Austin, Texas and the sixth Grand Prix to take place at the epic facility for what is the third round of nineteen in 2018. On a grey and occasionally damp day of Free Practice and Qualification both Pol Espargaro and Bradley Smith worked through some tricky conditions and across a bumpy and demanding track to refine the set-up of the KTM RC16 for the 20 lap distance starting at 21.00 CET tomorrow.   With his last attempt of the Q1 period Espargaro posted a 2.05.1 lap-time to earn his first passage into Q2 this year by less than a tenth of a second from Danilo Petrucci. Smith was not far away. On his second run the Brit logged a 2.05.7 for a decent 15th position and his highest Saturday classification of the season. Not long after the chequered flag had been waved to end the session Espargaro was deemed to have slowed down another rider and docked three spaces, dropping behind Smith and alongside his teammate on the fifth row.   Espargaro: “I think we made an amazing effort to make Q2 and we were very happy but I think what happened afterwards was not fair. We checked the images and I was not in the middle (of the track) and it is not comparable with other incidents today. I don't really know what is going on but I don't think it is fair we have to go back by three positions. We will go strong tomorrow. We made some good steps and the bike feels much better.” Smith: “FP4 went great and the first couple of sectors were good but I did not leave enough space and did not expect to catch (Jack) Miller so easily. I made a couple of mistakes as well but I’m pleased with 15th and we're a team so it was OK for Pol to ‘use’ me a couple of times out there: it is about time that we got into Q2. 15th is my best qualification this year and on race pace in FP4 we looked solid. We just need to keep that up for tomorrow. I think the grip is coming on this race track and this meant we could push forward more.” Mike Leitner (Team Manager): “This track is very long, difficult and bumpy so it is very challenging. We were a little lost yesterday but today we made some good moves, especially for Bradley, and we are happy with his 15th because he did a good job. Pol made a massive step and went into Q2 and that is a highlight for us, particularly here. Now we have to focus on giving the guys the best racebike and then they have to manage. It is difficult to talk about decisions already made but as a Team Manager I don't think what happened to Pol was correct; the FIM stewards see it differently. We have to accept the situation and just look to tomorrow.”   Moto2 & Moto3 On Friday two KTM Moto2 topped the timesheets with Red Bull KTM Ajo’s Miguel Oliveira sitting in first place and Swiss Innovative Investors Sam Lowes setting the second fastest lap. On Saturday it was Lowes who maintained that pace and secured the same placement on the grid for what is becoming a very intense contest in the intermediate class. Moto3 saw CIP-Green Power’s John McPhee use his KTM RC250 GP to nestle on the front row with the third best effort. Oliveira: "Overall, it’s been a tough day. The track conditions for qualifying saw the grip level improve greatly. The temperature was lower, there was more rubber laid down and the track was cleaner, but in our case we found that difficult with new tyres and were unable to set a good lap time. In spite of that, we were only 3 tenths off third position. We have to try to improve the setup in the warmup ahead of the race. It will be a long race, so we will try to start well and make up positions."   Races: April 22, 2018 – Moto3 18:00 | Moto2 19:20 | MotoGP 21:00 CET Results Qualifying MotoGP Circuti Of The Americas 2018  1. Marc Marquez (ESP), Honda, 2:03.658 min (3 places penalty starting race tomorrow from 4th on the grid) 2. Maverick Vinales (ESP), Yamaha, +0.406 sec 3. Andrea Iannone (ITA), Suzuki, +0.551 4. Johann Zarco (FRA), Yamaha, +0.552 5. Valentino Rossi (ITA), Yamaha, +0.571 KTM 12. Pol Espargaro (ESP), KTM, +1.511 (3 places penalty starting race tomorrow from 15th on the grid) 15. Bradley Smith (GBR), KTM, +2.103 (starting race from 14th on the grid) Results Qualifying Moto2 Circuti Of The Americas 2018  1. Alex Marquez (ESP), Kalex, 2:10.588 min 2. Sam Lowes (GBR), KTM, +0.156 sec 3. Mattia Pasini (ITA), Kalex, +0.405 4. Francesco Bagnaia (ITA), Kalex, +0.412 5. Joan Mir (ESP), Kalex, +0.536 KTM 12. Miguel Oliveira (POR), KTM, +0.733 16. Brad Binder (RSA), KTM, +0.978 Results Qualifying Moto3 Circuit Of The Americas 2018  1. Jorge Martin (ESP), Honda, 2:18.629 min 2. Aron Canet (ESP), Honda, +0.496 sec 3. John McPhee (GBR), KTM, +0.792 4. Tatsuki Suzuki (JAP), Honda, +0.799 5. Fabio di Giannantonio (ITA), Honda, +0.868 KTM 7. Dennis Foggia (ITA), KTM +0.959 9. Marco Bezzecchi (ITA), KTM, +1.055 10. Jaume Masia (ESP), KTM, +1.179 15. Darryn Binder (RSA), KTM, +1.398 >> LINK MOTOGP PICTURES KTM MEDIA LIBRRAY >> LINK MOTO2 PICTURES KTM MEDIA LIBRARY >> LINK MOTO3 PICTURES KTM MEDIA LIBRARY PHILIPP GRÜNBERGER PR MANAGER MOTOGP philipp.gruenberger@ktm.com 0043 664 6217921 www.motogp.com www.ktm.com | media.ktm.com  Facebook | YouTube | Twitter | Instagram