MotoGP Race And Practice Results

Not even the boiling 58°C tarmac could prevent threats to the all-time lap record around the Barcelona-Catalunya circuit and it was the local boy who stole the show to secure a dream pole position on his favourite playground. His speed throughout practice made him the clear favourite for pole but Aleix Espargaro kindly allowed Fabio Quartararo and Pecco Bagnaia some time in the limelight, before retrieving top spot in the final minute of Q2 and improving his own lap record set in the morning session. Although the gap to Bagnaia was only three hundredths of a second, it was too much for the Italian to overcome and he had to admit defeat and settle for second on the grid. Quartararo had no response to the Spaniard’s speed either but will join his main rivals on the front row of the grid.

If the front row was a more diverse affair, Ducati machines locked out row two, with the purple-tinted threats of Johann Zarco and Jorge Martin sandwiching another excellent performance from Fabio Di Giannantonio, the rookie only three tenths off pole. Alex Rins saved the day for Suzuki with seventh position, opening third row ahead of Q1 leader Maverick Viñales. The Spaniard had to fight his way through a very competitive Q1 session and fully earned his third row start, ahead of Luca Marini. The first Honda could be found on fourth row, where Pol Espargaro led the way from Jack Miller and Takaaki Nakagami – the Japanese rider serving a surprise in Q1 to deny some other fast men a place in Q2.

The first of those men was Marco Bezzecchi, the fine rookie spending much of the session in the top two positions but eventually missing out by one hundredth of a second. An even bigger name to miss out was Enea Bastianini, the most prolific victor of the season being denied passage to Q2 by three hundredths of a second and stuck with a fifth row start. The KTMs came out to play – if only briefly – with both Brad Binder and Miguel Oliveira threatening the top positions halfway through Q1, before settling for 15th and 16th on the grid, just ahead of a perpetually struggling Joan Mir. A notable absence from qualifying was Alex Marquez, who needed a trip to the medical centre after a fast tumble at turn 14 in FP4.

Results:

Qualifying in Barcelona started with some Moto3 mayhem but ended in rather predictable fashion, with the fastest man in practice picking up top spot at the start of Q2 and leading throughout the session. Dennis Foggia went even quicker in his second run to secure a second career pole position with an advantage of a tenth of a second. Although Izan Guevara seemed to be his main threat, in the end it was Deniz Öncü who went from last on the timing screens to second at the chequered flag, sneaking ahead of the Spaniard on the front row.

If the front row line-up was a pretty familiar one, the second row was more of a surprise, with Lorenzo Fellon headlining it in fourth, less than three tenths of a second off pole. Ryusei Yamanaka’s good run of form continued with a close escape from Q1 and fifth place on the grid, while Riccardo Rossi joined his teammate and Q1 colleague on row two. Sergio Garcia seemed to struggle to match his rivals’ pace and had to settle for a third row start, ahead of the CIP Green Power duo of Kaito Toba and Joel Kelso. Tatsuki Suzuki could not quite match his teammate’s pace and rounded out the top 10 positions instead, opening fourth row from John McPhee and rookie Matteo Bertelle.

The other noteworthy rookie, Scott Ogden, had a roller coaster of an afternoon, topping Q1 but taking a tumble on some paint at turn three, putting his mechanics in a race against time to prepare his machine for Q2. The mission was successful and the British rider climbed as high as 13th, sharing fifth row with class veterans Jaume Masia and Andrea Migno. Masia’s speed promised more than 14th grid position, but a crash at turn 12 on a red-hot final flying lap robbed him of a chance to progress. David Salvador continued his successful cameo in the world championship with a sixth row start ahead of rookie Daniel Holgado and Carlos Tatay, who was last in Q2 after a crash late in the session. Some of the surprises of Q1 included Xavier Artigas struggling to threaten the top four and settling for 21st on the grid and rookie Ivan Ortolá with a pretty baffling back of the grid start.

Results:

MotoGP machines were unleashed in another beautiful low grip morning in Barcelona and spent much of their time chasing a precious Q2-worthy flying lap. Despite some early eagerness from the likes of Fabio Quartararo and Maverick Viñales, they were no match for the man of the moment, Aleix Espargaro, who posted the first 1:38 time of the weekend to go over half a second quicker than the opposition. Rivals spent the final third of the session trying to close down that gap and Johann Zarco eventually managed to come within a tenth of the Spaniard, but Espargaro’s new lap record meant he didn’t even have to bother with the final time attack.

Gaps were significantly more modest behind Espargaro and Zarco, with Jorge Martin joining the top three only two thousandths of a second ahead of Pecco Bagnaia, who in turn had only six hundredths in hand over teammate Jack Miller. After leading the way early on, Quartararo dropped to sixth, three tenths off top spot and another tenth ahead of Luca Marini – the Italian’s late pace causing some mixed feelings in the Aprilia garage, as he pushed Viñales out of top 10 contention. The remaining Q2 tickets were claimed by Pol Espargaro – despite an early tumble at turn five – Alex Rins and Fabio Di Giannantonio, the Italian rookie proving his speed once more to complete a top 10 covered by six tenths of a second.

Despite the fast start to his weekend/session, Viñales found himself in Q1 once more, but this time with better odds of making it out. However, he is likely to face strong competition from the likes of Enea Bastianini, who dropped out of contention in the closing stages of FP3, as well as Joan Mir, Marco Bezzecchi or Takaaki Nakagami. The gaggle of KTMs will have to enjoy some Q1 action as well, with Brad Binder as their top performer in 16th position, eight tenths slower than the leader.

Results: