2024 San Marino MotoGP: Francesco Bagnaia takes pole, Marc Marquez ninth after crash
Reigning champion smashes lap record for home pole
MotoGP world champion Francesco Bagnaia dominated qualifying at the San Marino Grand Prix with a new lap record, while a crash for Marc Marquez left him ninth.
Factory Ducati racer Bagnaia is riding below full fitness following his big crash with Alex Marquez last Sunday at Aragon.
But, having topped Friday practice, Bagnaia didn’t let his injuries drag him down as he dominated qualifying to take a first pole since the Dutch GP with a new lap record of 1m30.304s.
Bagnaia heads an all VR46 Academy front row, with Franco Morbidelli getting his best qualifying result since Jerez 2021, while Marco Bezzecchi was third.
Championship leader Jorge Martin had a scrappy Q2 session and could only manage fourth, while a late crash for Gresini’s Marc Marquez left the Aragon GP winner down in ninth.
Bagnaia was in top form from the off in the 15-minute pole shootout session, setting the initial benchmark pace at 1m30.928s.
The Ducati rider improved on his next lap to a 1m30.581s, though Martin put him under immense pressure by firing in an effort only 0.064s slower.
Electing to begin his second run early and get clear track, Bagnaia lit up the timing screens and produced a new lap record of 1m30.304s.
This came under no threat, especially with main rivals Martin and Marc Marquez struggling.
Bagnaia led qualifying by 0.285s from Morbidelli, while Bezzecchi completed the front row for his best qualifying result since this year’s Spanish GP.
Martin heads row two after ending Q2 0.341s adrift of Bagnaia. The Pramac rider lost one lap late on in Q2 to a big moment on the rear end of his Ducati.
This seemed to affect him for the remainder of the session as Martin could do nothing to better fourth.
He heads Pedro Acosta on the Tech3 GASGAS machine, while Q1 graduate Brad Binder was sixth on his factory KTM.
Alex Marquez, who also came through Q1, was seventh on his Gresini Ducati ahead of factory counterpart Enea Bastianini.
A crash for Marc Marquez at Turn 15 left him in ninth ahead of Yamaha’s Fabio Quartararo, while Aprilia’s Maverick Vinales and KTM’s Jack Miller completed the top 12.
Aprilia’s Aleix Espargaro found himself out in Q1 for the first time since the Portuguese GP, as he narrowly missed out on a Q2 place by just under a tenth of a second.
He will start 13th for the sprint and grand prix, with Fabio Di Giannantonio (VR46) and KTM wildcard Pol Espargaro lining up alongside.
Johann Zarco was top Honda in 16th for LCR, with Augusto Fernandez (Tech3) and Miguel Oliveira (Trackhouse) trailing him.
Raul Fernandez (Trackhouse), Alex Rins (Yamaha), Luca Marini (Honda), Takaaki Nakagami (LCR) and Stefan Bradl (Honda) complete the field.
Illness has forced Honda’s Joan Mir to sit out the remainder of the San Marino GP weekend.
