Quartararo will start from pole position at MotorLand on Sunday after being surprisingly brave in qualifying and having suffered a serious fall in the last practice session.
The Frenchman was spotted in the paddock with a crutch on Saturday at Turn 14 but returned to the track to take a second straight pole ahead of Maverick Vinales, with Cal Crutchlow finishing third.
MotoGP 2020: Incredible Quartararo goes from stretcher to bar in Aragon
Quartararo has won all three races in Spain this year and with Joan Mir 10 points behind the Petronas Yamaha rider in the drivers’ standings, only sixth, knocks the chance for the leader.
WHAT HAPPENED DURING THE QUALIFICATION?
Things looked bleak for Quartararo when he was carried on a stretcher from the side of the track in RP3, but after an X-ray in the medical tent, he was given the all-clear.
The 21-year-old also crashed on Friday but showed in qualifying that he is a man on a mission in the battle for the title.
A lap of one minute and 47.076 seconds gave him two poles in a row after starting in the lead at Le Mans last weekend before finishing in ninth place.
The wounded Quartararo struck Vinales in the final moments of qualifying and sent a big message to his rivals. I will still appreciate his chances even though he gave himself the job while Andrea Dovizioso was furious after failing to make it out of the first quarter.
Dovizioso is just 18 points behind Quartararo but that could be a lot bigger on Sunday as he will start 13th on the grid.
No Ducati rider made it into the second quarter automatically, but Jack Miller finished fifth behind Franco Morbidelli, while Danilo Petrucci – winner of the French Grand Prix – qualified eighth.
THE STARTING GRATE
1. Fabio Quartararo (Petronas Yamaha), 2. Maverick Vinales (Monster Energy Yamaha), 3. Cal Crutchlow (LCR Honda) 4. Franco Morbidelli (Petronas Yamaha), 5. Jack Miller (Pramac Racing), 6. Joan Mir ( Suzuki Ecstar) 7. Takaaki Nakagami (LCR Honda), 8. Danilo Petrucci (Ducati), 9. Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia) 10. Alex Rins (Suzuki Ecstar), 11. Alex Marquez (Repsol Honda), 12. Pol Espargaro ( Red Bull KTM factory race) 13th Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati), 14th Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM factory race), 15th Iker Lecuona (Red Bull KTM Tech 3) 16th Johann Zarco (Esponsorama Racing), 17th Francesco Bagnaia (Pramac Racing), 18th Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM Tech 3) 19th Bradley Smith (Aprilia), 20th Tito Rabat (Esponsorama Racing), 21st Stefan Bradl (Repsol Honda)
ARAGON GRAND PRIX SPEAKING POINTS
I said Quartararo had “lost the most” despite having increased his lead by two points at the French Grand Prix last weekend.
Quartararo let his riding do the talking on Saturday and has another Spanish success in his sights after victories at the Spanish Grand Prix, a triumph in Andalusia and a victory in Catalonia.
What is certain is that there will be a new winner of this race on Sunday, with Marc Marquez unable to claim victory for the fifth time in a row.
Casey Stoner was the last non-Spaniard to win the Aragon GP in 2011 and Vinales hopes that trend will continue.
Dovizioso certainly won’t end Spanish dominance and it would be an enormous achievement if he avoided his longest run without a podium in the premier class since 2016.
The Ducati rider has completed five races without making the top three.
WHAT THE DRIVERS SAID
Fabio Quartararo (Pole): “As soon as I had the crash I wasn’t sure if I could drive. Right now it’s not that bad, but when I crashed I felt pretty bad. I got up and felt that something was wrong, but I’m so happy because it was a rough morning. “
Maverick Vinales (2nd): “I’m very happy and honestly couldn’t have asked for much more. I felt incredible, which is the most important thing, and tomorrow we will try to improve a little and hopefully have more. ” Consistency.”
Cal Crutchlow (3rd): It’s nice to come over here and get a first row. I was so close to Le Mans. The team did a great job, we worked hard and we seem to have taken a small step in each session.
CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS
driver 1. Fabio Quartararo (Petronas Yamaha) 115 2. Joan Mir (Suzuki Ecstar) 105 3. Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati) 97 4. Maverick Vinales (Monster Energy Yamaha) 96 5. Takaaki Nakagami (LCR Honda) 81
Teams 1. Petronas Yamaha 192 2. Suzuki Ecstar 165 3. Ducati 161 4. Monster Energy Yamaha 154 5. Red Bull KTM Factory Racing 135
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