Franco Morbidelli and Raúl Fernández have secured the final two spots to compete for pole position in the MotoGP Italian Grand Prix at Mugello. Leading the first qualifying session, they earned their places in Q2. The Italian even set a new lap record at the circuit.
At the end of the first flying laps, Fabio Di Giannantonio (Pertamina Enduro VR46/Ducati) was in the lead, followed by Morbidelli (Prima Pramac/Ducati), both occupying the qualifying positions.
After the second flying laps, the positions were reversed, with Fernández (Trackhouse Racing/Aprilia) moving up to third, just 0.042s away from the top two.
In the last five minutes, the decisive phase of Q1 began as the riders returned to the track after a short pit stop. The timing board saw significant changes.
Fernández briefly led after completing the first flying lap in this phase, with Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM) in second. However, both were surpassed by Morbidelli with a new record lap. Fernández then moved to second.
A crash by Pol Espargaró (Red Bull KTM) disrupted several riders’ laps, including Di Giannantonio, who could have bettered Morbidelli’s time.
Ultimately, no one could surpass Morbidelli and Fernández, who advanced to Q2. Binder missed out by 0.268s, finishing third. Di Giannantonio and Fabio Quartararo completed the top five in Q1 and are expected to start from 14th and 15th positions in the races, respectively.
