Francesco Bagnaia takes MotoGP pole in San Marino GP ahead of Franco Morbidelli and Marco Bezzecchi in VR46 Academy 1-2-3.
Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) has charged to an incredible pole position at the Gran Premio Red Bull di San Marino e della Riviera di Rimini, with the #1 demolishing the lap record. Bagnaia had a 0.285s advantage over the field, securing P1 on the grid ahead of Franco Morbidelli (Prima Pramac Racing), who waited until the final five minutes to set a time – catapulting to P2 on the grid. The Italian claimed his first front-row start since 2021 and will be joined on the front row by Marco Bezzecchi (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team), who continues an impressive Saturday after topping FP2 ahead of qualifying.
Lap records broken
It was a thrilling Q1, with Alex Marquez (Gresini Racing MotoGP) topping the standings after an impressive late lap cemented the #73’s place in Q2. Joining Alex Marquez in Q2 was, Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) who ended the session in second as Pol Espargaro (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) suffered his second crash of the morning. Once Q2 began, fast laps were instantly clocked by Bagnaia – setting a 1:30.928 benchmark time. The #1 had an incredible first run, further improving by three-tenths on his second lap.
The field briefly returned to pitlane before heading to track for their final runs, in a thrilling end to the session. Bagnaia instantly improved on his second run – breaking the lap record in the process. Meanwhile, there was a crash for Marc Marquez (Gresini Racing MotoGP), with the #93 losing the front at Turn 15 with less than five minutes remaining. Then in the closing stages, Morbidelli and Bezzecchi put together a strong final run, jumping onto an all-Italian front row.
Martin starts from the second row
For the second Grand Prix in a row, Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac Racing) will start from fourth on the grid, ending Q2 0.341s adrift from his title rival. Martin will have a tough challenge, starting from a competitive second row of the grid, as Red Bull GASGAS Tech3’s Pedro Acosta starts from an impressive fifth. Binder will round out the second row of the grid after the South African stormed to P6 after battling from Q1.
Heading the third row of the grid will be Alex Marquez, who takes the seventh spot on the grid – aiming to score some solid points. The Spaniard starts ahead of Enea Bastianini (Ducati Lenovo Team), with the Beast starting from eighth after showing strong pace throughout the weekend in Misano. Meanwhile, Marc Marquez is down in ninth, unable to return to track after his spill at Turn 15.
Further back, Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing) is forced to start from 13th ahead of Fabio Di Giannantonio (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team) and Pol Espargaro, who will aim to carve through the field in the Sprint and on Sunday after a Q1 exit.
Result: https://x.com/MotoGP/status/1832355127102968268
Joan Mir –
Joan Mir (Repsol Honda Team) has withdrawn from the Gran Premio Red Bull di San Marino e della Riviera di Rimini, under the instruction of Medical Staff, led by Dr Charte. The #36 has suffered from intense gastroenteritis throughout the weekend, initially sitting out on Friday before withdrawing from the San Marino Grand Prix.
The 2020 World Champion showed some signs of improvement overnight, but his condition worsened again on Saturday morning. Mir’s target is to return to track on Monday for the important Misano MotoGP Official Test.
Alberto Puig, Team Manager of the Repsol Honda Team, said: “Yesterday in the afternoon he started to feel really well. He went out of the motorhome, he went for a walk, and the colour of his face came back to normal because before it was white. He was feeling really good, he could even have supper.
“He went to sleep, and everything was ok in the night but this morning after he woke up, he had breakfast and then again threw up, vomited, he had a white face and then we went to the doctor. Looks like his level of stamina is very low again and Dr Charte strongly recommended not to go. He will not go for this weekend’s race, and our target now is on Monday’s Test because that’s all he can do. He’ll try to rest as much as possible for Monday, and we’ll see if he can go on Monday.”
[Note: The story is as per press release]
