On Saturday forward of this weekend’s sixth spherical of the 2024 season, Espargaro grabbed a primary pole of the season with a brand new lap report of 1m38.190s on the finish of a dramatic Q2.
For a lot of the session, it appeared like reigning world champion Francesco Bagnaia would take pole on the manufacturing facility Ducati having set the most effective tempo on the finish of the primary runs of Q2.
However a blistering closing lap from Espargaro noticed him snatch the place away by 0.031 seconds from Bagnaia, whereas Trackhouse Racing’s Raul Fernandez was third.
Championship chief Jorge Martin crashed his Pramac Ducati late on at Flip 2 and was left in seventh.
Failing to get out Q1 for the second spherical in a row, Gresini’s Marc Marquez must begin from 14th for this weekend’s dash and grand prix.
Marc Marquez, Gresini Racing
Photograph by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Photos
Ducati’s Enea Bastianini set the reference lap at the beginning of the 15-minute Q2 at 1m40.335s, although the lap report had already been bested within the previous Q1 session by Fabio Di Giannantonio with the 1m38.208s that knocked Marquez out.
On his first flying lap, Martin put in a 1m38.401s to go 0.374s away from the sphere, earlier than Pedro Acosta bettered this with a 1m38.369s on his Tech3 GasGas.
Seconds later, Bagnaia put in a 1m38.221s with round 9 minutes remaining to imagine management of the session.
After a quick lull on monitor because the riders took on contemporary rubber, Bagnaia’s pole was given a level of consolation when Martin crashed at Flip 2 with simply over two minutes to go.
The Pramac rider misplaced the entrance as he modified route into the Flip 2 right-hander, whereas team-mate Franco Morbidelli slid off behind him – albeit later into the nook.
Bagnaia was unable to enhance on his second run laps, whereas Espargaro leaped as much as second on his penultimate tour earlier than setting the most effective first sector of the session on his closing lap.
Espargaro saved his sector break up instances up and got here by way of to publish a 1m39.190s to beat Bagnaia and Binder, who crashed twice on Friday.
Nevertheless, Fernandez – who got here by way of Q1 – had a lap ok for third reinstated after it was initially cancelled for being set beneath yellow flags, giving each rider and Trackhouse Racing its first entrance row in MotoGP.
Binder now heads row two in fourth from Acosta and Q1 pacesetter Di Giannantonio (VR46 Ducati), whereas Jorge Martin is seventh.
Martin will begin forward of Yamaha’s Alex Rins and KTM’s Jack Miller.
The highest 12 was accomplished by Morbidelli, Bastianini and the second manufacturing facility workforce Aprilia of Maverick Vinales.
Alex Marquez put in a lap on the finish of Q1 that put him forward of his brother and Gresini team-mate Marc Marquez in thirteenth.
Fabio Quartararo struggled to seventeenth on his Yamaha, with Johann Zarco high Honda on his LCR-run bike regardless of a crash on the finish of Q1.
