A drought-breaking pole position and troubles for the MotoGP™ title contenders set up an intriguing Gran Premio Gryfyn di San Marino e della Riviera di Rimini. World Championship leader Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP™) qualified an uncharacteristically low eighth and that could make things difficult for the Frenchman at the Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli. Find out more in 10 things you need to know.
1. Jack Miller (Ducati Lenovo Team) has qualified on pole position for the second time in MotoGP™, along with Argentina in 2018.
2. The Australian is the eighth different polesitter since the opening race of the season in Qatar, equalling the record of the highest number of different polesitters in a single premier class season – set in 1999, 2006, and 2018 (since pole positions began to be officially recorded in 1974).
3. This is Ducati’s 11th pole position so far this season, equalling the record set by the Bologna factory for a single MotoGP™ season, which occurred last year. In addition, this is Ducati’s third successive pole in Misano after those for Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) last year.
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4. Bagnaia has qualified second for the second successive time after doing so in Austria, although he’ll start from P5 due to a three-place grid penalty. On Sunday, he will be aiming to become the first Ducati rider to take four wins in four successive MotoGP™ races.
5. On pole in Austria, Enea Bastianini (Gresini Racing MotoGP™) has qualified third but will start from second; his third front row so far this season along with Qatar (when he took his maiden win) and Austria (where he retired from the race). He will be aiming to stand on the podium for the fifth successive time at Misano: twice in Moto2™ (2020) and twice in MotoGP™ (in 2021).
6. After advancing from Q1, Marco Bezzecchi (Mooney VR46 Racing Team) has qualified fourth but will start from third. It is his second front row so far in his rookie season, along with Italy when he qualified second.
7. Maverick Viñales (Aprilia Racing) has qualified fifth but will start from fourth, which is the third time he has qualified within the front two rows with Aprilia along with Argentina (where he finished P7) and Great Britain (when he finished P2).
Monster Energy San Marino GP : Saturday Press Conference
8. Johann Zarco (Prima Pramac Racing) has qualified sixth, which is the 11th time so far this season he has qualified on the front two rows (although in France he started from ninth). He is still aiming to take his maiden win in MotoGP™.
9. Championship leader Fabio Quartararo has qualified eighth, the first rider on a non-Italian bike. This is only the second time so far this year Quartararo has missed out on the front two rows of the grid, along with the opening race in Qatar – where he finished only ninth.
10. Second in the Championship, Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing) has qualified ninth for the second successive time following Austria. This is the fifth time so far this year he has missed out on the front two rows of the grid. – www.motogp.com
