Francesco Bagnaia, reigning world champion, put himself in prime position for a potential championship upset at the Emilia-Romagna MotoGP. The Ducati rider claimed pole position on Saturday, clocking in a stunning best lap time of 1 minute, 30.031 seconds at Misano Adriatico. This impressive performance, which bettered his own practice record set the previous day, gives him a chance to chip away at Jorge Martin’s slim lead in the riders’ championship.
Bagnaia’s pole position was a testament to his skill and the Ducati’s performance. He shaved off 0.255 seconds from his Friday record and finished 0.214 seconds ahead of Martin, who currently holds a seven-point advantage.
Despite his impressive performance, Bagnaia remained grounded. “It’s a shame I couldn’t get to 29 seconds… but I’m happy with the pole which is the most important thing,” he said to Sky in Italy. “We’ll be the two fastest, it will be crucial to start well today and tomorrow. Unfortunately my starts in the qualifying haven’t been all that great so we’ll need to improve some things.”
Martin, riding for Pramac, will start the Grand Prix and Saturday’s sprint race on the front row alongside Bagnaia and Enea Bastianini, who currently trails by 62 points in the championship.
“We’re both at an incredible level of performance, we’re the two best riders in the MotoGP right now and I’m happy,” Martin added to Sky. “I’ve managed to improve on the qualifying from two weeks ago. Lets see if we can get the victory.”
The race promises to be a thrilling affair with the top contenders in the championship vying for victory. Marc Marquez, set to join Bagnaia at Ducati’s factory team next season, had a less successful qualifying session. He slid off the track, mirroring his earlier practice session, and could only manage seventh on the grid. The six-time MotoGP champion currently sits 53 points behind Martin in the standings.
The first points of the weekend will be up for grabs in the sprint race, which starts at 1500. All eyes will be on Bagnaia and Martin as they fight for the championship lead.
