Parkes shines with 19th overall as top PBM runner.
The MotoGP race at the Iveco Daily TT Assen will see Aleix Espargaro get away from pole position on the grid on Saturday, ahead of Marc Marquez and Dani Pedrosa on row one, after light rain disrupted Q2.
A group of riders were bunched up in an early dash from pit lane as they sensed light rain could become heavier right at the beginning of the Q2 run, with NGM Forward Racing’s Espargaro initially hanging behind that group and judging the conditions best for the first pole of his Grand Prix career.
The 1’38.789 time which took pole was over five seconds slower than the FP4 pace, whilst Repsol Honda pair Marquez and Pedrosa managed to get onto the front row despite trailing Espargaro by 1.4s and 1.9s respectively.
Another good effort from Andrea Iannone (Pramac Racing) put him at the front of the second row, where he will be joined by Cal Crutchlow (Ducati Team) – who sneaked through from Q1 and took advantage for fifth despite struggling in free practice.
Crutchlow’s compatriot and former teammate Bradley Smith (Monster Yamaha Tech3) completes row two, ahead of Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team), Stefan Bradl (LCR Honda MotoGP) and Jorge Lorenzo (Movistar Yamaha MotoGP) who are all on the third row.
Alvaro Bautista (GO&FUN Honda Gresini), Pol Espargaro (Monster Yamaha Tech3) and Valentino Rossi (Movistar Yamaha MotoGP) were all four seconds down on the pole time and will therefore all be on the fourth row.
Several riders even switched to wet tyres before the end of the session as the rain got heavier, but fortunately there were no crashes despite the tricky conditions.
Australia’s Broc Parkes continued his impressive run of form, top Paul Bird Motorsport (PBM) finisher two positions ahead of teammate Michael Laverty.
2014 MotoGP World Championship
Round eight – Assen, Netherlands
MotoGP qualifying results:
1. Aleix Espargaro 1m38.789s
2. Marc Marquez 1m40.194s
3. Dani Pedrosa 1m40.732s
4. Andrea Iannone 1m40.786s
5. Cal Crutchlow 1m40.796s
6. Bradley Smith 1m40.818s
7. Andrea Dovizioso 1m41.140s
8. Stefan Bradl 1m41.982s
9. Jorge Lorenzo 1m42.259s
10. Alvaro Bautista 1m42.884s
19. Broc Parkes (AUS) 1m35.513s (set in Q1)