2021 FIM MotoGP World Championship
Round 13 – Aragon

Qualifying Report

Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) put in an absolute stunner at the Gran Premio TISSOT de Aragon to set pole position, the Italian taking Ducati to the milestone of 50 premier class poles and beating a lap record that’s been sitting unthreatened since 2015. He also was the only one to do so, with three-and-a-half tenths in hand over team-mate Jack Miller. The Australian has closer company from Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) as the Championship leader took third, denied P2 by only hundredths.

Q1

Q1 saw a few surprises. First, the rider with the best record across the two events at MotorLand last season, Alex Rins (Team Suzuki Ecstar), didn’t manage to make an impression and ended the session in tenth – which corresponds to P20 on the grid. He’ll have a big mountain to climb on Sunday from his equal worst MotoGP qualifying.

At the opposite end of the Q1 timesheets, Johann Zarco (Pramac Racing) moved through on top. The Frenchman said he’s struggling a little with arm pump but his 1:47.293 was the best of the session, beating Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) by just 0.051. The South African had a more comfortable 0.164 in hand over fellow KTM rider Iker Lecuona (Tech 3 KTM Factory Racing) as the number 27 was the first to miss out.

In the first three splits Maverick Viñales (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini) had been on the money, with two red sectors and then a yellow, still within hundredths, but the final sector saw him lose out and the number 12 will start from P19.

Q2

Bagnaia laid down a big benchmark initially, before Jorge Martin (Pramac Racing) hit the top as he just edged out the Italian. Then came Quartararo, and this time the margin was a little bigger as he pulled out 0.151.

On the final runs though, the red sectors were flying in and again, it was Bagnaia first – and again by a sizeable chunk of time. He was a whopping 0.405 ahead as he crossed the line with two minutes left on the clock, laying down the gauntlet.

The only red sectors then were coming from Quartararo, but ultimately no one could come close. And in the end, Miller snuck into second too – edging El Diablo out by just 0.031 as the Frenchman lost time later in the lap and Miller gained it.

Reigning Champion Joan Mir (Team Suzuki Ecstar) ended his final flyer with a frustrated gesture as he headed off into the Turn 1 runoff after crossing the line, taking P7 in the end, with Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) following close behind him and making good gains to move onto the provisional front row. But that was scuppered by Miller’s late lunge, with the number 93 shuffled down to fourth.

Combined Times

A Ducati 1-2 sees Bagnaia and Miller spearhead the MotorLand grid, with Quartararo on the outside of the front row. Marc Marquez lines up at the head of Row 2, with top Independent Team rider Martin alongside him – just 0.005 ahead of Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini) as the Silverstone podium finisher completes the second row.

Despite Mir’s remonstrations, the Suzuki rider took seventh and put in a solid qualifying, staying ahead of Silverstone polesitter Pol Espargaro (Repsol Honda Team) by 0.032. They have Enea Bastianini (Avintia Esponsorama) for company as the reigning Moto2 World Champion impressed at MotorLand on both Friday and Saturday, taking his best premier class grid position yet after going straight through to Q2 for the first time.

Zarco was forced to settle for tenth in Q2 and wants a lot more on Sunday, with Takaaki Nakagami (LCR Honda Idemitsu) and Binder for company on the fourth row.

The likes of Rins and Alex Marquez (LCR Honda Castrol), podium finisher last year at MotorLand, will be looking to charge through early, and Mir will be keen to get the hammer down. The holeshot heroes of Borgo Panigale most definitely aim to stand in their way. Marc Marquez, meanwhile, made some statements with his FP4 pace and fourth on the grid is one better than where he qualified in Germany… where Sunday went pretty ok, as an understatement, for the eight-time World Champion.

Rider Quotes

Francesco Bagnaia – P1

“I’m thrilled because, for the first time, I was able to be fast here at the MotorLand Aragón. I felt comfortable riding my Desmosedici GP from the first sessions, and we didn’t have to make any setup changes. We just kept on lapping, improving steadily and, in FP4 this afternoon, we were also really competitive. In qualifying, I set an incredible lap time and knowing that I have beaten a record that has remained intact since 2015 gives me a lot of energy. Hopefully, we can continue this positive trend also in the race tomorrow.”

Jack Miller – P2

“It’s a fantastic day for Ducati, and I’m delighted, both for Pecco and for me! We have made great steps forward, considering that last year we both couldn’t make it past Q1 and tomorrow, we’ll start first and second on the grid! I feel comfortable on the bike, and I’m happy with my pace, so I am ready for tomorrow’s race. I expect a very close race with many riders ready to fight for the victory, so we’ll have to try to adopt a smart strategy and manage well the tyres”.

Fabio Quartararo – P3

“Third position is fine. Our goal is always to be on the front row, so I‘m happy. And even if I wasn‘t happy about it, I would still be starting from this position. The small run-off on my penultimate lap didn‘t cost me anything. I can‘t make Sector 4 any faster, I‘m already pushing so much there. It‘s not just the bike, I‘ve always been struggling a little bit in the last corner. I was feeling good on the bike today, but it was so difficult to reach pole position. Let‘s see what we can achieve tomorrow. Our pace is great, maybe not the best, but I will do my best. I think it‘s important for us to keep working in a really good way, so we can achieve the best result possible. Anyway, it‘s great to see the fans on the grandstands again! I have been getting some great support from them. That‘s really good.”

Marc Marquez – P4

“Today we finished fourth, this was our main target so that’s good. In Free Practice 4 I felt really good on used tyres so that’s a positive and I was able to ride in a good way. Tomorrow let’s see what my condition is and then see if we can fight in the front group for the whole race. Our pace is there and we’re able to make the lap time but 23 laps around Aragon will be long. Let’s see what happens and we will try to take the most from whatever our situation is.”

Jorge Martín – P5

“I am happy with today. I was expecting to do something more from Q2, but to start from the second row is a great result regardless. The feeling is great, and I feel I am in great form.”

Aleix Espargaro – P6

“We did a good job again today. In qualifying we had the potential to do a bit better, but the second row is still a good position to start well and stay in the group. In the race, I expect to be able to stay with the fastest riders – that’s what the analysis of my pace says – although I don’t think that it will be the fastest rider who will win, but rather the one who uses the tyres the best in the final laps. From this point of view, I am comforted by the way the RS-GP performed during FP4.”

Joan Mir – P7

“I’m not too disappointed, in fact I’m quite happy, because in the end seventh position as a starting spot isn’t that bad. I did struggle a bit with the feeling during qualifying, especially with the very high temperatures, but overall my day was much better than yesterday and we made a huge step. Of course, there are still areas that we need to improve on, braking is one of those areas. But in general everything felt much better with the bike and I feel pretty good about the race, even though I’m sure it will be a big battle with many fast riders.”

Pol Espargaro – P8

“I wanted a bit more today and I think we had potential to be on the second row. I made two big, big mistakes during our time attack – at the last corner I went super wide and when it’s this tight you can’t make mistakes. In Silverstone my lap was perfect, here I made mistakes and I paid for them. The good point is that even with mistakes we are in eighth, we left time on track and that is disappointing but in the past this situation would have ended with a crash or in 12th and we are able to take eighth place now. It’s not where I want to be, but it puts us in a place to where we can show our potential better in the race.”

Enea Bastianini – P9

“I’m happy because it was my first Q2 of the season and I felt pretty good all day. It was a pity I couldn’t close the second fastest lap, plus I struggled a bit with the front tyre and didn’t get the time I wanted. Anyway, it’s good to start from the third row, and we showed a good pace in free practices as well, so I think we can have a good race tomorrow.”

Johann Zarco – P10

“I am a bit disappointed; I made the same mistake that I had made at Silverstone, and I haven’t been able to make the most out of the new tyre: consequently losing time. Tomorrow I will start from the fourth row, I will give it my all to have a good race.”

Takaaki Nakagami – P11

“So, first of all, I’m so happy to reach the 200th GP of my career in the MotoGP Championship, it’s an amazing number and I’m really proud. I would like to thank my team, Idemitsu and all my sponsors because without their support I would not have reached this amazing number. Tomorrow is going to be a really important race for me, starting from P11 I will try my best, and push to fight for the top positions. This track suits me well, so hopefully we can celebrate after the race with all my team. Qualifying was really tight today. Unfortunately, I made a mistake and I was not able to make two laps on my second tyre as I missed the chequered flag by one or two seconds.”

Brad Binder – P12

“I’m happy we made it through to Q2 but unfortunately we didn’t have the tires to make the most of it. I tried my best to make a lap-time from a used one from Q1 but just didn’t have the grip. I struggled to do anything In Q2. Overall, we can be happy with the step we have made today. Now we’ll give our all tomorrow.”

 Danilo Petrucci – P13

“We had a decent Qualifying. I have a really good feeling on the bike, although it’s not perfect yet. The race tomorrow will be very tough, especially with regards to the choice of the rear tyre. I still struggle in acceleration, but we will try our best. I’m quite satisfied about today and we will try to further improve our feeling tomorrow morning.”

Álex Márquez – P14

“Day two here in Aragon and unfortunately in the morning we had a small crash just when we were going faster and better. I made a small mistake and crashed, so we were not able to go directly into Q2. Before that we suffered more than we expected, I was not very happy with the bike’s performance and didn’t feel very good, so tomorrow we need to think about it and change some things. We have some quite clear ideas and directions to follow to try and improve. In qualy I made another mistake as I didn’t put the hard front on and I think that cost us the chance to get into Q2. We were close but not enough, so I’m sorry to the team, but tomorrow we will try again and try harder!”

Cal Crutchlow – P15

“Obviously, yesterday was a good day. This morning was also good, but I missed out on the top 10 to go into Q2. That would have probably been a lot easier situation to be in. But overall we‘re happy. At the end of the day, I believe we have done a good job this weekend. Our pace has been fast, and for a test rider I think it has been respectable and not too bad at all. I didn‘t qualify well because I made a mistake in the last sector in the last corner. I was last in this sector actually, which is probably my best sector at this circuit normally. So, I‘m a little disappointed with that. But the whole Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP team have been working great, and we look forward to seeing what we can do tomorrow.”

Iker Lecuona – P16

“I’m quite satisfied with today. We improved a lot. In the morning we worked very hard and have been pretty close to the top guys. Everybody was so close together, so it was difficult to make it directly to Q2. I have a very consistent pace for the race and I feel very strong. Plus, I did one of my best Qualifyings this season and overall in the MotoGP class. Finally, I have a good base in order to fight for the top tomorrow.”

Luca Marini – P17

“Compared to yesterday, we made a good step forward in the bike set-up. In FP4 I rode better and I was able to get closer to the group, although I would need one more day of work to be completely comfortable with the bike and to close the gap. In any case, we will continue to analyse the data to set up the electronics better and to be able to be consistent in long runs. I don’t think we will make any big changes in the warm up because it’s at a time when the track temperature is completely different to the race. We are still deciding which tyre to use tomorrow, most of the riders seem to be orientated with the hard front and the medium rear.”

 Miguel Oliveira – P18

“It was a strange qualifying after the good feeling we had in FP4 the new tyres didn’t make much difference. We had vibration and no grip so we need to understand and analyse the reason why. The race will be long tomorrow and we still have a very good chance to get some decent points.”

Maverick Vinales – P19

“I continued to improve and learn new things today about how the RS-GP works. Evidently, I need to change my style to take better advantage of this bike’s strong points, especially in braking and in acceleration, but overall I must say that the potential is excellent. I’m convinced that we’ll be able to take another step forward in the race tomorrow as well in terms of feeling. I still haven’t tested the Aprilia over race distance, so that will be helpful in gathering important information that we can use in Misano.”

Alex Rins – P20

“Starting from 20th position, especially at this track where I’m normally fast and where I’m very motivated, is quite a difficult thing. I just couldn’t get comfortable – I was making a lot of mistakes throughout the lap and I struggled with getting the bike stopped. Everything combined and it meant it was hard to set a clean fast lap. I’m sure tomorrow’s race will be very exciting with many fast riders, so it will be a fun one and I want to get into the group.”

Valentino Rossi – P21

“It is incredible how close all the riders are here at Aragon. Today I was better than yesterday with the bike and I improved my pace, which was not too bad. The time attack this morning was quite good because I was 0.6seconds off pole position, but I was in 15th place. My pace was also quite good in FP4, but in Q1 I was not able to make the best lap. I was not able to use my full potential because I was always in the wrong place, I had a lot of traffic and I know that we could have been better. The position on the grid is bad but we need to understand which tyres to use, because the choice is very open at the moment, and what pace we could have in the race tomorrow.”

Jake Dixon – P22

“Everything is coming a lot easier this weekend and the gap is a lot smaller, we were only 0.8 seconds off the top. Overall it’s really good, I’m happy and I’m massively enjoying the big bike. It’s a huge learning experience every time I go out. I didn’t do a time attack yesterday, as I did all of them today, and maybe it would have been nice to have done one so I had a reference today, but still really enjoyed Qualifying. It’s been a positive weekend so far and we’ll see what we can do tomorrow. I’m hoping to feel good with the bike, have a good race and try to get into a battle for as long as I can.”

MotoGP Combined Qualifying Times

2021 MotoGP Standings

Moto2

Sam Lowes (Elf Marc VDS Racing Team) has quite a record at MotorLand, and the Brit added a little more to it in the Gran Premio TISSOT de Aragon. Taking pole position by 0.279 makes it the fourth time he’s taken the honour at the track, the most anyone in Moto2 has managed at a single venue, and last year when he did it twice, he won twice. He’s also equalled 2014 Moto2 Champion Tito Rabat as they now share the most poles in the class: 16.

But there’s another record-breaker on the front row in the form of Championship leader Remy Gardner (Red Bull KTM Ajo), who starts second, with his key rival and rookie sensation team-mate Raul Fernandez set to line up P3.

Moto2 Combined Qualifying Times

Moto2 Championship Points Standings

Moto3

Darryn Binder (Petronas Sprinta Racing) showed more good MotorLand form on Saturday at the Gran Premio TISSOT de Aragon, the South African pulling out two tenths to head the field and the grid. Gabriel Rodrigo (Indonesian Racing Gresini Moto3) slots into second, to be exact 0.181 back, with Tatsuki Suzuki (SIC58 Squadra Corse) completing an all-Honda front row.

Moto3 Combined Qualifying Times

Moto3 Championship Points Standings

2021  – Aragon Schedule  (AEDT)

Source: MCNews.com.au