Bagnaia claims Misano pole with new lap record, Quartararo third after crash

Francesco Bagnaia will start the Misano MotoGP from pole after setting a new lap record, while championship leader Fabio Quartararo will line-up third after a late turn one fall. 

As was the case in Q2 at Aragon, Bagnaia and Quartararo battled it out for pole with the Yamaha rider getting the better of the Italian after the opening run. 

Jorge Martin was third fastest as riders headed back into pit lane, with Marc Marquez at the front of row two. 

At the beginning of the second run Marquez slotted in behind Bagnaia, however, the eight-time world champion crashed not long after - turn nine. 

This was quickly followed by Aleix Espargaro going down at turn 15 after he too tried to go with last weekend’s Aragon race winner. 

Bagnaia’s next lap was the one that counted as he sensationally went three tenths quicker than Quartararo with a new lap record. 

Jack Miller then split the two title contenders to go second before even more drama unfolded. 

Just as Quartararo began what would have been his final attempt, the Frenchman lost the front heading into turn one. 

Martin leads team-mate Johann Zarco at the front of the second row, while Pol Espargaro was sixth for Repsol Honda.

Qualifying One

After leading the way early on, Enea Bastianini improved further on lap three to set the quickest lap of the weekend to that point. 

A 1:31.876s was the exact time from the Ducati rider, while Valentino Rossi’s difficult home round continued as he crashed at turn 15. 

As the entire Q1 field headed out for the second and final time-attack runs, Franco Morbidelli was the rider provisionally going through to Q2 alongside Bastianini.

Takaaki Nakagami briefly replaced Morbidelli for second, before Marc Marquez took over that position. 

Brad Binder suffered a turn one crash after trying to follow Bradl and both Marquez brothers, while Nakagami also crashed at turn nine. 

Bastianini and Marquez ultimately advanced to Q2 even after the Italian suffered a bizarre crash at turn 14 on his cooling down lap.