Francesco Bagnaia will start from pole position for the MotoGP Thai GP races. The rider set a new lap record at the Buriram circuit in a qualifying session filled with drama, where his main title rival, Jorge Martín, suffered a crash.
The initial leader of Q2 was Bagnaia (Ducati), ahead of a surprising Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha) and Maverick Viñales (Aprilia). However, the times were still quite high.
On his second attempt, Bagnaia set a new record lap with 1m29.076s, while Martín (Prima Pramac/Ducati) was just 0.054s behind. Marc Márquez (Gresini/Ducati) moved into third.
The riders then headed to the pits before returning to the track in the final five minutes. Bagnaia raised the bar even higher with a lap of 1m28.700s. Enea Bastianini (Ducati) took second, trailing by 0.232s.
Moments earlier, Marc Márquez had crashed, followed shortly by Martín. Thus, two of the main contenders for pole position were out of the final minutes.
Contrasting fortunes!!! @88jorgemartin crashes as @PeccoBagnaia throws in the first 1:28 lap in Thailand! 🤯#ThaiGP 🇹🇭 pic.twitter.com/PHgpM2beq2
— MotoGP™🏁 (@MotoGP) October 26, 2024
No one could knock Bagnaia from the top spot, with the Italian securing pole position by 0.232s ahead of Bastianini. Despite not being able to rejoin the track after his crash, Martín held onto third, while Marco Bezzecchi (Pertamina Enduro VR46/Ducati) finished fourth, ahead of Marc Márquez and Quartararo.
