Austin MotoGP, COTA, Texas - Qualifying (1) Results
MotoGP rookie Luca Marini impresses by leading Qualifying 1 for the 2021 Americas MotoGP at COTA, while brother Valentino Rossi crashes in the closing stages.
Aleix Espargaro suffered his fourth fall of the weekend at the start of the session with KTM's Miguel Oliveira also crashing later in the session.
The top two riders in Q1 now progress to the Q2 pole position shootout, where they will join the ten fastest riders after third practice.
The others will start, in the following order, from 13th on the grid onwards.
| Austin MotoGP, COTA - Qualifying (1) Results | |||
| Pos | Rider | Nat | Team |
| 1 | Luca Marini | ITA | VR46 Avintia Ducati (GP19) |
| 2 | Joan Mir | SPA | Suzuki Ecstar (GSX-RR) |
| 3 | Franco Morbidelli | ITA | Monster Yamaha (YZR-M1) |
| 4 | Andrea Dovizioso | ITA | Petronas Yamaha (YZR-M1) |
| 5 | Alex Marquez | SPA | LCR Honda (RC213V) |
| 6 | Enea Bastianini | ITA | Avintia Ducati (GP19) |
| 7 | Iker Lecuona | SPA | KTM Tech3 (RC16) |
| 8 | Miguel Oliveira | POR | Red Bull KTM (RC16) |
| 9 | Aleix Espargaro | ITA | Aprilia Gresini (RS-GP) |
| 10 | Valentino Rossi | ITA | Petronas Yamaha (YZR-M1) |
| 11 | Danilo Petrucci | ITA | KTM Tech3 (RC16) |
* Rookie
Official COTA MotoGP records:
Best lap:
Marc Marquez SPA Honda 2m 2.135s (2015)
Fastest race lap:
Marc Marquez SPA Honda 2m 3.375s (2014)
Peter has been in the paddock for 20 years and has seen Valentino Rossi come and go. He is at the forefront of the Suzuki exit story and Marc Marquez’s injury issues.
