Marc Marquez puts in a masterful pre-qualifying performance at Brno. Bagnaia finishes 13th and will progress through Q1.
Marc Marquez was the fastest in prequalifying this weekend in the Czech Republic at Brno , which took place on a wet track. The Spaniard finished in 2:03.935, more than 0.4 seconds faster than second-placed Johann Zarco. Fabio Quartararo finished third. The Frenchman left the Aprilias of Marco Bezzecchi and Jorge Martin behind him: a good session for the world champion, who returns this weekend after a long absence. Jack Miller finished sixth, edging out Joan Mir. Enea Bastianini finished eighth, followed by Alex Marquez. Pedro Acosta (KTM) rounded out the top 10. These are the riders who qualify directly for Q2. Francesco Bagnaia had a poor day, finishing thirteenth and therefore forced to compete in Q1 tomorrow.
The session began about 20 minutes late due to rain. The riders therefore began their work on a wet track. The Aprilias made a good start, with Bezzecchi and Martin immediately appearing competitive in these conditions. Marc Marquez and Quartararo were also fast. After the start of the session, the rain eased, quickly improving track conditions. This allowed the riders to improve their times lap after lap. Bezzecchi crashed after a quarter of an hour, but the Italian was unharmed. Marc Marquez made a breakaway with 36 minutes to go: the Spaniard put seven tenths of a second between his time and Quartararo's. Miller moved into second place with 29 minutes to go, placing himself six tenths behind Marquez.
The Australian's time was beaten shortly thereafter by Martin: the world champion's times were good. Martin's time was soon beaten by Zarco, often at ease in these conditions. Marquez delivered a sensational lap with 22 minutes to go: the eight-time world champion, having been displaced by Zarco for a few seconds, immediately closed four tenths of a second between himself and the Frenchman. Meanwhile, Bezzecchi, returning to the track after his crash, moved up to third place. The Italian was displaced by Quartararo and Martin shortly thereafter. It was a complicated session for Bagnaia, only thirteenth with 18 minutes to go. After a short pit stop, almost all the riders returned to the track with about 10 minutes to go to complete their final laps and try to qualify directly for Q2. Conditions were mixed at the end, with some areas of the track still wet and others drier. Alex Marquez crashed with 7 minutes to go: the Spaniard was unhurt, having quickly returned to the pits. Many riders chose the medium wet tyre for their final attempts.
Here are the top 10 finishers who will go directly to Q2 in Brno:
- M. Marquez (Spa/Ducati) 2'03''935
- Zarco (Fra/Lcr Honda) +0''469
- Quartararo (Fra/Yamaha) +0''530
- Bezzecchi (Ita/Aprilia) +0''557
- Martin (Spa/Aprilia) +0''721
- Miller (Aus/Pramac Yamaha) +0''781
- Mir (Spa/Honda) +0''876
- Bastianini (Ita/Ktm) +0''943
- A. Marquez (Spa/Gresini Ducati) +1''058
- Acosta (Spa/KTM) +1''283
These will be the 12 riders forced to go through Q2: R. Fernandez (Trackhouse Aprilia), Aldeguer (Gresini Ducati), Bagnaia (Ducati), Rins (Yamaha), Bidner (KTM), Di Giannantonio (VR46 Ducati), P. Espargaro (Tech3 KTM), A. Fernandez (Yamaha Factory), Oliveira (Pramac Yamaha), Ogura (Trackhouse Aprilia), Nakagami (LCR Honda), Marini (Honda)
La Gazzetta dello Sport
