08/07/2021 |
Christina Bulpett |
MotoGP
Image: GeeBee Pictures
An all-time MotoGP lap record secured Pramac Ducati’s Jorge Martin a sensational pole position in Spielberg this afternoon when qualifying for the Styrian GP was held.
Fabio Quartararo’s top performance in the session was canceled in the last few seconds due to a track violation at turn eight. Pecco Bagnaia took second place while the Frenchman fell back to third place. Ducati dominated the day’s action by blocking four of the top six places.
Alex Rins, Pol Espargaro and Miguel Oliveira joined Valentino Rossi in the battle for the top two as Q1 heated up at the Red Bull Ring. The Suzuki driver took the first blood with a 1’23.844 when Brad Binder Espargaro held for the coveted last place.
Alex Marquez was next to put his cap in second place on his fourth attempt before Oliveira led the time thanks to a 1’23.773.
For the last three minutes, Rossi circled Dani Pedrosa’s wheels while the pair finished fifth and sixth. The returning Catalan tried to improve on his next round before losing in the final sector.
A late performance by Enea Bastianini took the booty with a 1’23.510 before the time of the Avintia was cleared. Rins leads Pedrosa and Espargaro in row five for Sunday’s 28-lap race
Jack Miller started the second session with an early reference of 1’24.125 before Bagnaia and Maverick Viñales improved with 1’23.9 pace. However, it was Quartararo who prepared for the attack, a 1’23.259 was now the target.
Much more was to come when Miller shot into second place with a 23.3 eight minutes before the race, Martin continued his impressive Austrian performance in third while Quartararo increased his pace to 23 dead.
Joan Mir finished fourth when the field returned for fresh tires, Viñales fifth, Marc Marquez followed Aleix Espargaro in seventh and eighth. Takaaki Nakagami led the last Ducati’s from Bagnaia and Johann Zarco, while the Q1 promoters rounded off the field.
Bagnaia broke the break in the middle of the session with a pole-worthy performance on the Desmosedici, which was still painfully unbroken just 0.038 seconds away from the 1:23 mark. Martin, on the other hand, had the bite between his teeth, a 1’22,994 and a new lap record, the reward.
The Pramac treat looked short-lived as Quartararo delivered a 1’22.958 before the time was cleared. Marquez crashed his Repsol on his final flying lap at turn three and pulled out the yellow flags.
As further progress was prevented in the last few seconds, Martin secured pole in front of his compatriot Bagnaia from Bologna, while Quartararo was satisfied with last place in the front row in third. Miller and Zarco continued the Ducati pleasure in fourth and sixth place, while Mir shared the pair in fifth place. Espargaro placed his Aprilia in seventh place ahead of Marquez and Viñales with the LCR duo Nakagami and the younger Marquez, and Oliveira completed the top 12.
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