MotoGP Spanish GP: Fabio Quartararo stuns Ducati…

Yamaha’s Fabio Quartararo broke Ducati’s long stranglehold on MotoGP pole positions by going fastest in Saturday’s qualifying for the Spanish Grand Prix at Jerez.

The 2021 world champion thus delivered on the clear potential he had shown in Friday practice, when he reported he was surprised by his own speed aboard the M1.

The pole position is the first for a non-Ducati since Pedro Acosta’s pole at last year’s Japanese Grand Prix in October.

It also opens the door to a possible breakthrough for one of Ducati’s rivals in race trim: it has been Ducati all the way in grands prix since Maverick Vinales’s dominant weekend at the Americas GP last April, while Aleix Espargaro’s Catalan Grand Prix sprint race victory last May was the last non-Ducati win of any description.

Championship leader Marc Marquez will line up alongside Quartararo, with Francesco Bagnaia rounding out the front row on the second factory Ducati.

Qualifying 2 was a straight dry-weather fight without yellow flags or other complications.

When Marc Marquez set down a stunning lap record time of 1m35.643 with his first lap of the session, it was a huge statement and a major challenge for his rivals.

Marc Marquez, Ducati Team (Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images)

However, Marc had no response when Quartararo edged him during the second and final runs. Marquez, who had taken every pole of the season until today, could not improve on his initial benchmark.

Marc’s brother Alex Marquez will start fourth, missing out on the front row by just three thousands of a second. The Gresini Ducati rider will be disappointed after having starred on Friday with what was then a lap record of his own.

VR46 Ducati rider Franco Morbidelli bounced back well from a high-speed crash in practice to claim fifth on the grid, alongside Vinales, who had made it through from Q1 aboard the Tech3 KTM.

Row three will be made up of rookie sensation Fermin Aldegeuer (Gresini Ducati), the second VR46 bike of Fabio di Giannantonio and Joan Mir, who will lead the Honda attack aboard the factory machine.

LCR Honda rider Johann Zarco will start 10th, with Marco Bezzecchi (Aprilia) and Pedro Acosta (KTM) for company.

Earlier, Q1 began in the aftermath of a dramatic Free Practice 2 session that saw several riders fall, including Bagnaia, Morbidelli, Acosta and Alex Rins.

Rins, whose main bike was destroyed and who needed a quick check-up at the medical centre, had the tightest turnaround given that he had not made it directly into Q2. The Spaniard did manage to get out just in time to set a lap time in Q1, but it was too late for him to find his best rhythm aboard his spare bike and he will line up last on the grid.

Meanwhile, up at the front of Q1, Vinales proved his claim that he hadn’t shown his true potential on Friday, absolutely breezing into Q2. Bezzecchi was the only rider to offer a hint of a threat, but the Italian couldn’t even beat Vinales’ second-fastest lap of the session.

MotoGP Spanish GP - Qualifying results

1 - 2
Cla	Rider	#	Bike	Laps	Time	Interval	km/h	Speed Trap
1	F. Quartararo Yamaha Factory Racing	20	Yamaha	8	1'35.610		166.539	292
2	M. Marquez Ducati Team	93	Ducati	7	+0.033 1'35.643	0.033	166.481	295
3	F. Bagnaia Ducati Team	63	Ducati	8	+0.145 1'35.755	0.112	166.286	298
4	A. Marquez Gresini Racing	73	Ducati	8	+0.148 1'35.758	0.003	166.281	296
5	F. Morbidelli Team VR46	21	Ducati	8	+0.218 1'35.828	0.070	166.160	298
6	M. Viñales Tech 3	12	KTM	7	+0.242 1'35.852	0.024	166.118	295
7	F. Aldeguer Gresini Racing	54	Ducati	8	+0.368 1'35.978	0.126	165.900	295
8	F. Di Giannantonio Team VR46	49	Ducati	9	+0.444 1'36.054	0.076	165.769	298
9	J. Mir Honda HRC	36	Honda	8	+0.551 1'36.161	0.107	165.584	295
10	J. Zarco Team LCR	5	Honda	7	+0.597 1'36.207	0.046	165.505	296
11	M. Bezzecchi Aprilia Racing Team	72	Aprilia	9	+0.607 1'36.217	0.010	165.488	297
12	P. Acosta Red Bull KTM Factory Racing	37	KTM	7	+0.730 1'36.340	0.123	165.277	300
View full results

1 - 2
Cla	Rider	#	Bike	Laps	Time	Interval	km/h	Speed Trap
1	M. Viñales Tech 3	12	KTM	6	1'36.284		165.373	294
2	M. Bezzecchi Aprilia Racing Team	72	Aprilia	9	+0.167 1'36.451	0.167	165.086	298
3	B. Binder Red Bull KTM Factory Racing	33	KTM	8	+0.300 1'36.584	0.133	164.859	296
4	J. Miller Pramac Racing	43	Yamaha	8	+0.346 1'36.630	0.046	164.781	292
5	A. Ogura Trackhouse Racing Team	79	Aprilia	9	+0.416 1'36.700	0.070	164.661	295
6	L. Marini Honda HRC	10	Honda	8	+0.446 1'36.730	0.030	164.610	291
7	R. Fernández Trackhouse Racing Team	25	Aprilia	8	+0.475 1'36.759	0.029	164.561	294
8	E. Bastianini Tech 3	23	KTM	8	+0.543 1'36.827	0.068	164.445	297
9	A. Espargaro Honda HRC Test Team	41	Honda	6	+0.697 1'36.981	0.154	164.184	291
10	A. Fernandez Pramac Racing	7	Yamaha	9	+0.720 1'37.004	0.023	164.145	292
11	S. Chantra Team LCR	35	Honda	8	+1.543 1'37.827	0.823	162.764	292
12	L. Savadori Aprilia Racing Team	32	Aprilia	4	+1.778 1'38.062	0.235	162.374	295
13	A. Rins Yamaha Factory Racing	42	Yamaha	2	+2.693 1'38.977	0.915	160.873	289
View full results