– Local hero Marco Bezzecchi secured pole position at his home race in Misano with a new lap record. The Aprilia rider completed the first lap on this track in 1:29 minutes and left Marc Marquez no chance. The Ducati rider and last year’s winner had to settle for second place, beaten by two tenths of a second (see Q2 results).
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In Q1, all four Yamaha riders had to compete, as well as local hero Francesco Bagnaia. The Ducati rider has already won his home race twice, but after Friday’s practice he was only 19th.
On Saturday, Bagnaia got a bit faster, but after the first attempts in Q1 he was only fourth behind Raul Fernandez (Trackhouse-Aprilia), Fabio Quartararo (Yamaha), and Fermin Aldeguer (Gresini-Ducati).
Even after the tire change, things did not go optimally for Bagnaia. First, he made a mistake in turn 1. In the next lap, he seemed to be able to improve his time, but then he made a mistake in turn 14 (Carro) and got frustrated.
In the next lap, Bagnaia made another mistake in turn 6, ending his qualifying. Fernandez did not improve his time of 1:30.535 minutes from the first attempt, but it was enough for the (Q1 best time).
In the second attempt, Aldeguer improved to second place (+0.042 seconds). Quartararo was third and the best Yamaha rider. Starting position 14 was the worst starting position for Bagnaia at his home race (Q1 result).
In Q2, the duel for pole position was Bezzecchi against Marc Marquez. First, Alex Marquez set the initial best time but then crashed in turn 8 (Quercia) on his Gresini-Ducati. However, he was able to ride it back to the pits.
Bezzecchi sets the record on the first attempt
His brother did better. In the first attempt, Marc Marquez set the new best time with 1:30.504 minutes. Then Bezzecchi attacked. With 1:29.982 minutes, the Aprilia rider set a new lap record.
It was the first 1:29 lap ever on the Misano World Circuit. With this lap, Bezzecchi had a 0.467-second lead over Fabio Di Giannantonio (VR46-Ducati) after the first attempts. Marc Marquez was third, 0.522 seconds behind.
After switching to a new soft rear tire, all twelve riders attacked once more. Marc Marquez was only 0.060 seconds behind after the first two sectors but then made a mistake in Quercia.
Aldeguer did better, setting the second fastest lap. Moments later, yellow flags appeared in turn 4 (Rio) because Di Giannantonio had crashed. This cost Valentino Rossi’s team a place in the front row.
Marquez misses by two tenths
Because in the last lap, Marc Marquez improved to second place. He came within 0.198 seconds of Bezzecchi’s new record but did not manage a lap in 1:29 minutes.
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“Last year my pace was a bit better, but this year it looks like Marco is extremely fast, especially in the third sector, in the fast corners,” compares Marc Marquez. “Let’s see if we can fight.”
“The goal was the front row. When I came back to the pits and saw 1:29 on the display, I thought: ‘Okay, bye pole position, I won’t get there.’ I knew where my limits were.”
“I gave everything, I tried to push 100 percent, and it was enough to reach the goal but not to be on pole.” Thus, Bezzecchi claimed his fourth pole position this season.
“It was a good lap,” says the Italian about the new record. “I am happy because qualifying was not easy. I had to deal with many yellow flags, and it was difficult to find concentration.”
“In the first attempt, I stayed on the track one lap longer just to set a lap time, and luckily it was my best lap. In the second attempt, I couldn’t get a free lap.”
“Zarco ruined my only free lap, so it was a tough session. But yes, I am very happy. The team did a fantastic job, and now we focus on the races.”
The other positions
Besides Bezzecchi and Marc Marquez, Aldeguer completed the front row. Di Giannantonio dropped to fourth due to his crash. Jorge Martin (Aprilia) qualified fifth.
Luca Marini (Honda) achieved his best starting position this season with sixth place at his home race. The best KTM rider was once again Pedro Acosta in seventh.
Franco Morbidelli (VR46-Ducati) and Alex Marquez completed the third row. The spots in the fourth row went to Fernandez, Johann Zarco (LCR-Honda), and Pol Espargaro (Tech3-KTM).
Zarco obstructed Bezzecchi in Q2, as the Italian mentioned. The race stewards investigated the situation. Zarco will be moved back three places on the starting grid on Sunday and will start 14th.
Morbidelli must serve a long-lap penalty on Sunday because he obstructed Enea Bastianini (Tech3-KTM) on the ideal line during Friday practice.
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The 13-lap sprint starts at 3 p.m. (for the starting grid).
