The British rider becomes the most successful polesitter in Moto2™ with Raul Fernandez and Gardner 9th and 14th respectively
Sam Lowes (Elf Marc VDS Racing Team) is on pole for the sixth time in 2021 after the British rider mastered the tricky Moto2™ Q2 conditions at the Gran Premio Nolan del Made in Italy e dell’Emilia-Romagna. It’s Lowes’ 17th intermediate class pole, an all-time record, and his 1:36.510 was 0.045s faster than second place Jorge Navarro (+EGO Speed Up), with Augusto Fernandez making it two Elf Marc VDS Racing Team machines on the front row.
Gardner and Raul Fernandez find the going tough in Q2
With no rain in the air and the track continuing to dry, the lap times would get quicker and quicker in the chase for Moto2™ pole position. Navarro came through a Q1 crash fest to immediately set the pace, with Gardner lingering down in P15 with five minutes to go. Both Xavi Vierge and Petronas Sprinta Racing teammate Jake Dixon crashed at Turn 15 – one after another – in a scary incident to bring out the yellow flags, with Celestino Vietti (SKY Racing Team VR46), Ai Ogura (Idemitsu Honda Team Asia) and Stefano Manzi (Flexbox HP40) crashing too.
Meanwhile, Augusto Fernandez and Aron Canet (Aspar Team Moto2) climbed into P2 and P3 respectively behind Navarro, as Raul Fernandez tucked the front at Turn 2 – the title contender was in the gravel. All these yellow flags were hurting Gardner’s progress, and down in P15 still, the Aussie had one lap left to try and climb the rankings.
Lowes was able to slam in two consecutive pole position laps, but Gardner – despite improving his time on the last lap – was only able to make up one spot to P14. Disappointment for the title leader, but with Raul Fernandez only 9th, it could have been worse.
The top 10
Canet fronts Row 2 in P4 with Vietti sticking his Kalex in P5 despite his Turn 1 crash, Marcos Ramirez (American Racing) completes the second row. Manzi held onto P7 in the end, the Italian will have reigning Moto3™ World Champion Albert Arenas (Aspar Team Moto2) and title hunting Raul Fernandez for company on Row 3. Somkiat Chantra (Idemitsu Honda Team Asia) rounded out the top 10.
Nine points separate Gardner and Raul Fernandez in the chase to be crowned 2021 Moto2™ King, what size will that gap be come Sunday afternoon? Tune in at 12:20 local time (GMT+2) to find out what title twists lie ahead.
Top 10: 1. Sam Lowes (Elf Marc VDS Racing Team) – 1:36.510 2. Jorge Navarro (+EGO Speed Up) + 0.045 3. Augusto Fernandez (Elf Marc VDS Racing Team) + 0.234 4. Aron Canet (Aspar Team Moto2) + 0.440 5. Celestino Vietti (SKY Racing Team VR46) + 0.590 6. Marcos Ramirez (American Racing) + 0.790 7. Stefano Manzi (Flexbox HP40) + 1.001 8. Albert Arenas (Aspar Team Moto2) + 1.048 9. Raul Fernandez (Red Bull KTM Ajo) + 1.092 10. Somkiat Chantra (Idemitsu Honda Team Asia) + 1.176
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The Italian matches a Stoner record on a scintillating Saturday afternoon at Misano as title leader Quartararo has work to do
For the first time since Casey Stoner in 2008, a Ducati rider has taken four consecutive MotoGP™ pole positions. That man is Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) as the Italian storms through Q1 to grab a crucial Saturday afternoon P1 at the Gran Premio Nolan del Made in Italy e dell’Emilia-Romagna, his 1:33.045 was 0.025s quicker than teammate Jack Miller as factory Ducati snatch a 1-2. Luca Marini (SKY VR46 Avintia) earned a maiden MotoGP™ front row start to make is three Ducatis on the front row, as World Championship leader Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) fails to make it out of Q2 and will start 15th.
The Q1 battle – Bagnaia through, Quartararo out
Ahead of the pole position shootout, the top two in the World Championship faced Q1 on a treacherous Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli layout. Slick tyres were the way forward on a drying track, as Quartararo and Bagnaia began their most important 15 minutes of the season.
After two flying laps, it was Quartararo and Bagnaia 1-2 – but the times were tumbling lap after lap as the riders gained confidence in the very tricky conditions. With five minutes to go, it was so far, so good for the title contenders. However, Iker Lecuona (Tech3 KTM Factory Racing) and Alex Marquez (LCR Honda Castrol) were making life difficult for the Frenchman.
Crashes for Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing), Michele Pirro (Ducati Lenovo Team) and Joan Mir (Team Suzuki Ecstar) in quick succession brought out numerous yellow flags. Bad news for Quartararo, because he was third – with Pecco P1. Alex Marquez was P2, and this was tense.
Following Quartararo, Alex Rins (Team Suzuki Ecstar) pinched P2 to demote Quartararo to P3 – as yellow flags then came out for an Enea Bastianini (Avintia Esponsorama) crash. That meant Quartararo’s session was done, his lap would be cancelled and for the first time in his MotoGP™ career, the World Championship leader would not be taking part in Q2 – P15 for El Diablo. On his final flying lap, Lecuona grabbed a late P2 to pinch a Q2 spot.
Nolan Made in Italy Emilia Romagna GP: MotoGP™ Q1 23/10/2021
Steve Day, Matt Birt and Simon Crafar guide you through proceedings as the final two spots in Q2 are handed out
The tale of a tantalising Q2
Heading onto his first flying lap, Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) produced a fine save tipping into Turn 2, which demonstrated the lack of grip out there in Q2. And demonstrating their 15-minute extra knowledge on track, the top two after the first flying laps were Bagnaia and Lecuona. On his next lap, Pecco extended his advantage to 1.2s over Lecuona as Jorge Martin (Pramac Racing) crashed unhurt at Turn 8.
MUST-SEE: Marquez’ superman-like save from Misano 23/10/2021
The Honda rider somehow managed to keep hold of his RC213V while going around Turn 2
Martin then crashed again, this time at Turn 16 – rider ok – as Danilo Petrucci (Tech3 KTM Factory Racing) shot up to P2. The Italian wasn’t there for long though as Pol Espargaro (Repsol Honda Team) climbed to P2, with Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) claiming provisional P3. It was all kicking off though. Marc Marquez recovered from his early scare to take P3 with four minutes to go, Miller made it a Ducati 1-2 at the summit.
Miller improved on his next lap to go 0.025s off teammate Pecco, as Petrucci became the next rider to crash – Turn 6 this time. Teammate Lecuona crashed unhurt as more yellow flags came out, then Marc Marquez was down at Turn 6 before we saw Marini stick in a wonderful last lap to earn a first front row start in MotoGP™.
At the end of an incredibly stressful pair of qualifying sessions, Bagnaia becomes just the fourth rider to go from Q1 to pole – a huge, huge result for Pecco with Quartararo 15th.
How the top 12 line-up
Behind the trio of Ducati riders on the front row, Pol Espargaro is joined by Oliveira and Franco Morbidelli (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) on Row 2 – the latter is the only Yamaha rider in the top 14 at Misano. Marc Marquez had to settle for seventh after a troubled Q2, Lecuona lines up alongside his compatriot in P8 for his best-ever MotoGP™ qualifying result. Petrucci makes it a day to remember for Tech3 KTM Factory Racing on the Italian’s final race on home soil, as 10th place Johann Zarco (Pramac Racing) suffers a late crash in his pursuit of a better starting place. Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini) and the double crash for Martin see the Spaniards launch from P11 and P12.
Match point Sunday – will the title be decided?
So, how about that. Quartararo fails to make it into Q2 for the first time ever, as Pecco capitalises to grab pole. Now, it’s time to look ahead to match point Sunday. Can Quartararo claw his way through the pack and claim the title, or can Pecco do enough to spoil the Frenchman’s party? Find out at 14:00 local time (GMT+2) on Sunday afternoon.
Q2 result: 1. Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) – 1:33.045 2. Jack Miller (Ducati Lenovo Team) + 0.025 3. Luca Marini (SKY VR46 Avintia) + 0.085 4. Pol Espargaro (Repsol Honda Team) + 0.268 5. Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) + 0.394 6. Franco Morbidelli (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) + 0.481 7. Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) + 0.805 8. Iker Lecuona (Tech3 KTM Factory Racing) + 0.848 9. Danilo Petrucci (Tech3 KTM Factory Racing) + 1.095 10. Johann Zarco (Pramac Racing) + 1.642 11. Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini) + 1.918 12. Jorge Martin (Pramac Racing) + 51.586
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Crashes played a crucial role in deciding the fate of the second Q2 place, with Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing), Michele Pirro (Ducati Lenovo Team), Joan Mir (Team Suzuki Ecstar) and Enea Bastianini (Avintia Esponorama) all bringing out the yellow flags, the last of which seeing Quartararo’s final effort cancelled, and relegating him to a season-worst P15 grid start.
In treacherous conditions, a lot of riders crashed unhurt. Enea Bastianini (Avintia Esponsorama) went down twice ahead of qualifying, with Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team), Michele Pirro (Ducati Lenovo Team), reigning World Champion Joan Mir (Team Suzuki Ecstar), Jorge Martin (Pramac Racing) and Alex Marquez (LCR Honda Castrol) also crashing in FP4.
The Italian comes through Q1 to claim P1 in qualifying with title leader Acosta on Row 2; Foggia will start from Row 5
As Saturday afternoons go, that was about as good as it gets for Niccolo Antonelli (Avintia VR46 Academy). The Italian came through Q1 to dominate Moto3™ Q2 at the Gran Premio Nolan del Made in Italy e dell’Emilia-Romagna to earn his first pole position since the 2019 Japanese GP with a 1:48.563, a time 0.611s quicker than second place Filip Salač (CarXpert PrüstelGP). Ricciardo Rossi (BOE Owlride) – using a rear slick tyre – completes the front row for Sunday’s race as World Championship leader Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM Ajo) lines up P5 – but Dennis Foggia (Leopard Racing) struggles.
Job done for Acosta, work to do for Foggia on Sunday
After coming through Q1 with a 1.2s advantage, the Italian was straight down to business in the pole position battle and halfway through Q2, on a damp but drying Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli surface, Antonelli was 1.3s faster than Ayumu Sasaki (Red Bull KTM Tech3) – the Japanese rider crashing unhurt at Turn 14 with six minutes to go. Salač then went P2 to cut Antonelli’s gap down to 0.8s, but the latter almost immediately extended his lead to 1.5s. Sensational from the VR46 Academy rider.
With three minutes to go, Foggia was P18 and last in the session. Meanwhile, Acosta shot up to P3, with Foggia’s sixth flying lap seeing him 3.2s off Antonelli. On his next lap, Foggia climbed to P16, with plenty of personal best times being landed. Acosta briefly occupied P3 but he was shuffled down to P5 at the chequered flag, as rival Foggia could only manage P14 – work to do on Sunday morning for the Italian.
The top 10
COTA winner Izan Guevara (Gaviota GASGAS Aspar Team) will spearhead the second row of the grid and has former Junior World Championship rival Acosta alongside him, with Jaume Masia (Red Bull KTM Ajo) making it out of Q1 to start next to teammate Acosta in P6. Alberto Surra (Rivacold Snipers Team) – the newest member of the VR46 Academy – has been impressive all weekend and continued to show great speed in qualifying to claim P7, Stefano Nepa (BOE Owlride) and Xavier Artigas (Leopard Racing) sit P8 and P9 on the grid. Sasaki slipped down to P10 after his tumble.
Match point Sunday awaits
Acosta vs Foggia. The World Championship leader holds the points advantage, now he has grid position advantage too. With the weather looking set to be dry, can Foggia fight his way through from P14 to stop Acosta from winning the title at Misano? Tune into the Moto3™ race at 11:00 local time (GMT+2) to find out.
None of the Moto2™ riders improved their Friday times on Saturday morning at Misano; Gardner and Raul Fernandez safely into Q2
Augusto Fernandez (Elf Marc VDS Racing Team) will head into Moto2™ qualifying at the Gran Premio Nolan del Made in Italy e dell’Emilia-Romagna, after his Friday lap time – a 1:40.930 – remained unbeaten in another wet FP3. World Championship leader Remy Gardner (Red Bull KTM Ajo) and Xavi Vierge (Petronas Sprinta Racing) are P2 and P3 on the combined times, title-chasing Raul Fernandez (Red Bull KTM Ajo) is P8 and safely into Q2.
No improvements on Saturday morning
Unlike in the Moto3™ and MotoGP™ classes, the Moto2™ riders were unable to find any improvements in FP3. Home heroes Tony Arbolino (Liqui Moly Intact GP) and Marco Bezzecchi (SKY Racing Team VR46) were the top two split by just 0.003s in the Saturday morning stint, however, both Italians will be facing Q1 this afternoon.
Jake Dixon (Petronas Sprinta Racing) is fourth on the combined times, just ahead of fifth place rookie Celestino Vietti (SKY Racing Team VR46). Sam Lowes (Elf Marc VDS Racing Team), Ai Ogura (Idemitsu Honda Team Asia), Raul Fernandez, Somkiat Chantra (Idemitsu Honda Team Asia) and Fermin Aldeguer (+EGO Speed Up) are the rider occupying the top 10, with Stefano Manzi (Flexbox HP40), Marco Ramirez (American Racing), Tom Lüthi (Pertamina Mandalika SAG Team) and Aron Canet (Aspar Team Moto2) heading into Q2.
Tune into Moto2™ qualifying at 15:10 local time (GMT+2) to see who comes out on top between Gardner and Raul Fernandez, as the intermediate class title race starts to sizzle up nicely.
Top 10 combined: 1. Augusto Fernandez (Elf Marc VDS Racing) – 1:40.930 2. Remy Gardner (Red Bull KTM Ajo) + 0.076 3. Xavi Vierge (Petronas Sprinta Racing) + 0.082 4. Jake Dixon (Petronas Sprinta Racing) + 0.516 5. Celestino Vietti (SKY Racing Team VR46) + 1.223 6. Sam Lowes (Elf Marc VDS Racing Team) + 1.396 7. Ai Ogura (Idemitsu Honda Team Asia) + 1.400 8. Raul Fernandez (Red Bull KTM Ajo) + 1.457 9. Somkiat Chantra (Idemitsu Honda Team Asia) + 1.491 10. Fermin Aldeguer (+EGO Speed Up) + 1.763
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It’s a Ducati 1-2-3 at the summit after another wet session at Misano, but the two title contenders finish outside the top 10
Wet weather greeted the riders again on Saturday morning and finishing fastest in a nail-biting Gran Premio Nolan del Made in Italy e dell’Emilia-Romagna FP3 was Johann Zarco with a 1:40.384, as the Frenchman edged out Pramac Racing teammate Jorge Martin by 0.087s. Jack Miller (Ducati Lenovo Team) made it a Ducati 1-2-3 at the top, but the two title contenders – Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) and Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) – fail to make the Q2 cut.
Q1 awaits Quartararo and Bagnaia
For the riders sitting outside the top 10 ahead of the session, including Quartararo, their dry weather wishes didn’t come to fruition. However, conditions were good enough to allow for some improvements to be made early in FP3, with Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) moving up to P2 – just 0.026s off Miller’s Friday effort – after 15 minutes.
It was an enthralling opening 25 minutes, with all but five riders managing to go faster than they did on Friday. Quartararo was making progress, but the problem for El Diablo was so were his rivals. A slight lull in proceedings came halfway through FP3, and at that stage, the Frenchman was P13, one second down on fastest rider Bagnaia.
A huge final 10 minutes then reared its head. Quartararo, 16th, was staring a first Q1 appearance of the season down the barrel. The title leader leapt to P10 with five minutes to go, a second shy of Zarco, but Danilo Petrucci (Tech3 KTM Factory Racing) quickly demoted Quartararo back to P11. Bagnaia wasn’t safe either though, the Italian was now P9 with just over a minute to go.
On his penultimate lap, Quartararo improved – but it was only good enough for P11. That was soon P12 and suddenly, Bagnaia was now P11 and outside the Q2 places. Quartararo’s FP3 was over after a mistake on his final lap down into Turn 8, frustrations clear to see, but title rival Pecco couldn’t find enough time on his last lap to grab a top 10 either. A dramatic session for the top two in the overall standings sees both Quartararo and Pecco head into Q1.
The remaining Q2 qualifiers
Despite a crash, Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) heads into Q2 in P4 as the fastest non-Ducati rider, with Marc Marquez claiming P5 after finishing Friday outside the top 10. The eight-time World Champion’s Repsol Honda teammate Pol Espargaro picked up P6 to safely make it into the pole position shootout, as does fastest Yamaha rider Franco Morbidelli (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) – the Italian sat P22 at one stage in FP3. Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini), Petrucci and Luca Marini (SKY VR46 Avintia) are the final three riders to make it through.
The most important qualifying of 2021 is coming up
Only two riders can go through from Q1 to Q2, but will it be 11th fastest Pecco and 15th fastest Quartararo? Reigning World Champion Joan Mir (Team Suzuki Ecstar) is also facing Q1, in what is undoubtedly the most important qualifying session of the season. Q1 is coming your way at 14:10 local time (GMT+2), don’t miss any of the action.
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Unfortunately, Lorenzo Savadori (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini) has been declared unfit for the remainder of the Emilia-Romagna GP after a Turn 1 crash in FP3 that saw him fracture his right collarbone.
Top 10 combined: 1. Johann Zarco (Pramac Racing) – 1:40.384 2. Jorge Martin (Pramac Racing) + 0.087 3. Jack Miller (Ducati Lenovo Team) + 0.136 4. Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) + 0.448 5. Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) + 0.471 6. Pol Espargaro (Repsol Honda Team) + 0.541 7. Franco Morbidelli (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) + 0.558 8. Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini) + 0.580 9. Danilo Petrucci (Tech3 KTM Factory Racing) + 0.583 10. Luca Marini (SKY VR46 Avintia) + 0.601
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Valentino Rossi (Petronas Yamaha SRT) has unveiled his final home race special helmet design, ahead of qualifying and race day at the Gran Premio Nolan del Made in Italy e dell’Emilia-Romagna. Check out the nine-time World Champion’s yellow lid below, a homage to his loyal support he’s received over the past 26 years of Grand Prix racing.
Jarno Janssen, RW Racing GP team manager: “It is of course fantastic that we can announce our rider line-up for 2022. With Barry [Baltus] we signed a two-year contract last year and I think we can be satisfied with the progression Barry shows every weekend. We are convinced that Barry can make a big step forward in the coming season. In addition, Zonta van den Goorbergh will strengthen the team from next season. I am convinced that with Zonta and his support team, we have made the right choice to make the step to the Moto2 class. We know his talent and we are excited to work with two very young talents in 2022, a young Belgian and a young Dutchman. If this opportunity arises then I think that together with our Dutch partners we can and should only be very proud.”
Wet conditions greeted the lightweight class on Saturday morning, with both title contenders inside the top 10
Xavier Artigas (Leopard Racing) slammed in a 1:51.428 in the wet Moto3™ FP3 conditions to finish quickest on Saturday morning at the Gran Premio Nolan del Made in Italy e dell’Emilia-Romagna. The Spaniard finished 0.302s clear of second place Yuki Kunii (Honda Team Asia), Alberto Surra (Rivacold Snipers Team) is third with both Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM Ajo) and Dennis Foggia (Leopard Racing) inside the top 10.
Foggia improves, Acosta safely into Q2
Conditions were by no means ideal for the Moto3™ riders in their final Free Practice session of the weekend, but for most of FP3, the circumstances enabled a lot of riders to improve their Friday times. Day 1 pacesetter Andrea Migno (Rivacold Snipers Team) wasn’t one of those though, as the Italian slipped to P12 – before crashing down at Turn 8 as the heavens opened in the final 10 minutes.
Importantly, Foggia – 23rd fastest on Day 1 – was able to climb to P10 before the rain began falling, but plenty of riders were still setting personal best times. Artigas went top of the pile on his final lap, Kunii also got the better of Surra to move into P2, with Foggia also setting his best time of the weekend on his last flying lap to grab P6 behind fourth place Filip Salač (CarXpert PrüstelGP) and fifth place Ayumu Sasaki (Red Bull KTM Tech3).
A solid FP3 from Foggia means he joins title rival Acosta in Q2 – the World Championship leader is P8 behind Adrian Fernandez (Sterilgarda Max Racing Team) heading into qualifying after getting shuffled down from P4 in the closing stages. Stefano Nepa (BOE Owlride) and Darryn Binder (Petronas Sprinta Racing) rounded out the top 10. Lorenzo Fellon (SIC58 Squadra Corse), Izan Guevara (Gaviota GASGAS Aspar Team), Andi Izdihar (Honda Team Asia) and Daniel Holgado (Red Bull KTM Tech3) – despite a late crash – are the other riders heading straight into Q2.
Next up: qualifying!
Don’t miss a single second of the action in the lightweight class, as Acosta and Foggia go head-to-head on Saturday afternoon to see who takes the advantage into Sunday’s race. Will it be wet, will it be dry? Tune in at 12:35 local time (GMT+2) to find out.
Top 10 combined: 1. Xavier Artigas (Leopard Racing) – 1:51.428 2. Yuki Kunii (Honda Team Asia) + 0.302 3. Alberto Surra (Rivacold Snipers Team) + 0.323 4. Filip Salač (CarXpert PrüstelGP) + 0.329 5. Ayumu Sasaki (Red Bull KTM Tech3) + 0.445 6. Dennis Foggia (Leopard Racing) + 0.625 7. Adrian Fernandez (Sterilgarda Max Racing Team) + 0.690 8. Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM Ajo) + 0.694 9. Stefano Nepa (BOE Owlride) + 0.721 10. Darryn Binder (Petronas Sprinta Racing) + 0.898
Every practice session, qualifying battle and race, exclusive interviews, historic races and so much more fantastic content: this is VideoPass!
