2021 MotoGP – Round 17
Portimao Qualifying Report

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For a fifth time in succession, Ducati Lenovo Team’s Francesco Bagnaia is on pole position! The Italian set a new lap record at the Grande Prémio Brembo do Algarve with a 1:38.725 to beat teammate Jack Miller to the top by just 0.104.

Bagnaia homes in on Casey Stoner’s seven in a row for Ducati in 2007-2008, and he becomes the first Italian to take five pole in a row since Valentino Rossi from the 2003 Malaysian GP to the 2004 Spanish GP.

2020 World Champion Joan Mir (Team Suzuki Ecstar), meanwhile, also had a good day at the office as he took his first ever top three in MotoGP qualifying. He’s started from the front row before, but via a penalty for another rider.

Behind the Ducati 1-2 and Mir in third, Rookie of the Year contender Martin returns to the circuit where he suffered his huge crash earlier in the season and takes an impressive fourth, edging out team-mate Zarco by thousandths as the Frenchman nevertheless came through Q1 to grab a second row start in P5. Pol Espargaro (Repsol Honda Team) took sixth, 0.333s down on pole.

Quartararo is in slightly unfamiliar territory on Row 3, the 2021 Champion cut a more muted figure back in the box after finishing 0.4 away from Pecco in Q2. Alex Marquez, despite his small Mir moment, bagged his best MotoGP Q2 result in P8. Franco Morbidelli (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) lines up alongside Quartararo and Marquez in ninth.

Lecuona is another who has impressed this weekend and his efforts in Q1 and Q2 see the WorldSBK-bound rider start P10, just ahead of Alex Rins (Team Suzuki Ecstar) and Marini.

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MotoGP Rider Quotes

Francesco Bagnaia – P1

“I’m thrilled! We deserved this pole position, as in the Portuguese GP, our lap time got cancelled due to the yellow flags. I was improving again on the last lap, but unfortunately, I made a mistake in the last sector and went wide. We are strong this weekend; we tried both the medium and hard tyre, and we were pretty competitive with both. Today was cool and windy, but tomorrow the conditions should be better, so tomorrow morning we’ll evaluate what our final tyre choice will be for the race.”

Jack Miller – P2

“I’m delighted with how this qualifying went: we’re very close to the pole position, but unfortunately, I wasn’t able to put together a perfect lap. I gave my best, and with both the first and second soft tyre, I set two very similar times, but unfortunately, I made some mistakes in both laps. We are doing a great job, and our goal is to repeat this result tomorrow in the race. We’re still fighting for third place in the Championship, so it’s going to be crucial to finish this race well.”

Joan Mir – P3

“I’m really happy to get my first front row with third. It’s a result that the team really deserve because we’ve been working hard together to try and build a better set-up. I’ve had the potential for a good qualifying performance for a few races now but for one reason or another – such as weather conditions – it hasn’t been possible. I wanted to fight for the pole, but for me this front row is still really nice and I want to give my thanks and appreciation to the team for providing me with a great package today.”

Jorge Martín – P4

“I am very happy. I knew I had the right cards in my hand to do well, but I didn’t expect to be on the second row. I feel I am in great shape. Physically I am doing well, and I am ready for tomorrow.”

Johann Zarco – P5

“I am satisfied with how we concluded the day. To start from the second row is very important. I was suffering due to the wind this morning and so I wasn’t able to earn myself direct access to Q2. We did, however, react in the best possible manner.”

Pol Espargaro – P6

“Today showed the progress we have made this year with the bike, with me and with the team. I made a mistake at T1 during my fastest lap so maybe I could have found another tenth but otherwise I was feeling good on the bike – even after our crash in FP4. The front two rows are our target every weekend, when you’re here you can be there in the group in the race with a good start. I’m happy we’ve made this step, but we can be there. Still, we need to look a bit at what tyre to use in the race because there’s a lot of possible options here.”

Fabio Quartararo – P7

“It was not an easy day. The afternoon was quite tricky. We didn’t find our way like we did yesterday. The feeling was not great, and I expected much better from FP4 with the hard tyre. But my feeling was not as good as I expected, and we modified the set-up a bit. We need to find something for tomorrow. Of course, we will go back to the normal base setting and try to make our pace like it was in the past. We have the warm-up tomorrow to confirm everything. If we find our pace with the medium tyre, we can do a great race. We need to work on that tomorrow.”

Álex Márquez – P8

“It was a second good day, we kept up the aggression and I’m really happy with the work we’re doing here. We’re always improving and that’s the important thing, not just the qualifying result which was the best of my career in MotoGP as I always struggle in qualy! My rhythm was really good and I felt good with the pace. We have to be realistic, we don’t have the pace to win, but we have the pace to do something interesting. I’ll look to make a good start, try and few things in the warm-up and be ready for the race. I’m really looking forward to tomorrow and will try to enjoy the race.”

Franco Morbidelli – P9

“I’m happy about today because we made a step compared to yesterday. We were much closer to the top, and we did it on a day that our rivals were very strong. We are closer to Fabio, who is always the best Yamaha. I’m happy about that, and it has been a good day for me.”

Iker Lecuona – P10

“All day I felt very strong. Yesterday we did a good job already and this morning in FP3 we improved. I had a very strong pace. On my fast lap I made it nearly directly to Q2, so I was very confident for this afternoon. In Qualifying we have been working for the race, which was successful as well.In Q1 I felt very strong. In Q2, we didn’t have any new rear tyres left, so I went out with used ones. With another new soft, I think I could have made it into the first three rows, but it’s ok. I’m really happy and want to say thanks to my team because we are working really hard and we are more than ready for tomorrow.”

Alex Rins – P11

“Today was good, I was happy in the morning when I was able to go directly to Q2. In the afternoon I tried the hard rear and a different set-up and that didn’t suit me very well, so we won’t use that configuration tomorrow. But overall today has been useful and my pace has been quite good, I just struggled a bit with the wind, which unsettles the bike a bit, but apparently it will be less strong tomorrow – I’ll aim to do a ‘Rins race’!”

Luca Marini – P12

“Qualifying was a pity, because we had a very good potential today. In the first run, I didn’t have a great feeling with the front tyre, I didn’t feel comfortable and I crashed. I went straight to the pits, but in the second bike I had the soft tyre on the front because I didn’t have any other mediums available. Unfortunately, with this type of tyre it is really difficult to find a good performance on this track. Overall, so far, it’s been a good weekend. We will analyse with data to choose the best tyres for tomorrow’s race.”

Enea Bastianini – P13

“I’m quite happy because we improved, although it was a pity not to get into Q2. We keep losing time in the last sector, I can’t do it the way I want and I always lose those 2 or 3 tenths that compromise my lap time. I have to try to understand what changes I have to make for tomorrow. The important thing is that we are fast and we have improved compared to yesterday. We will have to think about the tyre choice as it will be crucial.”

Aleix Espargaro – P14

“If we look at the result, it may seem like a bad day, but there are actually many positive aspects that go beyond the qualifiers. Although we struggled this morning in the cold, with a few changes to the bike and the higher temperatures in FP4, we were able to achieve a good pace. This makes me optimistic for the race, as long as I have a good start and I’m able to be aggressive in the early stages. Unfortunately, throughout the weekend we’ve struggled to get the tyres up to temp and that makes the RS-GP unstable and leads to me making a lot of mistakes. But in terms of pace, being in the top 6-8 is a feasible result.”

Danilo Petrucci – P15

“I’m happy about the work we did. Qualifying was quite good. We still have to find the perfect setup, but I feel good. I don’t think we have to change a lot for tomorrow. The tyre choice will surely be the key. Our starting position is pretty decent this time, we are close to the others and I’m really satisfied with how everything went today.”

Valentino Rossi – P16

“Today was a more positive day because I was faster and felt better with the bike, especially with the tyres. The feeling with the tyres felt better today and the track conditions had improved. In FP4 I tested the medium and hard tyres and they weren’t too bad. I had quite a good pace but unfortunately I was unable to progress from Q1 to Q2, because I was not fast enough. My lap time is not too bad though and I will start the race from 16th, which is better than the most recent races and we will see what happens tomorrow. I will be trying to take some points and make it into the top-ten in the race, but it all depends on what type of race we have.”

Miguel Oliveira – P17

“A tough qualifying. I felt that we’d found a bit more speed and pace but not enough. This afternoon we need to collect information and also see what the Tech3 boys did. We need to analyze and see what spec of bike we can use tomorrow. It’s not the best starting position for my home GP but I gave my best and tomorrow is another opportunity to do that again. Hopefully the result will be a bit better.”

Maverick Vinales – P18

“It’s true that this weekend is not going as we’d hoped, but we must always keep our real goal in mind which, at this time, is not the result but rather the feeling. If we improve that, everything else will automatically fall into place. Evidently, this track amplifies our difficulties which maybe in Misano we were able to overcome with riding style. We’ll see what happens tomorrow. The warm-up session will be essential for finding something that lets us make a step forward in the race.”

Brad Binder – P19

“Not the day we wanted. We’ve been struggling all weekend so far and haven’t been up to pace. I had a small crash in qualifying which meant I didn’t post a lap in the first run. We put a new rear tire in but again I couldn’t get a decent lap done. 19th tomorrow and there is not much we can do about it. We’ll do our homework tonight and see what we can do in the race.”

Stefan Bradl – P20

“Qualifying was OK, of course I would have liked to be further ahead but in the end I am still missing something over one lap. This is probably the area where I see the biggest difference between myself and the other riders, pushing to get the most out of the tyre over one lap. In the end I think we have done and are doing a good job, the distance to the front is not very big because the times are so tight. Let’s see what happens tomorrow, the plan is to stay in the group and see what happens.”

Andrea Dovizioso – P21

“I’m happy because I was able to go faster this morning and also this afternoon, when I was with the group. However, the position isn’t the best so I’m not happy about that. I was able to improve the way that I was braking, which is good, but it is very difficult to stay in the middle of the group. We need something more though to make more gains. My speed is there when I’m in the group, but I think it will be difficult to gain positions and make overtakes tomorrow. I think everybody will have a really good pace, but the race is long and we will see what happens. Our target is always to try to finish in the points.”

Takaaki Nakagami – P22

“Unfortunately, this afternoon was really tough, I had a crash in Q1 and we lost the opportunity to improve the lap time. It was a small mistake, but the cost was massive. Obviously, it was not the result we were expecting, but from the back of the grid I will try my best and will look to overtake some riders in the race.”

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MotoGP Combined Qualifying Times

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Moto2

Raul Fernandez’ (Red Bull KTM Ajo) roll continues as the rookie sensation took his seventh Moto2 pole position in the Grande Premio Brembo do Algarve, setting a new lap record in preparation for what could be a final stand in the Championship. He also equals Marc Marquez’ outright record of seven Moto2 poles as a rookie.

However, Championship leader Remy Gardner (Red Bull KTM Ajo) is the rider in second, two and a half tenths back, with Fabio Di Giannantonio (Federal Oil Gresini Moto2) completing the front row after going from Q1 to third on the grid.

Behind the Red Bull KTM Ajo duo and then ‘Diggia’ comes Canet. Despite his crash, the Aspar rider will start P4 after missing out on the front row by just 0.005. Augusto Fernandez slipped to P5 but it’s another solid Saturday, with American rookie Cameron Beaubier (American Racing) taking P6 and his second best qualifying result yet.

Third in the Championship Marco Bezzecchi (Sky Racing Team VR46) spearheads Row 3 alongside Sam Lowes (Elf Marc VDS Racing Team), with rookie Ai Ogura (Idemitsu Honda Team Asia) and Jorge Navarro (Termozeta Speed Up) completing the top 10.

Moto2 Combined Qualifying Times

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Moto3

Sergio Garcia (MuchoNeumatico GASGAS Aspar) returned from injury in style at the Grande Premio Brembo do Algarve, taking his first ever pole position and the first for GASGAS in the class with a new lap record at Portimão. He’s joined on the front row by John McPhee (Petronas Sprinta Racing), the number 17 a fitting yet infinitesimal 0.017 in arrears, with Adrian Fernandez (Sterilgarda Max Racing Team) taking third and his first front row start.

In a flip of Saturday fortunes from the Emilia-Romagna GP, Dennis Foggia (Leopard Racing) will start fourth and head up Row 2, with Championship leader Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM Ajo) gunning to wrap up the crown from P14.

Behind Garcia, McPhee and Adrian Fernandez, Foggia heads up a tasty Row 2. Masia, Acosta’s teammate, is fifth… with Foggia’s teammate Xavier Artigas in sixth, creating plenty potential for fireworks.

Darryn Binder (Petronas Sprinta Racing) will spearhead Row 3 in seventh, and the South African has Q1 graduate Antonelli and early pacesetter Salač alongside him. Sasaki, who has a Long Lap Penalty to take in the race, rounded out the top 10 in Moto3 qualifying.

Now, we race… and potentially crown a Champion. Acosta heads in 21 points clear of Foggia, and the rollercoaster promises another spectacular. Tune in at the slightly different time of 11:20 (GMT) for the penultimate Moto3 race of the season!

Moto3 Combined Qualifying Times

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MotoGP Championship Standings

Constructor Standings

Team Standings

2021 Grande Prémio Brembo do Algarve

2021 FIM MotoGP World Championship calendar

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Moto2 Championship Standings

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Moto3 Championship Standings

Source: MCNews.com.au