TWICE MotoGP champion Francesco Bagnaia claimed his first pole position of the season at the Czech Republic motorcycle Grand Prix on Saturday, edging out Ducati teammate Marc Marquez, who crashed on his final qualifying lap.
Bagnaia crossed the line with the fastest time of one minute and 52.303 seconds in mostly sunny conditions in Brno, with Marquez qualifying second and Yamaha’s Fabio Quartararo completing the front row.
Marquez was chasing an eighth pole of the season but slid into the gravel in the final minutes of second qualifying.
“I want to say thanks to my team – they did a fantastic job when I stopped for a little moment. We just did a little adjustment,“ Bagnaia said.
“It will be tricky for the tyres this afternoon,“ he added, referring to the Czech MotoGP sprint later on Saturday.
Reigning MotoGP champion Jorge Martin marked his return to qualifying with a 12th-place finish after missing 10 of the 11 rounds because of injuries.
Wrist and ankle injuries suffered in a pre-season crash had ruled the 27-year-old Martin out of the first three rounds before another crash in his first race on board the Aprilia bike in Qatar in April led to a collapsed lung and bruised ribs.
VR46 Racing’s Fabio Di Giannantonio, fourth in the riders’ championship, will start 13th on the grid after finishing third in qualifying one.
Marquez leads the riders’ championship table with 344 points, with his younger brother Alex second on 261. – Reuters
