MotoGP: Zarco nips Mir for pole in Algarve Portugal

Weather was once again a major player in the day’s action in the Algarve as morning rain was replaced by a drying track and strong sun in the afternoon.

With great risk often comes great reward is an adage all 12 MotoGP riders in Q2 were following as they tackled a patchy Algarve International Circuit with slick tyres. In a thrilling final 30 seconds that saw four riders provisionally sitting at the top of the pile, pole position, in the end, went the way of the final man to cross the line: experienced Frenchman Johann Zarco (Pramac Racing).

The 31-year-old denied Team Suzuki Ecstar’s Joan Mir a debut MotoGP™ pole seconds after Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing) had sneaked his way onto the front row.

Qualifying Results – Portuguese Grand Prix

Pos.	Rider	Num	Nation	Team	Constructor	Time/Gap
1	Zarco Johann	5	FRA	Pramac Racing	Ducati	1’42.003
2	Mir Joan	36	SPA	Team Suzuki Ecstar	Suzuki	0.195
3	Espargaro Aleix	41	SPA	Aprilia Racing	Aprilia	0.232
4	Miller Jack	43	AUS	Ducati Lenovo Team	Ducati	0.500
5	Quartararo Fabio	20	FRA	Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP	Yamaha	0.713
6	Bezzecchi Marco	73	ITA	Mooney VR46 Racing Team	Ducati	0.713
7	Marquez Alex	73	SPA	LCR Honda	Honda	0.900
8	Marini Luca	10	ITA	Mooney VR46 Racing Team	Ducati	1.176
9	Marquez Marc	93	SPA	Repsol Honda Team	Honda	1.572
10	Espargaro Pol	44	SPA	Repsol Honda Team	Honda	1.829
11	Oliveira Miguel	88	POR	Red Bull KTM Factory Racing	KTM	2.063
12	Binder Brad	33	RSA	Red Bull KTM Factory Racing	KTM	2.707
13	Martin Jorge	89	SPA	Pramac Racing	Ducati	1.620 Q1
14	Vinales Maverick	12	SPA	Aprilia Racing	Aprilia	3.016
15	Di Giannantonio Fabio	49	ITA	Team Gresini Racing MotoGP	Ducati	3.323
16	Dovizioso Andrea	4	ITA	WithU Yamaha RNF MotoGP Team	Yamaha	3.379
17	Nakagami Takaaki	30	JPN	LCR Honda	Honda	3.573
18	Bastianini Enea	23	ITA	Team Gresini Racing MotoGP	Ducati	4.302
19	Morbidelli Franco	21	ITA	Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP	Yamaha	4.386
20	Gardner Remy	87	AUS	Tech 3 KTM Factory Racing	KTM	4.637
21	Savadori Lorenzo	32	ITA	Aprilia Racing Test Team	Aprilia	4.992
22	Binder Darryn	40	RSA	WithU Yamaha RNF MotoGP Team	Yamaha	5.323
23	Rins Alex	42	SPA	Team Suzuki Ecstar	Suzuki	5.984
24	Fernandez Raul	25	SPA	Tech 3 KTM Factory Racing	KTM	7.287
25	Bagnaia Francesco	62	ITA	Ducati Lenovo Team	Ducati	No Time Set