Aleix Espargaró has achieved pole of the MotoGP Grand Prix of Catalonia with a time of 1:38,742. That time has served to mark a new absolute track record in Montmelo. Without a doubt, this second pole position of the season is special. In addition to achieving it in front of his audience, the Aprilia rider wears a special helmet dedicated to his daughter Mia, who was waiting for him in the parc ferme after the end of the session. Pecco Bagnaia had to settle for second position by remaining 31 thousandths from the Granollers pilot’s record.
The day began with an FP3 in which all the pilots lowered their times from the previous day. Aleix Espargaro has dominated the session with a time of 1:38,771 which has served him to set a new absolute record for the track. A few hours later they returned to the track for Q1 who had not managed to sneak into the group of the top ten in the morning. I did not take part in that session Alex Marquez. The one from LCR Honda suffered a very strong fall during FP4 and had to be taken to the medical center of the circuit.
The fight for pole was finally joined by Maverick Viñales and Takaaki Nakagami after a frenetic end to Q1 in which Enea Bastianini and Marco Bezzecchi seemed to have a chance of sneaking into the final qualifying round. Q2 began under the dominance of Fabio Quartararo who was placed first after the first fast lap attempt. Nevertheless, who would end up disputing the glory would be Aleix Espargaró and Pecco Bagnaia. The Catalan was the winner of the duel and achieved pole thanks to a time of 1:38.742 which lowered his own record for the morning.
Pecco Bagnaia had to settle for second place after making a small mistake in the second set and falling just 31 thousandths off the time set by the Aprilia rider. Fabio Quartararo could not get past third position and will close the front row of the grid in Montmeló. Johan Zarco was fourth ahead of the ‘rookie’ Fabio DiGiannantonio. The Italian from Gresini Racing has shown his speed in qualifying for yet another week. The Spanish Jorge Martín, Álex Rins and Maverick Viñales have occupied the next three positions.
Luca Marini was ninth, while Pol Espargaró completes the ‘top 10’. ‘Polyccio’ was the best Honda rider of the day after the twelfth place achieved by Takaaki Nakagami, the twenty-first by tester Stefan Bradl and the absence of Álex Márquez. The little one of the Márquez, in principle, will be able to dispute the race since, after the first medical check-ups, there are no fractures in his left arm. Tomorrow he will undergo more controls due to the pain he manifests in said limb.
Photos: MotoGP / Ducati