Jorge Martin took MotoGP pole in Austrian GP despite the injured thumb, ahead of Francesco Bagnaia and Marc Marquez.
Q1:
The first part in MotoGP qualifying in Austrian GP at a sunny Red Bull Ring saw GASGAS Tech 3’s Pedro Acosta lead the way with a 1m28.864s lap from KTM’s Jack Miller after the first run, with Yamaha’s Fabio Quartararo just outside in third.
Trackhouse Aprilia’s Miguel Oliveira slotted in fourth from LCR Honda’s Johann Zarco, as Yamaha’s Alex Rins did not have a good first run to have no lap time against his name. He was forced to switch to his second bike for his second run to set at least one fast lap.
KTM wildcard Pol Espargaro ran slightly out of sequence to take the top slot with a 1m28.635s as other riders started their second run. The improvement came from Miller who went 0.068s quicker to set the pace with a 1m28.567s lap.
It was enough to get him into Q2 alongside Espargaro as Oliveira set the same lap time as the Spaniard but had to be content with third, to start 13th in the races. Acosta improved on his final lap but it was only for 14th from Quartararo in the Top 15.
Tech 3’s Augusto Fernandez was 16th from Zarco, who led the Honda factory pair of Luca Marini and Joan Mir in 18th and 19th. Trackhouse’s Raul Fernandez was 20th from Rins, LCR’s Takaaki Nakagami and wildcards Stefan Bradl (Honda) and Luca Savadori (Aprilia).
Q2:
The second part in MotoGP qualifying in Austrian GP saw Ducati’s Francesco Bagnaia set lap record breaking pace with a 1m28.142s lap ahead of Pramac Ducati’s Jorge Martin, who had a freak accident on Friday night in the shower where he cut his left thumb.
He carried dressing on the thumb but it didn’t slow him down to be second from Gresini Ducati’s Marc Marquez, Miller and Aprilia’s Aleix Espargaro in the Top 5. The field had only one VR46 Ducati of Marco Bezzecchi after Fabio di Giannantonio was ruled out.
He had a heavy crash in practice and injured his shoulder. The second run saw the Top 2 steal the show with record pace, as KTM’s Espargaro crashed out of qualifying. It was Martin who upped the pace with a 1m27.748s lap – the first to dip in the 1m27s barrier.
It was enough to secure him MotoGP pole in Austrian GP despite the cut thumb, as Bagnaia had to be content with second after dipping in the 1m27s barrier himself. The Italian ran out of fuel to get back in the pits and stopped at the side of the track.
M Marquez retook third after A Espargaro briefly took the spot, as Miller was fifth coming through from Q1. Aprilia’s Maverick Vinales also find pace to be sixth from Ducati’s Enea Bastianini, whose fast lap was cancelled due to yellow flag.
Pramac’s Franco Morbidelli was looking good until a moment to be eighth from Bezzecchi, P Espargaro, Gresini’s Alex Marquez and KTM’s Brad Binder to round out the Top 12 riders, where Espargaro’s lap before his accident was enough to be 10th.