Marc Marquez opted against a flying lap on slick tyres at the end of qualifying as he felt the risk to his MotoGP title tilt posed by potentially crashing in the conditions was too great.
The four-time Argentina pole winner was one of three riders along with Honda stablemate Cal Crutchlow and eventual pole man Jack Miller to switch to slicks on the drying track midway through Q2.
Typically the strongest rider in drying conditions, the Spaniard felt the track was still “on the limit” for slicks, and believed the risk over reward did not justify pushing for a time attack on dry tyres.
Marquez, who'll start sixth, said: “It was a tricky qualifying because the track was on the limit to be on the slick tyres.
“At one point I took the risk, but then when I went out I said 'okay, this is too risky for a qualifying practice.
“We need to understand that we are fighting for a championship and we need to minimise the risk.
“Then, I came back to the box and went out n the bike with the wet tyres.”
Teammate Dani Pedrosa, who was second in qualifying having sa on provisional pole in the closing stages, considered joining Marquez in running slicks.
But a poor first run on the wets forced the Spaniard into sticking with those tyres for his second attempt.
“Quite a tight practice and especially with these conditions, difficult to choose between the slicks and wet,” Pedrosa, who was denied his 50th career pole, said.
“The line was there, but one corner was completely wet, so I was not sure to take the slicks. The bike was ready, but I was trying to make the right choice.
“But, finally, in my first run I was not so fast, so I decide to go with the wets and push at the limit.
“Fortunately we did a good lap. For the race it's difficult to know [what the tyre choice will be], we didn't do many laps in [the dry].
“The conditions were all the time mixed, so we have to wait for tomorrow [to see what the] weather [will do].”
Discussion about this post