MotoGP world champion Francesco Bagnaia put on a masterclass in qualifying for the 2024 San Marino Grand Prix, securing pole position with a record-breaking lap. Despite nursing injuries from a crash at Aragon last weekend. Bagnaia showed no signs of slowing down as he clocked a blistering 1m30.304s, setting a new lap record at Misano.
Bagnaia’s dominant performance placed him at the top of an all-VR46 Academy front row. Franco Morbidelli, achieving his best qualifying-result since Jerez 2021, secured second-place, while Marco Bezzecchi rounded out front row in third.
Championship leader Jorge Martin had a challenging Q2 session, ultimately qualifying fourth. Meanwhile, a late crash for Marc Marquez during his final run at Turn-15 relegated the Aragon GP winner to ninth-place.
Bagnaia set the pace early in the 15-minute pole shootout, posting an initial benchmark time of 1m30.928s. He quickly improved to 1m30.581s, though Jorge Martin came close with a lap just 0.064s slower. However, Bagnaia’s decision to begin his second run early paid off as he delivered an unbeatable 1m30.304s lap, setting a new track record that remained unchallenged.
With Morbidelli and Bezzecchi joining him on the front row, Bagnaia’s pole marked his first since the Dutch GP. Jorge Martin, struggling with consistency in Q2, could only manage fourth, while Pedro Acosta placed fifth on Tech3 GASGAS machine. Brad Binder, who advanced from Q1, qualified sixth on his factory KTM.
Alex Marquez, another Q1 graduate, secured seventh on his Gresini Ducati, followed by factory Ducati rider Enea Bastianini in eighth. Marc Marquez’s crash left him in ninth, ahead of Yamaha’s Fabio Quartararo. Aprilia’s Maverick Vinales and KTM’s Jack Miller completed the top 12.
Aprilia’s Aleix Espargaro missed out on Q2 for the first time since the Portuguese GP and will start 13th, flanked by Fabio Di Giannantonio (VR46) and KTM wildcard Pol Espargaro.
Johann Zarco was top Honda rider 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) rounded out the field.
Honda’s Joan Mir has been forced to withdraw from the remainder of the San Marino GP weekend due to illness, but he hopes to return for the upcoming tests on Monday.
Leave a Reply