MotoGP: Martin uses Ducati power to take pole in Qatar

You can’t beat Ducati horsepower in MotoGP.

Jorge Martin stormed to a phenomenal first pole position of the season under the glorious Grand Prix of Qatar lights, the 2021 Rookie of the Year beating Enea Bastianini  by 0.147s with a 1:53.011 to give Ducati power a 1-2.

Eight-time World Champion Marc Marquez lines up on the front row in P3 for Honda.

Marquez returns to the front row of the grid for the first time since the 2021 Americas GP, where he also qualified third. 2013, his rookie season in the premier class, was the only occasion that Marquez has missed starting on the front row of the grid while racing in Qatar. Having put together a productive Free Practice 4, Marquez and his team have a good indication of what to expect on Sunday when the lights go out and will use Saturday evening and Sunday’s Warm Up to confirm a few final points. The #93 is no stranger to close racing under the floodlights and is ready to do it all again tomorrow.

“It’s important to start in the front two rows of the grid and this was the goal for today,” said Marquez.

“Qatar is not one of the best circuits for my style but thanks to a step we made in Free Practice 4 I have been feeling better. I’m happy but tomorrow is the most important day and we are not the fastest guy out there at the moment. Of course there’s still time to work and we will try to manage everything well. Our FP4 pace is close and the track can change a lot here with the wind, the sand and humidity. Let’s see what happens on Sunday, I am excited!”

Qualifying Results