MotoGP Catalan GP: Alex Marquez takes pole with new…

Alex Marquez smashed the Barcelona MotoGP track record to claim pole position for the Catalan Grand Prix, as factory Ducati rider Francesco Bagnaia struggled to 21st position.

The final part of qualifying was a two-horse race between the younger Marquez and Yamaha star Fabio Quartararo, who had come through from Q1 to challenge for pole position.

The pair traded the fastest times during the first runs, with the Gresini rider putting himself on provisional pole with a 1m37.914s.

As the second run began, KTM's Pedro Acosta briefly moved to the top with a new track record of 1m37.840s, but his time was soon deleted for track limits, putting Marquez back at the front.

Marquez moved the goalposts further with a 1m37.536s on his penultimate tour, putting four tenths between himself and his nearest rival on the timesheets.

Quartararo tried to respond to the Spaniard’s heroic effort but had no answer to Marquez's pace, as the 29-year-old secured pole by over a quarter of a second.

It marked his second career pole in MotoGP, having previously topped the 2023 Argentine GP qualifying in his first season with Gresini.

His brother and championship runaway leader Marc Marquez finished 0.409s off top in third, after his final flying lap was spoiled with a major moment at Turn 5.

Meanwhile, VR46’s Franco Morbidelli was classified fourth on last year’s Ducati, two spots ahead of his team-mate Fabio di Giannantonio.

Splitting the two VR46 riders was Acosta, who had to settle for fifth after failing to repeat his deleted 1m37s lap in the latter part of qualifying.

Francesco Bagnaia, Ducati Team (Photo by: Gold and Goose Photography / LAT Images / via Getty Images)

LCR rider Johann Zarco was Honda’s top qualifier in seventh, while Trackhouse rookie Ai Ogura led Aprilia’s charge in eighth as the Noale marque’s factory rider Marco Bezzecchi ended up 12th. Tech3 KTM’s Enea Bastianini and factory Honda rider Luca Marini were classified ninth and 10th respectively.

Having set the pace on Friday, KTM ace Brad Binder could only manage the 11th-fastest time of the day after having to switch to his second RC16.

Gresini rookie Fermin Aldeguer missed out on Q2 by just 0.004s and will start 13th on the grid ahead of Pramac’s Jack Miller and Trackhouse rider Raul Fernandez.

Miller’s team-mate Miguel Oliveira will take the start from 16th on the grid, with factory Honda rider Joan Mir and Aprilia star Jorge Martin joining him on the sixth row.

Meanwhile, double MotoGP champion Bagnaia endured his worst qualifying result since he started last at the 2022 Portuguese Grand Prix, ending up 21st with a time of 1m38.530s.

The only riders he outqualified were Tech3 returnee Maverick Vinales, Aprilia wildcard Lorenzo Savadori and LCR rookie Somkiat Chantra.

Catalan GP qualifying - Q2 results:

1 - 2
Cla	Rider	#	Bike	Laps	Time	Interval	km/h	Speed Trap
1	A. Marquez Gresini Racing	73	Ducati	8	1'37.536		174.470
2	F. Quartararo Yamaha Factory Racing	20	Yamaha	7	+0.267 1'37.803	0.267	173.994
3	M. Marquez Ducati Team	93	Ducati	8	+0.409 1'37.945	0.142	173.742
4	F. Morbidelli Team VR46	21	Ducati	8	+0.474 1'38.010	0.065	173.627
5	P. Acosta Red Bull KTM Factory Racing	37	KTM	8	+0.483 1'38.019	0.009	173.611
6	F. Di Giannantonio Team VR46	49	Ducati	7	+0.498 1'38.034	0.015	173.584
7	J. Zarco Team LCR	5	Honda	7	+0.619 1'38.155	0.121	173.370
8	A. Ogura Trackhouse Racing Team	79	Aprilia	8	+0.630 1'38.166	0.011	173.351
9	E. Bastianini Tech 3	23	KTM	8	+0.651 1'38.187	0.021	173.314
10	L. Marini Honda HRC	10	Honda	8	+0.791 1'38.327	0.140	173.067
11	B. Binder Red Bull KTM Factory Racing	33	KTM	8	+0.797 1'38.333	0.006	173.056
12	M. Bezzecchi Aprilia Racing Team	72	Aprilia	8	+0.825 1'38.361	0.028	173.007
View full results

Q1 results:

1 - 2
Cla	Rider	#	Bike	Laps	Time	Interval	km/h	Speed Trap
1	F. Quartararo Yamaha Factory Racing	20	Yamaha	7	1'37.906		173.811	345
2	F. Di Giannantonio Team VR46	49	Ducati	8	+0.139 1'38.045	0.139	173.565	356
3	F. Aldeguer Gresini Racing	54	Ducati	9	+0.143 1'38.049	0.004	173.558	347
4	J. Miller Pramac Racing	43	Yamaha	8	+0.199 1'38.105	0.056	173.459	354
5	R. Fernández Trackhouse Racing Team	25	Aprilia	8	+0.300 1'38.206	0.101	173.280	348
6	M. Oliveira Pramac Racing	88	Yamaha	8	+0.304 1'38.210	0.004	173.273	347
7	J. Mir Honda HRC	36	Honda	8	+0.308 1'38.214	0.004	173.266	351
8	J. Martin Aprilia Racing Team	1	Aprilia	8	+0.499 1'38.405	0.191	172.930	351
9	A. Espargaro Honda HRC Test Team	41	Honda	8	+0.540 1'38.446	0.041	172.858	350
10	A. Rins Yamaha Factory Racing	42	Yamaha	8	+0.620 1'38.526	0.080	172.717	346
11	F. Bagnaia Ducati Team	63	Ducati	8	+0.624 1'38.530	0.004	172.710	350
12	M. Viñales Tech 3	12	KTM	7	+0.625 1'38.531	0.001	172.709	352
13	L. Savadori Aprilia Racing Team	32	Aprilia	7	+0.752 1'38.658	0.127	172.486	351
14	S. Chantra Team LCR	35	Honda	8	+1.471 1'39.377	0.719	171.238	348
View full results