2023-11-18 15:29:08
The fight for pole position for this Qatar Grand Prix began after 1:30 p.m. Spanish peninsular time, with still some light in the sky over Losail. Q1 was intense, one of the hardest fought so far this year, with very fast times below the absolute record of the Qatari track and with Johann Zarco (1st 1:52.382) and Álex Márquez (2nd +0.055) ensuring passage to the next qualifying round.
Out of this Q2 were important drivers like Marco Bezzecchiwho will start 13th in the two races of the weekend, Fabio Quartararo (14th) or the winner of the last Malaysian Grand Prix, Enea Bastianini (15th), unable to find the right key on the Losail Circuit. And at the back of the grid, three Honda machines: those of Joan Mir (20º), Iker Lecuona (21st) and Takaaki Nakagami (22nd), in which it is being a great prize to forget in the pits of the Tokyo firm.
After confirming the presence of Zarco and Álex Márquez in Q2, the second and final qualifying round began in Qatar, with the track lights already on; the first to attack was Fabio Di Giannantonio, who flew on his second lap until posting a 1:52.188 that broke the record set by Johann Zarco just a few minutes before. Good start also for Luca Marini and Jorge Martín, who placed second and third during the first half of the session.
‘Diggia’ was not satisfied with his 52.1, and after going through the pits to install fresh tires, The Italian gave another twist to the stopwatch and clocked a stratospheric 1:51.829a time that came at a very good time, as Pecco Bagnaia had turned in 1:52.0 moments before to place second, two tenths behind Fabio.
And when Di Giannantonio was caressing the pole of this Losail Grand Prix, Luca Marini arrived to spoil the party for his compatriot; Valentino Rossi’s brother achieved a lap in 1:51.762 that lowered the time of the Gresini Racing driver by 67 thousandths, an effort that finally earned Marini to take this competitive pole in Qatar, the second he has achieved in MotoGP.
???? @Luca_Marini_97 TAKES POLE POSITION! ????
He denies @FabioDiggia49 with his last lap! ????#QatarGP ???????? pic.twitter.com/IWnqOvPmJE
— MotoGP™???? (@MotoGP) November 18, 2023
Marini will lead the two Losail races escorted on the front line by the Ducati of Fabio Di Giannantonio (2nd +0.067) and Alex Marquez (3rd +0.136), who only completed three laps in this Q2 as he ran out of soft tires after his previous stint in Q1, taking to the track in the final minutes to set a great time. The two contenders for the title will start behind, Pecco Bagnaia (4th +0.274) and Jorge Martin (5th +0.296), followed by Johann Zarco (6th +0.339) and a Marc Márquez (7th +0.341) who spent the entire Q2 blatantly chasing Bagnaia.
This afternoon, at 18:00 Spanish peninsular time, The MotoGP Sprint race will start in Losail, with 11 laps to go.
Read also: Aleix Espargaró tipped Franco Morbidelli with a glove during FP2 in Qatar
Q2 MotoGP Qatar GP results
Q1 MotoGP Qatar GP results
#Stratospheric #pole #Marini #Qatar #Bagnaia #start #ahead #Jorge #Martín