Francesco Bagnaia celebrates his first MotoGP pole of the season in Jerez – Fabio Quartararo and Aleix Espargaro on row one – Alex Rins fails again in Q1
A week ago in Portimao he had to start from the back of the grid. In qualifying at Jerez, Francesco Bagnaia made an impressive comeback and rode to his first pole position of the 2022 MotoGP season
The Ducati rider set a new track record with a best time of 1’36.170, leaving the competition no chance. Fabio Quartararo (Yamaha) had to settle for second place, 0.453 seconds behind. Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia) again made the front row of the grid in third.
“I’m really happy because we worked really well this weekend,” summed up the pole-sitter, who bruised his shoulder at Portimao. “Looking back, I’m happy that I got to race in Portimao. Because thanks to that race I found my feeling again to be able to push. “
Quartararo lurks with strong race pace
He is suitably confident for the race: “My pace in FT4 was also quite good. This is a really good day for us.” However, Quartararo also had one. “This is a great starting position for tomorrow,” he says about second place on the grid.
“‘Pecco’ was unbeatable in qualifying today. He was half a second faster than everyone else. So that must have been a really strong lap. As for me, my pace was really good in FT4. I think we are well prepared for the race and that is the most important thing. I am very confident. “
Aleix Espargaro also points out, “I’m very happy because since the first lap on Friday I have a very good feeling here.” On row one he is slowly becoming a regular. “I did a crazy lap in qualifying. I literally had to switch off my brain to make it to the front row!”
Some big names already represented in Q1
The premier class found the best conditions for their qualifying session on Saturday afternoon. The thermometer had climbed to 27 degrees in the air and 46 degrees on the asphalt.
In Q1, Johann Zarco (Pramac-Ducati), Alex Rins (Suzuki), Pol Espargaro (Honda) and the KTM factory riders were already fighting to advance. As usual, however, only the two fastest riders made it into Q2.
This time it was two Ducatis. Zarco secured the session best time in the final lap. MotoGP rookie Marco Bezzecchi from the VR46 team outdid the rest of the competition and – despite a crash – advanced a lap further in second. Pol Espargaro was just three thousandths off the pace to make it through to Q2.
Marquez looks for a fast rear wheel
Leaving it as late as possible! @JohannZarco1 barges @polespargaro OUT of his Q2 place! SpanishGP pic.twitter.com/aU9JPwXR8j
– MotoGP™ (@MotoGP) April 30, 2022
The battle for pole took place without the Honda rider. In Q2, World Champion Quartararo led the way with a first best time, while Jorge Martin (Pramac-Ducati) crashed early and had to switch to his second bike. Marc Marquez (Honda) latched on to Bagnaia’s rear wheel and initially took fifth place.
In the second run, Marquez then chose Quartararo as a reference. The latter was displaced in the classification by Bagnaia, who took the lead by some distance. Although Quartararo was also able to improve again, the gap remained clear.
Aleix Espargaro moved up to third place at the end and kicked Miller out of the front row. Marc Marquez, who had been fourth at one point, dropped back to fifth. Zarco completed the second row in sixth. He was already one second off the pole time.
Rins and all KTMs fail to make it into Q2
Takaaki Nakagami (LCR-Honda) finished seventh in qualifying, followed by Bezzecchi and Joan Mir (Suzuki), who was unable to attack after a crash. Martin finished tenth as a result of his early crash. Enea Bastianini (Gresini-Ducati), also crashed, and Maverick Vinales (Aprilia) lined up behind.
Pole position challenge over for @JoanMirOfficial and @Bestia23!
They’ve both gone down late in the session! SpanishGP pic.twitter.com/683axY3SG9
– MotoGP™ (@MotoGP) April 30, 2022
For Rins and Binder, qualifying already ended in Q1 with 14th and 15th on the grid, while Franco Morbidelli (Yamaha), Fabio Di Giannantonio (Gresini-Ducati) and Remy Gardner (Tech-3-KTM), who crashed late on, did not make it past the sixth row.
Honda tester Stefan Bradl will start his 200th Grand Prix from position 20. The German finished behind Luca Marini (VR46-Ducati) and ahead of Miguel Oliveira (KTM) in qualifying. The latter first had to wait out some time in the pits due to technical problems in Q1 and eventually got stuck in 20th place.
Only four riders fared worse: Alex Marqueu (LCR-Honda), Andrea Dovizioso (RNF-Yamaha), Aprilia tester Lorenzo Savadori and Darryn Binder (RNF-Yamaha) close out the Jerez grid in 22nd to 25th place.
