Francesco Bagnaia will start from pole position in both races of the MotoGP Catalan GP. The championship leader was the strongest in this morning’s qualifying session in Barcelona, putting an end to Aprilia’s dominance on the Catalan circuit.
After the initial flying laps, the Aprilia riders were leading, with Aleix Espargaró ahead of Maverick Viñales. Viñales took the lead on his second attempt, edging out Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM) by 0.077s.
The riders then returned to the pits to prepare for the final minutes of qualifying. Less than three minutes before the checkered flag, Aleix Espargaró briefly held the lead… before being overtaken by Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati) and Oliveira (CryptoDATA RNF MotoGP Team/Aprilia).
Until the end, the only change at the top was in the second position, with Oliveira being displaced by Espargaró. Bagnaia secured pole position with a 0.104s gap over the Spaniard, while the Portuguese rider finished third.
Behind them, the second row will be occupied by Viñales, Jorge Martín, and Johann Zarco (Prima Pramac/Ducati), who finished in fourth, fifth, and sixth positions, respectively.
Results: