The 1’30” barrier was not broken this time, but that doesn’t take anything away from the super pole position that Pecco Bagnaia took in qualifying for the MotoGP Emilia Romagna Grand Prix. Also because that wall didn’t really collapse by a hair’s breadth, as the Ducati rider stopped the clock at 1’30″031, a new record for the Misano circuit, where he arrived at the fourth pole position start of his career.
The world championship leader Jorge Martin tried to put pressure on him, because in the first attempt he had been the fastest, but then with the second tyre he was unable to improve, perhaps suffering at a certain point also the obstacle of his teammate Franco Morbidelli, and in the end he finished 214 thousandths behind the reigning world champion, who in the decisive lap had no qualms about pulling a train of 6-7 bikes that wanted his hook.
Qualifying, however, confirmed the feeling that the first two could really have something more than all the competition. Just think that Enea Bastianini, who managed to make a big step to complete the first row, finds himself more than half a second behind his teammate. For “Beast”, however, starting from the first row is a good improvement compared to the third row two weeks ago.
It was a very good qualifying session for KTMs too, as Brad Binder and Pedro Acosta managed to climb up to fourth and fifth place. The South African had to go through Q1, but this morning he didn’t seem to be affected too much. The Spaniard was actually on the front row after his first attempt, but then he couldn’t improve, ending up long in the gravel at turn 10.
Marco Bezzecchi also performed positively, dropping one row back compared to the San Marino GP, but for the Pertamina Enduro VR46 rider, sixth place is still a result that allows him to continue his recent positive trend.
The opposite happened instead for the winner of the last two races Marc Marquez, who disappointed with the seventh time, having two crashes between FP3 and Q2, first at Turn 14 and then at Turn 3. Incidents without consequences, but which made him lose time and feeling, relegating his Gresini Racing Ducati to the third row.
Maverick Vinales confirmed the same eighth position for Aprilia as yesterday, but with a gap of just under nine tenths. His teammate Aleix Espargaro is further back, in 11th position. Fabio Quartararo took a small step back, instead, and will line up his Yamaha in ninth position, and perhaps expectations were a little higher after yesterday’s fifth time. It is also true, however, that he would have only needed to be faster by just one tenth to get on the second row.
After the excellent performances of the last race, Franco Morbidelli’s qualification should be classified as particularly negative, because the Prima Pramac Racing rider was unable to do better than the tenth time, cashing in a gap of nine tenths from the pole. An abyss because just two weeks ago he seemed to be able to compete on equal terms with the first two. The picture of the riders who had access to Q2 is then completed with the 12th time of the Aprilia Trackhouse of Miguel Oliveira.
After yesterday’s fall probably worsened the condition of his shoulder, Fabio Di Giannantonio tried to grit his teeth, but had to surrender to being eliminated in Q1, albeit by just over a tenth. The Pertamina Enduro VR46 rider, therefore, will start from the 13th position on the grid.
Sharing the fifth row with him will be the Aprilia Trackhouse of Raul Fernandez, but above all a Luca Marini who therefore completed one of the best qualifying sessions of his troubled 2024 with the 15th time, also proving to be the best of the Honda contingent.
One row further back, in fact, there are the other RC213Vs of Joan Mir and Johann Zarco, who to be fair were behind the rider from the Marche by just a handful of thousandths. Despite having been the victim of a fall at quite high speed at turn 3, Augusto Fernandez then placed 18th, surprisingly ahead of a Jack Miller who was truly unrecognisable compared to the one seen here in Misano just two weeks ago.
The same goes for Alex Marquez, who was definitely slowed down by a crash at turn 1 that cost him several minutes. The Gresini Racing rider, however, found himself in 21st place, behind Takaaki Nakagami. A decidedly disappointing result on a track where he had finished tenth in the Sprint and sixth in the long race in the GP of San Marino and the Riviera di Rimini.
The group closes with Alex Rins, but it remains to be seen whether the Yamaha rider will be able to compete: after yesterday’s violent attack of flu, this morning he seemed in better condition and took to the track in free practice, also completing 13 laps. However, he then missed Q1, so his conditions will obviously still need to be assessed.
Q2 Ranking
Q1 Ranking
#MotoGP #Bagnaia #pole #record #Misano #Martin #2nd #Marquez #falls #7th
