Eyes to the sky as Bagnaia and Quartararo prepare for the San Marino Motorcycle Battle
Francesco Bagnaia has taken another position in MotoGP by storm, but Sunday’s weather could be crucial in determining who will win the San Marino Grand Prix.
The Ducatis dominated qualifying, taking four of the top five, with Jack Miller joining Bagnaia in a one-to-two match for the factory team, ahead of Yamaha championship captain Fabio Quartaro.
Pramac Racing’s Ducati-sponsored duo, Jorge Martin and Johann Zarco, finished fourth and fifth at Misano, a national track for Ducati hoping for a “home” win.
Both Bagnaia and Quartararo have indicators after Saturday’s qualifying which in case of rain, as expected, could be a determining factor for the result. The wet track would probably fit the tree sitter.
Bagnaia, the speed designer, also took pole position at the Aragon Grand Prix last week and turned it into a race win, his first in MotoGP, and a second place in the championship.
He described his best time on Saturday as “incredible” and said: “I feel good with everything. I think we have really put in a good pace.
“Either way, in the dry and in the wet, I think we are ready for a battle. Of course, in the dry areas Fabio has a better pace than Aragon, so I think he can fight well with him, but let’s see, never say never. “
“I prefer drying. It is very difficult to predict a strategy for tomorrow but I would like to start well, start from the beginning and see if you can manage the gap or if I have to fight in the final laps. However we will try to prepare you for every situation ”.
“It is the second consecutive weekend that all the Ducatis are at the top in qualifying, and also for me to put the bike ahead of Fabio for the championship. We are going really well, the bike is very competitive and we are making a really big move every time. “
Quartararo crashed while trying to jump into the net in front of Bagnaia, but the Frenchman shrugged off after the session, declaring himself “all right”.
“I just wanted to exaggerate the braking a bit, but unfortunately it didn’t work,” Quartaro told the official MotoGP website. “But it went well, I tried – at least I felt the real limit of the bike. I feel our speed is really good compared to Aragon where it wasn’t great. I feel ready for tomorrow – a little bit surrounded by red [Ducati] Bicycles but I feel good.
“They are faster than us in the wet, but my dry feeling is pretty good and I want to continue in that direction. I don’t want to talk about rain and I don’t want to name it ”.
Ducati has been in pole position four times at Misano, having passed the program in 2007 and 2008, followed by Jorge Lorenzo three years earlier. Of these, Stoner was the only one to the square flag on race day in 2007.
Last season champion Joanne Meyer had a qualifying session to forget, with a message from her Suzuki Exeter urging him to dig for a track. There were no problems with the bike and technical director Ken Kawauchi later apologized for the mistake.
Mir was back on track but only managed to finish 11th, as Quartararo’s accident has yellow flag conditions in the final stages.
“Qualifying was a shame; we didn’t have a chance to fight for first place and frankly we’re a long way from that, ”said Mir.
“I thought a second row was possible, but then I had some problems in front of my first exit and then I saw a message on my dashboard right after I went out for my second ride. I thought I had to stop in case something went wrong with the bike, and in the end it affected my qualifying and the yellow flag on the last flying lap.
“There is no point in feeling frustrated; now concentrate on the race knowing that I will have a good pace if I can start well ”.
qualification results
1. Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati) 1: 31.065
2. Jack Miller (Ducati) + 0.249 seconds
3. Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha) +0.302
4. Jorge Martin (Pramac Racing) +0.598.200.000
5. Johann Zarko (Pramac Racing) +0.771.00
6. Paul Espargaro (Repsol Honda) +0.858
7. Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda) +0.870
8. Alex Espargarò (Aprilia) +0.872
9. Alex Rins (Suzuki Xstar) +0.952.00
10. Maverick Vinales (Aprilia) +1.056.006
11. Joan Mir (Suzuki Xstar) +1,361
12. Enea Bastianini (Avintia) +1,396