Overwhelming. That’s how Francesco Bagnaia’s performance in the MotoGP Emilia-Romagna GP qualifying can be described, as he secured pole position with a new lap record at Misano.
After the initial flying laps, Bagnaia (Ducati) led ahead of Jorge Martín (Prima Pramac/Ducati), with both already lapping in the 1m30s range. Marc Márquez (Gresini/Ducati) was third.
On the second flying laps, Martín set an impressive time of 1m30.245s, overtaking Bagnaia and leaving the Italian 0.344s behind. Pedro Acosta (Red Bull GasGas Tech3/KTM) was third, while Márquez dropped to fourth and suffered a minor crash.
After the mid-session pit stops, Bagnaia returned in spectacular fashion with a new lap record of 1m30.031s, beating Martín by 0.214s. The Spaniard couldn’t respond and finished second.
Towards the end, Enea Bastianini (Ducati) secured third on the grid, pushing Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM) to fourth. The South African will share the second row with Acosta and Marco Bezzecchi (Pertamina Enduro VR46/Ducati). Marc Márquez paid the price for his crash and will start from seventh.
