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It's a Ducati 1-2 in Aragon as Bagnaia smashes lap record

The factory Bologna bullets will spearhead the premier class grid in Aragon as Quartararo claims front row.

Francesco Bagnaia

Bengaluru, September 11: For the first time since the 2018 Aragon GP, there will be two factory Ducatis leading the pack off the line after Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) set a blistering new all-time MotorLand lap record to beat team-mate Jack Miller to pole position at the Aragon Grand Prix.

The Italian's 1:46.322 was 0.366sec clear of the Australian and hands Ducati their 50th premier class pole.

2021 FIM MotoGP World Championship leader Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) claimed the final front row spot in P3.

Miller puts in a thriller at AragonMiller puts in a thriller at Aragon

Marc Marquez, for whom Aragaon has been a happy hunting ground, missed out on a front row start by just 0.017sec.

But a P4 start is still a good result for the FP4 pacesetter and Repsol Honda Team.

Can Marquez take centrestage at Aragon?Can Marquez take centrestage at Aragon?

Jorge Martin did not improve on his first run time and slipped to P5 at the end of the session, nevertheless another superb effort for the rookie on home soil, as Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini) left it late to grab P6.

That Espargaro lap saw Joan Mir slip to P7, certainly not a disaster for the defending FIM MotoGP world championion who looks good in race trim once more.

Pol Espargaro (Repsol Honda Team) could not replicate his Silverstone Saturday heroics as it is P8 for the Spaniard ahead of Enea Bastianini - who claimed his best MotoGP qualifying result in P9 - and Johann Zarco.

Takaaki Nakagami (LCR Honda Idemitsu) claimed P11 ahead of Brad Binder, the latter did not have a fresh soft tyre to use in Q2.

So, Bagnaia has literally blown the competition out of the water in Q2, but FP4 showed that there are a few contenders for Aragon's 2021 crown.

Can Ducati take victory on a track they struggled at tremendously last season, will Quartararo rise highest once more or can Marquez return to the top on a happy hunting ground?

Find out at 2pm local time (5.30pm IST) on Sunday (September 12).

TOP 10 QUALIFIERS:
1. Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) - 1:46.322
2. Jack Miller (Ducati Lenovo Team) + 0.366
3. Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) + 0.397
4. Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) + 0.414
5. Jorge Martin (Pramac Racing) + 0.556
6. Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini) + 0.561
7. Joan Mir (Team Suzuki Ecstar) + 0.840
8. Pol Espargaro (Repsol Honda Team) + 0.872
9. Enea Bastianini (Avintia Esponsorama) + 0.956
10. Johann Zarco (Pramac Racing) + 0.966

(By a special arrangement with Dorna Sports)

Story first published: Saturday, September 11, 2021, 19:56 [IST]
Other articles published on Sep 11, 2021