MotoGP: Aleix Espargaro takes pole at Jerez
–by Mark Cipolloni–
Aleix Espargaro won his first MotoGP pole position of the season at Jerez Saturday, and his first in front of his home crowd in Jerez.
In a Q2 session that saw light rain cause the top time change hands 14 times across 15 minutes, Aprilia’s Espargaro nailed his final lap to be one of the last across the line to start his last lap while conditions were at their best to produce a 1m37.216s.
As a result, Espargaro won pole by 0.221 seconds from KTM’s Jack Miller, while Pramac Ducati’s Jorge Martin completed the top three for the sprint race and grand prix.
Qualifying Results
Pos | No./Rider | Team | Bike | Session | Time | Behind | Gap |
1 | 41 Aleix ESPARGARO | SPA Aprilia Racing | APRILIA | Q2 | 1’37.216 | 0.000 | 0.000 |
2 | 43 Jack MILLER | AUS Red Bull KTM Factory Racing | KTM | Q2 | 1’37.437 | 0.221 | 0.221 |
3 | 89 Jorge MARTIN | SPA Prima Pramac Racing | DUCATI | Q2 | 1’37.458 | 0.242 | 0.021 |
4 | 33 Brad BINDER | RSA Red Bull KTM Factory Racing | KTM | Q2 | 1’37.532 | 0.316 | 0.074 |
5 | 1 Francesco BAGNAIA | ITA Ducati Lenovo Team | DUCATI | Q2 | 1’37.557 | 0.341 | 0.025 |
6 | 26 Dani PEDROSA | SPA Red Bull KTM Factory Racing | KTM | Q2 | 1’37.583 | 0.367 | 0.026 |
7 | 88 Miguel OLIVEIRA | POR CryptoDATA RNF MotoGP Team | APRILIA | Q2 | 1’37.596 | 0.380 | 0.013 |
8 | 5 Johann ZARCO | FRA Prima Pramac Racing | DUCATI | Q2 | 1’37.616 | 0.400 | 0.020 |
9 | 10 Luca MARINI | ITA Mooney VR46 Racing Team | DUCATI | Q2 | 1’37.666 | 0.450 | 0.050 |
10 | 12 Maverick VIÑALES | SPA Aprilia Racing | APRILIA | Q2 | 1’37.765 | 0.549 | 0.099 |
11 | 30 Takaaki NAKAGAMI | JPN LCR Honda IDEMITSU | HONDA | Q2 | 1’37.876 | 0.660 | 0.111 |
12 | 73 Alex MARQUEZ | SPA Gresini Racing MotoGP | DUCATI | Q2 | 1’37.920 | 0.704 | 0.044 |
13 | 72 Marco BEZZECCHI | ITA Mooney VR46 Racing Team | DUCATI | Q1 | 1’36.578 | (*) 0.085 | |
14 | 21 Franco MORBIDELLI | ITA Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP | YAMAHA | Q1 | 1’36.793 | (*) 0.300 | 0.215 |
15 | 49 Fabio DI GIANNANTON | ITA Gresini Racing MotoGP | DUCATI | Q1 | 1’36.967 | (*) 0.474 | 0.174 |
16 | 20 Fabio QUARTARARO | FRA Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP | YAMAHA | Q1 | 1’37.072 | (*) 0.579 | 0.105 |
17 | 25 Raul FERNANDEZ | SPA CryptoDATA RNF MotoGP Team | APRILIA | Q1 | 1’37.164 | (*) 0.671 | 0.092 |
18 | 42 Alex RINS | SPA LCR Honda CASTROL | HONDA | Q1 | 1’37.256 | (*) 0.763 | 0.092 |
19 | 6 Stefan BRADL | GER HRC Team | HONDA | Q1 | 1’37.297 | (*) 0.804 | 0.041 |
20 | 36 Joan MIR | SPA Repsol Honda Team | HONDA | Q1 | 1’37.346 | (*) 0.853 | 0.049 |
21 | 37 Augusto FERNANDEZ | SPA GASGAS Factory Racing Tech3 | KTM | Q1 | 1’37.753 | (*) 1.260 | 0.407 |
22 | 94 Jonas FOLGER | GER GASGAS Factory Racing Tech3 | KTM | Q1 | 1’38.492 | (*) 1.999 | 0.739 |
23 | 27 Iker LECUONA | SPA Repsol Honda Team | HONDA | Q1 | 1’38.582 | (*) 2.089 | 0.090 |
24 | 23 Enea BASTIANINI | ITA Ducati Lenovo Team | DUCATI | P2 | 1’37.985 | 1.277 |
*Gap to fastest rider in Q1