Moto GP – Spanish GP – Qualifying

The calendar goes on back to back race weekends, for the first time on the season. As the championship arrives for the first time to Spain, for the Spanish GP at Circuito de Jerez.
First Qualy session saw Pol Espargaro, Johann Zarco, Alex Rins, Brad Binder and Miguel Oliveira as the main candidates that could secure a spot on the next qualy session. First minutes saw Brad Binder a the top of the standings, followed by Pol Espargaro at 2nd, who eventually took provisional 1st at his next attempt. Bezzecchi and Rins were 3rd and 4th respectively.

With a few minutes left, the lap times becomd critical, as Bezzecchi and Rins both improved the lap times, then Pol answered with a fast lap. It looked like a 3-way battle, but then Johann Zarco marked the fastest lap on his last attempt, followed by another big lap from Marco Bezzecchi. Both Pol Espargaro and Alex Rins just felt out shortly from Q2.
Q1 Results:
13. Pol Espargaro /// 14. Álex Rins /// 15. Brad Binder
16. Franco Morbidelli /// 17. Fabio Di Giannantonio /// 18. Remy Gardner
19. Luca Marini /// 20. Stefan Bradl /// 21. Miguel Oliveira
22. Álex Márquez /// 23. Andrea Dovizioso /// 24. Lorenzo Savadori
25. Darryn Binder
The second qualy session was underway, with riders hitting the track, seeking to detrone Fabio Quartararo dominance at Jerez. As the Frenchman started the first minutes of the session on provisional pole, followed closely by Francesco Bagnaia at 2nd. Jorge Martin was the first rider to meet the gravel at his first flying lap. Aleix Espargaro, Jack Miller and Marc Marquez closed the top 5 before the change of bike.
It became evident that the only rider able to keep up against Quartararo for pole position, was Francesco Bagnaia. As the Italian rider was constantly improving the sectors on track and eventually grab the provisional pole and a circuit record. Fabio Quartararo was consequently demoted to still strong 2nd place and Aleix Espargaro keeps the Aprillia on the big picture, closing the front row at 3rd.
Q2 Results:
1. Francesco Bagnaia /// 2. Fabio Quartararo /// 3. Aleix Espargaró
4. Jack Miller /// 5. Marc Márquez /// 6. Johann Zarco
7. Takaaki Nakagami /// 8. Marco Bezzecchi /// 9. Joan Mir
10. Jorge Martín /// 11. Enea Bastianini ///12. Maverick Viñales
Francesco Bagnaia seeks to return to the top spots at the podium after a big performance on qualyfing, with also ending Fabio Quartararo streak at Jerez. With the championship taking form, ending races at the front becomes a necessity and not finishing races could be harmful for championship contention.