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Qualifying report

MotoGP Austrian GP: Marco Bezzecchi grabs pole as Marc Marquez crashes

The Italian rider turned things around in style after a dreadful Friday

Marco Bezzecchi, Aprilia Racing

Marco Bezzecchi, Aprilia Racing

Photo by: Gold and Goose Photography / LAT Images / via Getty Images

Aprilia’s Marco Bezzecchi took pole position for MotoGP's Austrian Grand Prix after emerging from Q1 to top the timesheets in one of the most entertaining qualifying sessions of the season.

Championship leader Marc Marquez will start from the second row after a low-speed crash late in the session cost him dear.

There was almost as much interest in an unusually star-studded Q1 session as there would be for the pole battle that followed. Among other contenders, both the factory Aprilias (Jorge Martin and Bezzecchi) were competing with factory Yamaha rider Fabio Quartararo and VR46 Ducati star Fabio di Giannantonio for the two spots in Q2.

The Aprilias set the pace early in the session, Bezzecchi leading Martin after the first runs. The signs were thus good that they had made progress after a difficult Friday afternoon in which they had suffered wheelspin issues in the heat.  

The only man close to them was Tech3 KTM rider Enea Bastianini – and indeed it was the Italian who would show them the way on the final quick runs. He snatched the fastest time of the session in impressive style, almost bettering it the following lap for good measure.

Bezzecchi was unable to improve on that final run, but his early time was still good enough for second, withstanding a marginal improvement from Martin. The reigning world champion will start 14th after Honda’s Luca Marini slipped ahead of him with a late lap to secure 13th.

Quartararo continued his Friday struggles and was never a threat over a full lap, finishing fifth in Q1 and thus booking himself a miserable 15th place on the grid – after taking four pole positions this season.

The attention given to Q1 proved absolutely justified as Bezzecchi continued where he had left off to throw down an unbeatable challenge on the final Q2 flying runs. He credited Friday evening input from Valentino Rossi for a large part of his weekend’s dramatic turnaround.

While dominant championship leader Marc Marquez lay down the early benchmark in the session, he felt the depth of the competition as the final minutes unfolded. By the time the Spaniard was ready to embark on his quick laps, Bezzecchi, Alex Marquez and factory Ducati team-mate Francesco Bagnaia had already pushed him down to fourth.

Knowing that he would need to find at least another couple of tenths, Marc cracked at the Turn 2 chicane with a low-side at the second part of the corner. Though he was able to pick up his damaged bike and register one more lap, his early time would prove his best.

Marc Marquez, Ducati Team

Marc Marquez, Ducati Team

Photo by: Gold and Goose Photography / LAT Images / via Getty Images

Marc was probably lucky to remain fourth with that time after two KTM riders, Bastianini and Pedro Acosta, saw promising laps unravel in the final sector – Acosta with a particularly dramatic slide in the last corner.

When all was said and done, Bastianini had netted fifth and Acosta seventh, with Gresini Ducati’s Fermin Aldeguer splitting them. 

Franco Morbidelli (VR46 Ducati), Raul Fernandez (Trackhouse Aprilia) and Joan Mir (Honda) rounded out the top 10.

Acosta’s factory KTM team-mate Brad Binder was 11th while Johann Zarco was an unhappy 12th after a crash in practice followed by another in Q2. 

Maverick Vinales (Tech3 KTM) qualified last after competing only one run in Q1 due to his lack of physical endurance. However, the Spaniard, returning to action in Austria following a crash at July’s German Grand Prix, decided after qualifying that he would withdraw from the weekend.

Austrian Grand Prix - Q2 results

   
1
 - 
5
   
   
1
 - 
2
   
Cla Rider # Bike Laps Time Interval km/h Speed Trap
1 Italy M. Bezzecchi Aprilia Racing Team 72 Aprilia 9

1'28.060

  176.852  
2 Spain A. Marquez Gresini Racing 73 Ducati 9

+0.016

1'28.076

0.016 176.820  
3 Italy F. Bagnaia Ducati Team 63 Ducati 8

+0.142

1'28.202

0.126 176.567  
4 Spain M. Marquez Ducati Team 93 Ducati 7

+0.160

1'28.220

0.018 176.531  
5 Italy E. Bastianini Tech 3 23 KTM 8

+0.176

1'28.236

0.016 176.499  
6 Spain F. Aldeguer Gresini Racing 54 Ducati 9

+0.242

1'28.302

0.066 176.367  
7 Spain P. Acosta Red Bull KTM Factory Racing 37 KTM 7

+0.356

1'28.416

0.114 176.140  
8 Italy F. Morbidelli Team VR46 21 Ducati 8

+0.379

1'28.439

0.023 176.094  
9 Spain R. Fernández Trackhouse Racing Team 25 Aprilia 8

+0.488

1'28.548

0.109 175.877  
10 Spain J. Mir Honda HRC 36 Honda 9

+0.611

1'28.671

0.123 175.633  
11 South Africa B. Binder Red Bull KTM Factory Racing 33 KTM 7

+0.701

1'28.761

0.090 175.455  
12 France J. Zarco Team LCR 5 Honda 6

+0.727

1'28.787

0.026 175.404  

Photos from Austrian GP - Practice

Pedro Acosta, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, Alex Marquez, Gresini Racing, Marc Marquez, Ducati Team

Austrian GP - Saturday, in photos

Enea Bastianini, Red Bull KTM Tech 3

Austrian GP - Saturday, in photos

Fabio Quartararo, Yamaha Factory Racing

Austrian GP - Saturday, in photos

Alex Rins, Yamaha Factory Racing

Austrian GP - Saturday, in photos

The Factory Yamaha mechanics prepare the bikes.

Austrian GP - Saturday, in photos

Johann Zarco, Team LCR Honda

Austrian GP - Saturday, in photos

Jack Miller, Pramac Racing

Austrian GP - Saturday, in photos

Luigi Dall'igna, Austrian MotoGP.

Austrian GP - Saturday, in photos

Enea Bastianini, Red Bull KTM Tech 3

Austrian GP - Saturday, in photos

Francesco Bagnaia, Ducati Team

Austrian GP - Saturday, in photos

Fabio Quartararo, Yamaha Factory Racing

Austrian GP - Saturday, in photos

Ai Ogura, Trackhouse Racing

Austrian GP - Saturday, in photos

Joan Mir, Honda HRC

Austrian GP - Saturday, in photos

Brad Binder, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing

Austrian GP - Saturday, in photos

Marco Bezzecchi, Aprilia Racing

Austrian GP - Saturday, in photos

Enea Bastianini, Red Bull KTM Tech 3

Austrian GP - Saturday, in photos

Francesco Bagnaia, Ducati Team

Austrian GP - Saturday, in photos

Franco Morbidelli, VR46 Racing Team

Austrian GP - Saturday, in photos

Francesco Bagnaia, Ducati Team

Austrian GP - Saturday, in photos

Luca Marini, Honda HRC

Austrian GP - Saturday, in photos

Jorge Martin, Aprilia Racing

Austrian GP - Saturday, in photos

Enea Bastianini, Red Bull KTM Tech 3

Austrian GP - Saturday, in photos

Johann Zarco, Team LCR Honda

Austrian GP - Saturday, in photos

The fans watch from the grandstands.

Austrian GP - Saturday, in photos

Marc Marquez, Ducati Team

Austrian GP - Saturday, in photos

Marc Marquez, Ducati Team

Austrian GP - Saturday, in photos

Alex Marquez, Gresini Racing

Austrian GP - Saturday, in photos

Marco Bezzecchi, Aprilia Racing

Austrian GP - Saturday, in photos

Marco Bezzecchi, Aprilia Racing

Austrian GP - Saturday, in photos

Francesco Bagnaia, Ducati Team

Austrian GP - Saturday, in photos

Marco Bezzecchi, Aprilia Racing

Austrian GP - Saturday, in photos

Francesco Bagnaia, Ducati Team, Marco Bezzecchi, Aprilia Racing, Alex Marquez, Gresini Racing

Austrian GP - Saturday, in photos

Francesco Bagnaia, Ducati Team

Austrian GP - Saturday, in photos

Riders take the start of the sprint race

Austrian GP - Saturday, in photos

Riders take the start of the sprint race

Austrian GP - Saturday, in photos

Riders take the start of the sprint race

Austrian GP - Saturday, in photos

Fabio Di Giannantonio, VR46 Racing Team

Austrian GP - Saturday, in photos

Jorge Martin, Aprilia Racing

Austrian GP - Saturday, in photos

Alex Marquez, Gresini Racing

Austrian GP - Saturday, in photos

Marc Marquez, Ducati Team

Austrian GP - Saturday, in photos

Marc Marquez, Ducati Team

Austrian GP - Saturday, in photos

Marc Marquez, Ducati Team

Austrian GP - Saturday, in photos

Alex Marquez, Gresini Racing

Austrian GP - Saturday, in photos

Marc Marquez, Ducati Team

Austrian GP - Saturday, in photos

Alex Marquez, Gresini Racing

Austrian GP - Saturday, in photos

Pedro Acosta, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, Alex Marquez, Gresini Racing, Marc Marquez, Ducati Team

Austrian GP - Saturday, in photos

Pedro Acosta, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, Alex Marquez, Gresini Racing, Marc Marquez, Ducati Team

Austrian GP - Saturday, in photos

Pedro Acosta, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing

Austrian GP - Saturday, in photos

Alex Marquez, Gresini Racing

Austrian GP - Saturday, in photos

Pedro Acosta, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, Alex Marquez, Gresini Racing, Marc Marquez, Ducati Team

Austrian GP - Saturday, in photos

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