Five MotoGP riders that shocked us during qualifying in Aragon
Beginning to look more and more like the main title challenger to Fabio Quartararo, Bagnaia has the perfect starting position for Sunday’s race as he goes in search of a fifth consecutive MotoGP win.
In position to perhaps aid the Italian are Jack Miller and future team-mate Enea Bastianini, who will both line-up on the front row.
Fifth is Johann Zarco, making it four Ducatis inside the top five, one place behind the first rider that makes our list.
Aleix Espargaro - 4th
After a tough Friday which saw him crash twice despite showing pace, Espargaro was then knocked out of the top ten during the closing stages of FP3.
But the Aprilia rider’s response was emphatic as he topped Q1 by nearly three tenths before managing to secure a vital front row.
In with a chance of fighting for the victory, Espargaro needed to qualify well as team-mate Maverick Vinales, who also has the race pace to challenge for a podium at the very least, is down in 16th.
Espargaro’s title challenge has taken a hit in recent rounds but this was just what the Spaniard would have been looking for.
Marc Marquez - 13th
While 13th might not look like a great result, Marquez’s return has been very promising.
The eight-time world champion narrowly missed out on securing second place in Q2, and despite looking for a tow to begin the session, Marquez eventually set a lap time that was the second quickest of the weekend at that current stage, while also doing it on his own.
Unlike Joan Mir who had to withdraw from the weekend prior to qualifying due to injury, Marquez looks set to complete the Aragon Grand Prix after going from strength-to-strength.
Luca Marini - 14th
Outshone again by his rookie team-mate on a machine that’s a year older than his, Marini had a qualifying to forget as six of the eight Ducatis made it through to Q2.
Qualifying has often been Marini’s strength since coming into MotoGP, but after failing to secure a top ten spot, fighting for another top four as he did in Misano is going to be very difficult.
Marini’s best lap was close to three tenths slower than Bezzecchi, while also being a full second off the time Bagnaia managed in Q2.
Maverick Vinales -16th
A truly dismal Saturday at the Aragon MotoGP for Vinales, the Spaniard never recovered after struggling in FP3.
Vinales was twice seen showing frustration in FP4 as issues with his RS-GP22 seemed to cost him vital running. The first of those involved part of his left-sided fairing which was repaired in very quick order.
However, it was in qualifying where he lost out the most as a costly mistake from Vinales saw him crash at turn two, which is his first fall of the 2022 season.
Pol Espargaro - 18th
Last of all four Honda riders, Espargaro was over five tenths down on the lap time Marc Marquez managed in Q1.
Part of the reason for that was down to Espargaro crashing out during the closing stages, but the soon-to-be GASGAS KTM rider has been nowhere compared to Marquez all weekend, and Takaaki Nakagami for that matter.
