Bagnaia takes pole for San Marino GP, leads VR46 Academy front-row
Francesco Bagnaia took pole position for the San Marino Grand Prix, setting a 1:30.304 as he led the other VR46 Academy riders Franco Morbidelli and Marco Bezzecchi, who complete the front row.
Bagnaia took a crucial pole position, with Jorge Martin starting from fourth and Marc Marquez starting ninth, after a crash during his final run.
In Q1, it would be Alex Marquez and Brad Binder who set the fastest times, therefore progressing into the final qualifying session, as Aleix Espargaro and Fabio Di Giannantonio both missed out. Di Giannantonio is nursing an issue with his left shoulder, therefore making the high speed section in Sector 3, increasingly difficult.
However, during Q2 it would be Francesco Bagnaia who set blistering pace on his pole lap, despite being slow in the first sector. He would surprisingly be followed by Franco Morbidelli for second, the Italian successfully qualified on the front row for the first time since Jerez 2021.
Marco Bezzecchi would also join the pair of VR46 Academy riders, managing to find enough pace in the Ducati Desmosedici GP24 at Misano, a track where the VR46 Academy riders often train at. Bezzecchi was around three tenths off the fastest time, as Bagnaia laid down the hammer and delivered a crucial blow against the rest of the grid.
Marc Marquez would end up ninth, after a crash during the final few minutes at Turn 15 ruined his chances of any final flying laps, Marquez will need to work increasingly hard to make up places on a narrow Misano circuit.
The MotoGP Misano Sprint Race starts at 14:00 UK Time on Saturday.
MotoGP San Marino GP Qualifying Results and Starting Grid
1st Francesco Bagnaia, Ducati
2nd Franco Morbidelli, Prima Pramac
3rd Marco Bezzecchi, VR46 Racing
4th Jorge Martin, Prima Pramac
5th Pedro Acosta, Red Bull GasGas Tech3 KTM
6th Brad Binder, Red Bull Factory KTM
7th Alex Marquez, Gresini Racing
8th Enea Bastianini, Ducati
9th Marc Marquez, Gresini Racing
10th Fabio Quartararo, Yamaha
11th Maverick Vinales, Aprilia
12th Jack Miller, Red Bull Factory KTM
13th Aleix Espargaro, Aprilia
14th Fabio Di Giannantonio, VR46 Racing
15th Pol Espargaro, Red Bull Factory KTM
16th Johann Zarco, LCR Honda
17th Augusto Fernandez, Red Bull GasGas Tech3 KTM
18th Miguel Oliveira, Trackhouse Racing
19th Raul Fernandez, Trackhouse Racing
20th Alex Rins, Yamaha
21st Luca Marini, Repsol Honda
22nd Takaaki Nakagami, LCR Honda
23rd Stefan Bradl, HRC Test Team
Featured Image: Ducati Corse Media
