Last weekend it was Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac Racing) who stole the qualifying show. Seven days later, it was the turn of title rival Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) to do some Q2 record-breaking as the #1 fired in a belting 1:28.700 to bag a crucial pole position in a drama-filled Buriram battle. It also makes him a little history as the Ducati rider with most poles (22), surpassing MotoGP™ Legend Casey Stoner’s count with the Bologna factory.
Enea Bastianini (Ducati Lenovo Team) launches from P2, ‘The Beast’ a couple of tenths shy of teammate Pecco, as Martin is forced to settle for P3 after the Championship leader crashed at Turn 5 in the closing stages of Q2.
Marc Marquez (Gresini Racing MotoGP™) was another big name to crash in Q2. The Australian GP winner’s qualifying stint ended at Turn 3 while the #93 was shadowing Martin. The Practice pacesetter eyes a victory challenge from fifth on the grid at the PT Grand Prix of Thailand.
Q1
After the opening flying laps landed, Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) was the pacesetter by 0.260s with Fabio Di Giannantonio (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team) an early P2. Binder improved on his next lap but Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP™) climbed to P1 before Di Giannantonio beat the Frenchman’s lap by 0.008s. This meant 0.020s split Di Giannantonio, Quartararo and Binder after the first runs, with Jack Miller (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) only 0.122s away from P1 in fourth.
With three minutes to go, Binder returned to the Q1 summit to relegate Quartararo out of the top two. But after producing a classy save at Turn 5 on his first effort, El Diablo responded with a lap good enough for P2 on his next push. However, Di Giannantonio then went P1 again by just over a tenth to demote Quartararo back to third. That didn’t last long though. The #20 pinched P1 by 0.023s to leave Binder in P3 and with the South African not on a flying lap, the #33 KTM was out. That meant Quartararo and Di Giannantonio entered the Q2 chat, with Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing) and Miller P4 and P5 in Q1.
Q2
After a brief pause, the Q2 boom began in Buriram. The most important 15 minutes of the event so far started with Marc Marquez losing the rear at Turn 3 and Martin running slightly wide at Turn 4. Meanwhile, Bagnaia found a 1:29.331 on his first effort to sit eight tenths faster than Quartararo. The Italian then set a 1:29.076, a new all-time lap record, as Martin went 0.054s slower to slot into P2. Marc Marquez’s first competitive time placed the #93 in P3, 0.310s adrift, with Bastianini an early P4.
Marco Bezzecchi (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team) then slotted his GP23 into P3 to shove Marquez off the provisional front row, as the Q2 runners returned to the box for fresh rubber. Were we about to witness the first-ever 1:28 lap around the Chang International Circuit?
The answer was yes. But before that, drama unfolded at Turn 3. Marquez was down and out of Q2, rider ok but no chance to rejoin, so it was P4 at best for the eight-time World Champion. In the meantime, Pecco slammed in a phenomenal 1:27.700 as Turn 5 then bit Martin. The Championship frontrunner was on the deck and also out of Q2, as Bastianini made it a factory Ducati 1-2 to relegate the #89 to P3.
Franco Morbidelli then made it two Prima Pramac Racing machines to end qualifying in the gravel, the Italian crashed unhurt at Turn 9. So now the question was could anyone do further damage to Martin’s grid slot? Bezzecchi was close but the Italian couldn’t improve on his penultimate lap.
Quartararo’s stunning charge then clicked into gear as he climbed to P6, slotting in just ahead of rookie Pedro Acosta (Red Bull GASGAS Tech3).
And that was all she wrote. Bagnaia couldn’t improve but it didn’t matter. A decisive pole position was pocketed for the #1, as teammate Bastianini kept P2 and Martin held onto a front row despite the fall.
THE GRID
Bezzecchi spearheads the second row ahead of a frustrated Marc Marquez and impressive Quartararo, with Acosta fronting Row 3 in P7. Di Giannantonio and Alex Marquez (Gresini Racing MotoGP™) join the rookie in P8 and P9.
Maverick Viñales (Aprilia Racing) set a late lap to grab P10, and Morbidelli’s crash cost the Italian a chance of starting higher than P11. The same can be said for Johann Zarco (CASTROL Honda LCR) as the Frenchman suffered a late tumble to see the HRC star launch from P12.
Drama aplenty then on Saturday morning – and it’s shaped us up nicely for the Tissot Sprint and Sunday’s race in Thailand. Will there be more twists in the 2024 title race tale? It won’t be long before we find out…
SATURDAY
TISSOT SPRINT: 15:00 (UTC +7)
SUNDAY
GRAND PRIX: 15:00 (UTC +7)
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