The Ducati rider took his fourth pole position in a row by stepping through Q1 and storming the pole shootout under difficult conditions, taking the lead 0.025 seconds ahead of teammate Jack Miller.
It was a nightmare qualifying for MotoGP World Champion Fabio Quartararo when he got stuck from Q1 and then his best lap time was canceled after putting it under yellow flags. This resulted in the Yamaha rider being relegated to 15th place on the grid for the Emilia Romagna GP.
After starting with a 52 point lead over Bagnaia in Misano to win the MotoGP world title, Quartararo admitted after qualifying that he had “unconsciously taken no risks” in the wet but dry conditions.
Bagnaia, meanwhile, has provided the perfect answer to missing the automatic Q2 spots in training and can keep the title fight alive at least until the next round if it beats Quartararo by three points.
Luca Marini came as a shock when he finished third in the second quarter, by far the MotoGP rookie’s best qualifying effort of the year, and made it to the front row of Ducati on the Avintia-powered motorcycle.
Pol Espargaro had to be content with the second row on the factory Honda in front of KTM’s Miguel Oliveira and Yamaha’s Franco Morbidelli, while Honda’s Marc Marquez slipped to seventh place after an accident in qualifying.
Iker Lecuona fought for a possible front row before his own later crash pushed him back to eighth place, right in front of Tech3 KTM teammate Danilo Petrucci, who also crashed towards the end of the session. Johann Zarco, another late winner in Q2, had to be content with 10th place for Pramac Ducati and completes the fourth row ahead of Aprilia’s Aleix Espargaro and Jorge Martin on Pramac’s sister bike.
Valentino Rossi will start his last MotoGP home race from 23rd place and will start last on the grid after difficult conditions.
Jack Miller, Ducati team
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
When is the MotoGP Emilia Romagna Grand Prix?
- Date: Sunday, October 24, 2021
- Start time: 1:00 p.m. BST, 2:00 p.m. local time
How can I see the Emilia Romagna MotoGP?
In the UK, Emilia Romagna MotoGP Race Day will be broadcast live on BT Sport, which owns the live broadcast rights for the 2021 MotoGP season. The race will be broadcast live on BT Sport 2 with coverage starting at 12:30 p.m. BST, right after the Moto2 race.
- TV channel: BT Sport 2
- Channel number: Sky – 414
- Channel number: Virgin Media – 528
- Start time: 7:30 p.m. BST
MotoGP also has its own live online video streaming service that can be streamed in the UK.
How can I see the MotoGP highlights of Emilia Romagna?
ITV4 shows the highlights of every MotoGP run in 2021, including the highlights of the Moto2 and Moto3 classes that will be broadcast every Monday evening after the race.
- TV channel: ITV4
- Channel number: Freeview – 25
- Channel number: Sky – 120 HD, 818 SD
- Channel number: Virgin Media – 178 HD, 118 SD
- Channel number: Freesat – 117
- Start time: Monday, October 25th – 8:00 p.m. BST
Franco Morbidelli, Yamaha Factory Racing
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
What is the weather forecast for the Misano race?
After Misano was wet and cold on Friday and Saturday, dry and sunny weather with a low probability of rain is forecast for the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix on Sunday afternoon, but only 16 degrees Celsius for the start of the race – 10 degrees colder than the San Marino GP in Misano five weeks ago.
Why is it called the Emilia Romagna GP?
Since races in the same MotoGP World Championship season cannot have the same race names, Misano’s second race of the season was called the Emilia Romagna GP, named after the Italian region in which the circuit is located. The name was also used last year as part of the Misano double victory.
It is inspired by the other double winners of MotoGP, which were held both in 2020 and this year as part of the calendar that was re-mixed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Earlier this season, Qatar hosted the first Doha GP as the second leg of its consecutive races, and the Red Bull Ring hosted the Styrian GP as the second part of its one-two.
Portimao will host the Algarve GP next month after hosting the Portuguese GP earlier this season in April.
Why is MotoGP holding two races in Misano?
As part of the COVID-19 hit campaign, the MotoGP calendar 2021 has been adjusted due to various travel restrictions around the world. The MotoGP races in Finland, Japan, Thailand, Australia, Malaysia and Argentina have all been canceled for 2021.
To add to the calendar, Losail, the Red Bull Ring, Misano and Portimao will host all two races.