French sensation, Fabio Quartararo claimed pole position during MotoGP qualifying Saturday at Circuito de Jerez – Ángel Nieto, in Spain. Riding his Monster Energy Yamaha YZR-M1 on the dry 2.7-mile (4.4 km) track, Quartararo turned a 1:35.610. Not only was that good enough to top the 23-rider field and broke Francesco Bagnaia’s All-Time Lap Record of 1:36.025 from 2024.
Lenovo Team Ducati Desmosedici GP25 riders Marc Marquez was the best of the rest with a 1:35.643 and Francesco Bagnaia claimed the third and final spot on the front row with a 1:35.755.
Row-two qualifiers included BK8 Gresini Racing Ducati’s Alex Marquez (1:35.758), Franco Morbidelli on his Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team (1:35.828) and Maverick Vinales on his Red Bull KTM Tech3 RC16 (1:35.852).
More, from a press release issued by Dorna:
Quartararo unleashes a showstopper for stunning Jerez pole. A heroic late dash to the top sees ‘El Diablo’ depose Marc Marquez to take his and Yamaha’s first pole since 2022.
They say class is permanent and Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) would most certainly agree with that after taking a stunning pole position in Jerez, putting in a new lap record on his final dash around the packed out venue. It’s a first pole for Yamaha and the Frenchman since 2022, and he denies Marc Marquez (Ducati Lenovo Team) on the #93’s home turf as he is forced to settle for second. Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team), winner here for the last three years, lurks in P3 too after running the gauntlet with only one bike following an FP2 crash at the Estrella Galicia 0,0 Grand Prix of Spain.
Q1: the battle to graduate
There were big names aplenty in Q1, meaning that there were always going to be some disappointments. Following the opening roll of the dice, Maverick Viñales (Red Bull KTM Tech 3) and Marco Bezzecchi (Aprilia Racing) were sitting pretty but with the second half of the session to go and riders such as Jack Miller (Prima Pramac Yamaha MotoGP) and Enea Bastianini (Red Bull KTM Tech 3) in contention, there were opportunities to shake things up. On the five-minute mark, Lorenzo Savadori (Aprilia Racing) was a faller at Turn 9 but OK, although the yellow flags hampered flying laps.
Improving his time on his penultimate flying lap, Viñales went quicker again to secure his place in Q2 ahead of Bezzecchi, who despite not improving, held on to move up. Alex Rins (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) missed most of the session due to a check-up at the medical centre following an FP2 fall and got out to set two laps at the end of the session.
Q2: a mighty scrap for pole at Jerez
A blistering opening lap saw Marc Marquez set a new lap record behind his brother Alex, with a 1’35.643 being his first attempt. Behind the Marquez brothers, Franco Morbidelli (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team) was right there too, ahead of Quartararo, Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) after a fast crash in FP2 at Turn 7 and Q1 graduate Viñales. However, the final five minutes would come alive and be the determining factor for the grid.
THE DECIDING MOMENTS: a qualifying crescendo
This time, it was Marc who lead his brother Alex around the track but the #93 was in a class of his own, as he stormed around the lap but lost time in the final sector and thus was unable to better his first stint benchmark. One rider could though: Quartararo. The #20 was putting in some of his best qualifying laps for some time and on his final flying lap, set a new lap record himself to deny Marc a home pole. For the first time since Mandalika 2022, Yamaha and Quartararo were on pole, his fifth at Jerez – the scene of his first pole in 2019 and first MotoGP™ win in 2020. With Marc forced into P2, Pecco emerged onto the front row in P3.
Alex Marquez heads up the second row of the grid ahead of Morbidelli and Viñales, once again inside the top six for the second round in succession and eyeing up a strong Spanish GP. The third row is a power packed one with Fermin Aldeguer (BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP) taking best rookie honours, Fabio Di Giannantonio (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team) in eighth and Joan Mir (Honda HRC Castrol) making it a third top ten on the grid in four Grands Prix. Fellow Honda rider Johann Zarco (Castrol Honda LCR) rounds out the top ten on the head of row four with Bezzecchi and Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) for company.