Aleix Espargaro secured the first place on the grid for the Catalunya MotoGP Grand Prix in an exciting final lap during the session. This victory comes after a year of absence from the pole position, making it a fairytale ending for his career following his recent retirement announcement.
Espargaro beat his previous lap record from yesterday in front of his home crowd, clocking an impressive time of 1.38.190s. This impressive performance allowed him to snatch the pole position from Francesco Bagnaia.
Brad Binder, riding for KTM, managed to secure third place on the grid, while rookie Pedro Acosta made a strong comeback after a challenging race in Le Mans, finishing just behind in fourth place.
Fabio Di Giannantonio also had a commendable performance, starting in fifth place for both races. Despite a tough Q1, he managed to overcome the odds and put himself in contention for a podium finish in Saturday afternoon’s Sprint.
Unfortunately, the Pramac Ducati duo had a disastrous qualifying session. Both riders crashed together at Turn 2 during their final laps, resulting in Jorge Martin in sixth place and Franco Morbidelli in tenth.
Raul Fernandez, aboard the Trackhouse Aprilia, had reasons to celebrate as he qualified in seventh place. Enea Bastianini, who struggled during the practice sessions leading up to qualifying, secured eighth place on the grid for the race.
Yamaha’s Alex Rins impressed during practice, securing a spot in Q2 and starting in ninth place. Jack Miller, representing KTM, finished in ninth place on the grid.
On the other hand, Maverick Vinales had a disappointing qualifying session, finishing in 12th place. In contrast to his teammate’s success, he will have a challenging task ahead in the Sprint and Sunday’s race.
In Q1, the Gresini Ducati duo, Alex and Marc Marquez, initially set the pace, but they failed to significantly improve on their second runs, resulting in them finishing in 13th and 14th place, respectively.
Unfortunately, Miguel Oliveira was unable to make it to Q2 like his Trackhouse teammate, only managing to secure 15th place on the grid. Marco Bezzecchi struggled throughout the weekend and qualified in 16th place, while the current champion, Fabio Quartararo, ended up in 17th place, despite being a strong contender for Q2 earlier in the Q1 session.
Johann Zarco’s hopes of qualifying for Q2 were dashed by a late crash, but his earlier lap in the session allowed him to finish as the top Honda rider in 18th place.
Augusto Fernandez, the only KTM rider who had to go through Q1, faces a tough task as he qualified in a disappointing 19th place.
The other Honda riders, including Takaaki Nakagami from LCR and the Repsol Honda duo, Joan Mir and Luca Marini, occupy the last positions on the grid.
Honda test rider Stefan Bradl had a challenging qualifying session, finishing half a second behind in last place.
