Not even the rain that fell between the end of Q1 and the very early stages of Q2 managed to undermine the dominance of the Ducatis in qualifying and on the Misano track. In a session that saw the times go gradually lowering to the checkered flag, the Desmosedici GPs risked monopolizing the first two rows, with only Maverick Vinales who managed to ruin the “party”.
Starting from pole position will be Jack Miller, who has always been a specialist in mixed conditions, who even today has not betrayed his fame. The Australian even managed to drop below 1’32 “despite the fact that the track was certainly not in optimal conditions, managing to print the time of 1’31” 899.
A performance with which he stole the best time from his box mate Pecco Bagnaia by just 15 thousandths. However, it must be remembered that the vice-world champion will not start from the second box of the grid, but will move back to fifth, given that a penalty of three positions on the grid hangs over his head for hindering Alex Marquez during yesterday morning’s FP1. .
In any case, two Italian riders who will complete the front row will take advantage of the setback of the Piedmontese: with the third and fourth fastest time two of the hosts, the Romagna Enea Bastianini and Marco Bezzecchi, who with their Desmosedici GP they in turn paid just over a tenth, battling for pole position to the end. The Mooney VR46 driver was notable, as he also had to pass the Q1 cut.
Vinales will also take advantage of this, as he is the only “intruder” in the first two rows with his Aprilia. But today’s qualifying is yet another proof of how much his feeling with the RS-GP is growing from race to race, because he had never been flawless in these conditions, instead he shone today, while his teammate Aleix Espargaro is only ninth.
To complete the Ducati package there are Johann Zarco in sixth position and Luca Marini in seventh, with the latter who, like his teammate, managed to qualify for Q2 thanks to the second time in Q1.
This means that the world leader Fabio Quartararo did not go beyond the eighth time, although only 347 thousandths behind. The Yamaha rider, therefore, starts at a disadvantage against his rival Bagnaia, despite the penalty that the Ducati rider has incurred, but will have at his side the direct pursuer Espargaro.
After being practically the only one to risk the slick tires at the beginning of Q2, Miguel Oliveira finished with the 10th time, gradually retreating when the others also moved on to dry tires. The picture of the first four rows is then completed with Franco Morbidelli, finally back in Q2 with his Yamaha after a long absence, and with Alex Rins’ Suzuki, once again disappointing in qualifying.
As mentioned, a light rain affected the final minutes of Q1, leaving the picture unchanged with Bezzecchi and Marini in front of everyone. The first to pay for it was Jorge Martin, who found himself eliminated by just 11 thousandths without having the opportunity to reply to the Mooney VR46 duo.
Sharing the fifth row with him will be Fabio Di Giannantonio, who in any case always manages to get a little more out of his Gresini Racing Ducati when conditions are uncertain. This is usually quite good for Brad Binder too, but this time he had to settle for 15th place on the grid with his KTM.
Only 16th for the first of the Hondas, which is that of Alex Marquez, despite the Spanish rider also crashing into turn 3 in the very early stages of the session. The two Repsol-branded RC213Vs are instead in 19th and 20th position, with Pol Espargaro just 12 thousandths faster than Stefan Bradl. Even more delayed Takaaki Nakagami, who finds himself 22nd.
In front of the HRC Hondas there are also test rider Michele Pirro with the Desmosedici GP with the Aruba.it colors and Andrea Dovizioso. The Forlì will therefore begin the last race of his MotoGP career by deploying his Yamaha RNF on the 18th spot of the grid.
The qualification of the two riders of the Tech3 team is incomprehensible, because Remy Gardner and Raul Fernandez close the group, both behind by more than 10 “, after having obtained their best reference in the second lap, continuing to see references between track limits and cuts canceled. which also saw Kazuki Watanabe, who made his MotoGP debut this weekend as a replacement for the injured Joan Mir on Suzuki, trimmed four seconds.
Q2 standings
Q1 standings
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