Maverick Viñales picked up his third MotoGP pole position of the season on Saturday after edging out home favorite Valentino Rossi in qualifying for the Italian Grand Prix at Mugello.
Viñales arrived in Italy leading the riders’ championship by 17 points following his victory from pole position two weeks ago at Le Mans, and continued to turn the screw on his rivals by once again leading the way on Saturday at Mugello.
Viñales turned in a fastest lap of 1:46.575 to finish two-tenths of a second clear of Yamaha teammate Rossi, who took second on the grid despite riding with injuries sustained in a motocross accident late last month.
Andrea Dovizioso led Ducati’s charge in third place, 0.021 seconds back from Rossi, while wildcard teammate Michele Pirro took fourth on the grid for his one-off appearance this season.
Dani Pedrosa qualified fifth for Repsol Honda ahead of teammate Marc Marquez, with three-time champion Jorge Lorenzo finishing the session seventh. Alvaro Bautista ended Q2 eighth on the Aspar Ducati, with Danilo Petrucci and Tito Rabat rounding out the top 10.