Espargaro takes fairytale pole to head Bagnaia and Raul Fernandez as Marc Marquez misses the cut.
A second pole of the season for Aprilia, a maiden front row for Trackhouse, no ticket to Q2 for #MM93 and a tumble for Martin: the storylines overflow in qualifying.
The fairytale continues for Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing)! After announcing he’ll bow out at the end of the season, he went fastest on Friday and followed it up with pole position at the Gran Premi Monster Energy de Catalunya. Reigning Champion Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) is second on the grid by just 0.031s, with a P3 for Raul Fernandez confirmed just after the session after his best lap was reinstated to give both the #25 and Trackhouse Racing their maiden front row.
Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) had celebrated that third in parc ferme before a review showed Raul Fernandez had gone through green panels, not yellow flags, on his best lap, but the KTM rider nevertheless starts fourth and a full 18 places ahead of Le Mans as he bounced back from that in style.
Marc Marquez (Gresini Racing MotoGP™), meanwhile, will face a similar mountain to climb as he did in France, starting P14 after failing to make it through Q1.
Q1: LAST MINUTE LAP RECORD
It was another packed Q1 and another appearance for eight-time World Champion Marc Marquez (Gresini Racing MotoGP™), and it wasn’t smooth sailing this time round either. In France it was Miguel Oliveira who knocked him out of contention and this time round, Oliveira’s Trackhouse Racing teammate Raul Fernandez was one of those who did the same.
The #25 was fastest in the session as both Marc Marquez and teammate Alex Marquez looked for a way through, but a last dash for glory from Fabio Di Giannantonio (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team) saw the Italian not only depose Raul Fernandez from the top of Q1 but break the lap record, to much delight in the team’s box.
Diggia and Raul Fernandez moved through, leaving Alex Marquez P13 on the grid and Marc Marquez P14 – just ahead of a tougher session for Oliveira in P15 and Marco Bezzecchi (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team) in 16th.