Riders reflect on Misano qualifying and look to the race ahead

2021 MotoGP Round 14 Misano Qualifying


MotoGP Qualifying Report

Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) remains the man to beat as the sun set on Saturday at the Gran Premio Octo di San Marino e della Riviera di Rimini, with the Italian setting another all-time lap record to take pole position.

Francesco Bagnaia has qualified on pole (setting a new all-time lap record) for the third time in MotoGP along with Qatar and MotorLand this year. He will be aiming to take his second win in the class following last weekend at Aragon.

It’s Bagnaia’s third pole of the year and with team-mate Jack Miller in second, the first factory Ducati 1-2 in back to back Grands Prix.

Jack Miller has qualified second, equalling his best qualifying result of the season so far from Catalunya (when he finished the race in third place, his most recent podium) and Aragon.

To copy-paste the front row from MotorLand but with a seemingly pretty different race ahead, it’s Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) in third despite a crash for the Frenchman in Q2.

Fabio Quartararo is third and starts from the front row for the 35th time (on his 47th race in MotoGP, nearly 74.4%). On his 34 previous front rows, he went on to take a podium 17 times (including seven of his eight premier class wins so far).

MotoGP Rider Quotes

Francesco Bagnaia – P1

“I’m really delighted with this result! Again this weekend, we had to make only a few adjustments to the bike since I have felt comfortable on it right from the start. I wasn’t sure I could take pole in qualifying because Quartararo was going so fast, but I managed to set a great time! The team is doing a great job, and we were fast also in FP4, so I’m very optimistic heading into tomorrow’s race”.

This is the fourth pole for Ducati at Misano in MotoGP along with Casey Stoner in 2007 and 2008, and Jorge Lorenzo in 2018. Only Stoner in 2007 went on to win the race (as well as to finish on the podium).
Jack Miller – P2

“I’m thrilled with my result in qualifying today, and I was also surprised. My first attempt on the soft tyre didn’t go particularly well, and when I went out on the second one, I took the yellow flag on the first lap. I was nervous because I thought I didn’t have enough time to try again. Fortunately, I could get through before the chequered flag and finish the second lap with a very good time. Now we’ll have to work on the data we collected in FP4 to see where we can still improve, but in general, I’m confident for the race.”

Jack Miller has qualified second, equalling his best qualifying result of the season so far from Catalunya (when he finished the race in third place, his most recent podium) and Aragon.
Fabio Quartararo – P3

“I‘m perfectly okay after the crash. When you want pole position, you‘ll try anything. I was braking super late in Turn 1. I knew it was pole position or nothing, and unfortunately today it was nothing. But overall qualifying was good. I gave it a try. As always, our main goal was the front row and we got that. I‘m feeling okay, and our pace is really good compared to Aragon, there it wasn‘t so great. I think we‘ve done a really great job today. I‘m feeling ready for tomorrow. Of course, I hope for a dry race. My feeling in the dry is super good, so I want to keep going in that direction. We‘ll see what position I have after the first lap, and I will do my best. The race is long, so I‘ll be taking it step by step.”

Fabio Quartararo
Jorge Martín- P4

“Today has been a good day. To start from the second row will prove to be very important. I am regaining confidence on the bike and this will be fundamental – as it will be to start erll tomorrow and remain with the leading group.”

Jorge Martin has qualified fourth as the top Independent Team rider and third Ducati rider (as well as top rookie), which is the sixth time on what is his 10th MotoGP race that he starts from the front two rows of the grid.
Johann Zarco – P5

“Today has been a good day. To start from the second row will prove to be very important. I am regaining confidence on the bike and this will be fundamental – as it will be to start erll tomorrow and remain with the leading group.”

Pol Espargaro – P6

“We had an interesting day and made the most of the dry track time today. We still have one or two things to confirm in Warm Up but I am satisfied overall today. Sixth position is good but our distance to Bagnaia is a bit too big for my liking. Tomorrow will be a hard race because Ducati look to have something extra here, but I think we can fight behind them in the race. It can be very difficult to overtake here so starting on the second row is really important. Let’s make a good start, fight and see what’s possible – tomorrow is a new day.”

Pol Espargaro has qualified sixth as the highest-placed Honda. This is the fifth successive time there is no Honda rider on the front row in MotoGP at Misano.
Marc Marquez – P7

“I’m happy about today because in Free Practice 3 we found ourselves struggling a lot. Q1 is always really difficult but with HRC we made a really nice strategy, so I want to say thank you to HRC and Bradl because he was the guy to open the track. In Q2 I pushed again and I was able to make a good lap, I’m happy because I have been struggling at this circuit a lot. We are not very far from the top considering this.”

In Q1 for the sixth time since he came back from injury in Portugal (two more than between 2013 and 2020 prior to his injury), Marc Marquez joined Q2 and qualified seventh (after crashing) for his worst qualifying in MotoGP at Misano.
Aleix Espargaro – P8

“If it’s true that the 2021 RS-GP is performing well everywhere, this is a track where we have historically struggled a bit more. I don’t have the same feeling as Silverstone and Aragón, but I’m still satisfied with the level we have achieved. The hard front tyre betrayed me in qualifying. I usually feel pretty good on it, but it works in a rather tight temperature range. It only took letting it cool down a couple of degrees to crash. Third row is still a good starting point. I think that, apart from Pecco, there may be a group of riders with a similar pace. Weather permitting!”

Aleix Espargaro is eighth (also crashing in Q2), which is still the best qualifying for Aprilia at Misano in MotoGP.
Alex Rins – P9

“FP3 and FP4 went really well for me, I felt very good with the bike and my lap times were strong too. Tomorrow will be really unpredictable; it could be wet or dry or something in between! But we feel quite ready to fight, we’re on the third row and ninth is quite good – especially if it’s dry I feel pretty confident. I gave 100% during qualifying, but in the end we still struggle in this area and we’re far from pole. All the riders are close and we’ve seen a lot of crashes in these two days, so we will need to be careful. If it’s wet it becomes a lottery, but if it’s dry I think it could be an exciting fight.”

Alex Rins has qualified ninth as the highest-placed Suzuki rider, which is the seventh time so far this year he starts from the front three rows of the grid.
Maverick Vinales – P10

“We worked well again today, focusing on our goal of getting to know the bike and accumulating experience. Maybe just in qualifying I expected to be able to do better, but I obviously still need to understand how to take the RS-GP to the limit on the flying lap. In terms of pace, on the other hand, I had good sensations. I lapped in FP4 with a full tank and used tyres and I think that proper tyre wear management may be an important factor on this track. We’ll work in the warm-up session tomorrow as well, trying some new solutions. Every session is like a test for us.”

Maverick Viñales has qualified 10th, which is his best qualifying result since he joined Aprilia. He will be aiming to become only the second rider to take two wins on bikes from two different manufacturers in a single premier class season along with Mike Hailwood in 1961 (TT/Norton, Nations/MV Agusta).
Joan Mir – P11

“Overall, today I’ve been competitive and riding hard. I felt strong, and even though things didn’t go to plan, I’m quite happy. Qualifying was a shame; we didn’t have the potential to fight for pole and we’re honestly quite far from that. I felt that the second row was possible, but then I had some trouble with the front on my first exit, then I saw a message on my dashboard right after I exited for the second run. I thought I should stop in case there was something wrong with the bike, and in the end this impacted my qualifying as well as the yellow flag on my last flying lap. There’s no point being frustrated; the focus now is on the race and I know I have good pace if I can get a strong start.”

Joan Mir has qualified 11th which is the eighth time so far this year he fails to start from the front three rows of the grid. Eight of his 12 MotoGP podiums so far came after he failed to start from the front two rows of the grid…
Enea Bastianini – P12

“It’s important to be in Q2, although I could have done more. However, I didn’t feel as good as I did in Q1 and it was a shame because I’m sure we could have finished in the top 6. We have improved a lot throughout the weekend and the track conditions are constantly changing. I think if we keep going like this we can do well in the race.”

Joining Q2 for the second time in his rookie season in MotoGP (along with last weekend at MotorLand), Enea Bastianini has qualified 12th for his second-best qualifying result in MotoGP. His best result across the line so far in MotoGP is a sixth-place finish, also at MotorLand.
Takaaki Nakagami – P13

“Unfortunately, I couldn’t make it through to Q2 this afternoon. The qualifying session was good, I had good pace and the feeling on the bike was better, we were able to make a big step and improve the bike and I was confident. But I had a mistake in the qualifying session (Q1) and had a crash at turn 10 and that cost us quite a lot. We couldn’t make Q2 after that, but the positive thing is that the feeling on the bike is really, really good now, so I’m looking forward to tomorrow’s race from P13. It wasn’t the result that I expected, but we have confidence on the bike, good pace for the race, so I’ll try my best and hopefully we can get a great result.”

Takaaki Nakagami
Michele Pirro – P14

“I’m a little disappointed with the qualifying result. This morning, because of the yellow flags, we couldn’t get into Q2, which made everything a little bit complicated. In Q1, there was a lot of traffic, and I didn’t get through to the next session just a few tenths of a second. Anyway, I’m happy that we have two Ducatis starting on the front row and four of our bikes in the top five positions on the grid. I’ll do my best to try to finish our home race in the top ten.”

Michele Pirro
Luca Marini – P15

“Yesterday we struggled, but today we worked well and made a good step forward. I’m riding better even though we are still a little bit short in terms of set-up to be 100%. We are going in the right direction, maybe I could have done more in Q1 by putting the hard tyre on immediately. I went out for the first time attack on the medium to get more grip, but the hard tyre would probably have given me more stability. Let’s look at the data, the tyre choice for tomorrow is pretty much set and we’ll sort out the final details.”

Franco Morbidelli – P16

“I’m really happy and pleased about these two days. We are already trying to find a base set-up that I like on this bike, and we already could almost go directly into Q2 this morning, we were just two tenths shy of it. This afternoon in Q1 we tried again. We didn’t manage it. Finally we’re about 0.270s off the top 2 and ended in P6. This shows again the level of this category. But I’m really pleased with this performance. Looking at the situation I’m in right now, I need to be – and I am – happy.”

Franco Morbidelli
Brad Binder – P17

“It was a difficult day for us. We tried hard but couldn’t quite find the setting to be comfortable and to improve my feeling on the bike. I think we could have done better in qualifying but – unfortunately – I got a big rear-kick going into Turn 1 and I washed the front tire. We’re struggling a bit with one-lap pace, more than we’d like, but the race is tomorrow and we’ll try as hard to see what we can do.”

Brad Binder
Stefan Bradl – P18

“Today was another positive day and I am pleased with the work we have done and the pace that I have been able to show. My team and I were able to help Honda with a few things and I am glad about this. This afternoon, and also tomorrow in the race, is all about enjoying riding and seeing what we can do. As everyone knows, the level in MotoGP is so high and everything is so close but I think we can have a good battle with some other riders. We also have the test on Tuesday and Wednesday which is the real focus for myself and the Test Team. Let’s keep the good weekend going.”

Álex Márquez – P19

“Second day here and we made a big improvement from yesterday in the dry in the morning. I still made some adjustments in the afternoon and in FP4 we did a really good job and I made another step forward and felt good. In the qualy (Q1) we were quite unlucky, I did a good lap time, a 32.4, and then later on I was going much faster – maybe not enough to get through to Q2, but close – and unfortunately there was a crash at turn 10 and a yellow flag, so that lap was cancelled. That was very unlucky, but that’s how it is sometimes and you have to accept it. So tomorrow I’m motivated to make a good start and, in the morning, we’ll try to improve in the final sector and then we’ll be ready for the race.”

Iker Lecuona – P20

“I don’t know what I need to improve, I have the feeling that I am on the limit. In FP3 I was a bit faster, but I still found it hard to go faster today. In Qualifying we improved a bit. Now we wait for the weather tomorrow. In case of rain, I think we can try to fight for a decent position, if it’s dry, our goal is to finish as the best KTM.”

Iker Lecuona
Miguel Oliveira – P21

“A very tough qualifying. The team tried to give me some different bike settings so we could work to be faster but we couldn’t even match last year’s pace. So, tough times for us but we won’t give up and we’ll try the best we can for tomorrow’s race. We’ll keep fighting.”

Miguel Oliveira
Danilo Petrucci – P22

“A tricky weekend for us in general. The track is very bumpy and we struggle to find a good setup for our bike. We miss a lot of corner speed and can’t go as fast as we like. The weather seems to be a bit unpredictable tomorrow and to be honest, I hope it’s going to rain, because then we have a better chance for a good result, as we are struggling a lot in dry conditions.”

Danilo Petrucci
Valentino Rossi – P23

“I was optimistic for Q1 because I had done some good lap times on the used tyre in FP4, but it was difficult with the hard front tyre. It had better potential but when you are on the left side of it you are on the limit. The first lap wasn’t too bad, but I made a small mistake on the second lap and went wide in Turn 4. I then decided to do one more lap before changing the rear tyre, because I thought I could improve, but I had slowed down a little and the tyre was cold on the left, so I crashed in Turn 15. I don’t have a great position on the grid for tomorrow, but I think I can be a bit stronger than this. I’ll try to have a good start, make some overtakes and have a good race.”

Valentino Rossi
Andrea Dovizioso – P24

“I’m not at a point yet where I can fully utilise the full potential of the bike, but I’m happy because I am getting closer and closer. This was our target, it’s what we have to do and now we aim to be fast enough to stay with the other riders in the race. We also need to understand as much as we can to prepare for next week’s test as best as we can. It was nice this morning because from the beginning of FP3 I felt a bit better with my position. Of course it’s not good to be starting from the back, but it’s normal in this situation, and we will try to be consistent throughout the whole race.”

Andrea Dovizioso

Q1

Enea Bastianini (Avintia Esponsorama) is on a good roll of form recently and the rookie topped Q1 on home turf, setting the fastest lap to head through ahead of eight-time World Champion Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team). The number 23 unfortunately then slid out after the flag, but no harm done, although there was plenty of drama earlier in the session.

Sadly, Valentino Rossi (Petronas Yamaha SRT) slid out early as the ‘Doctor’ pushes for the penultimate time on home turf, and both Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) and Takaaki Nakagami (LCR Honda Idemitsu) found and exceeded the limit.

Valentino Rossi

On track it got close too, with Marc Marquez’ final run seeing the number 93 catch HRC test rider Stefan Bradl and lose a little time – the German also on a hot lap and entitled to keep pushing – and Bastianini also found himself tucked up behind Alex Marquez (LCR Honda Castrol). In the end though, Bastianini remained unthreatened in first regardless, and Marc Marquez took that second spot in Q2.

Q2

Bagnaia left it relatively late but once again arrived on provisional pole in style. The Italian smashed in his new record with just under two minutes to go, slamming down the gauntlet. He already had the best race lap at Misano, so why not add the all-time lap record? Miller moved into second not long after that but couldn’t quite get in touch, with everything then left to Quartararo. Could the Frenchman do it?

He has done before with some Saturday heroics but this time wasn’t to be, as he suddenly slid out of contention and early in the lap too. The last likely challenger to Bagnaia’s cloud nine of a week so far had to bow out, rider ok but not able to improve from third.

There was also drama for Marc Marquez and Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini) as both crashed out – separately and in that order – losing the chance to move up the order in the latter minutes.


The Grid

A Ducati 1-2 sees Bagnaia and Miller ready to prime those holeshot devices at Misano, with Quartararo on the outside of the front row. With Bagnaia’s pace looking mighty, the Frenchman will want to make sure he stays on the two Ducati Lenovo Team machines as a minimum at lights out.

El Diablo also finds himself with a Ducati armada behind as Jorge Martin (Pramac Racing) slotted into fourth, top Independent Team rider just ahead of team-mate Johann Zarco, who continues to suffer arm pump issues but pulled a solid lap out the bag on Saturday.

2021 Misano MotoGP Front Row
1 Francesco Bagnaia – Ducati Lenovo Team – Ducati – 1:31.065
2 Jack Miller – Ducati Lenovo Team – Ducati – +0.249
3 Fabio Quartararo – Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP – Yamaha – +0.302

Pol Espargaro (Repsol Honda Team) edged out teammate Marc Marquez in the end to complete the second row, with MM93 shuffled down to the head of Row 3. He’s joined by fellow Q2 crasher Aleix Espargaro, with the Aprilia rider losing out on P7 by just 0.002. it’s still the Noale factory’s best qualifying at Misano though. Alex Rins (Team Suzuki Ecstar) will start ninth after a step back forward at Misano.

Guess who’s tenth? Yep, it’s Maverick Viñales (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini). After going fastest on Friday and getting straight into Q2, his second weekend with the Noale factory is going well and he’ll line up there. He has reigning Champion Joan Mir (Team Suzuki Ecstar) for company, the number 36 left frustrated after some miscommunication saw him box at the wrong time, with Bastianini the last of Q2 in P12.

Franco Morbidelli (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP), meanwhile, was provisionally up there early on in Q1 but ended up P16 as he gets back in action following surgery on his knee. The back row of the grid will also have some serious firepower as Rossi lines up alongside returning veteran Andrea Dovizioso, who continues to settle in at Petronas Yamaha SRT and on the YZR-M1.


MotoGP Combined Qualifying Times

Pos Rider Bike Q Time/Gap
1 Francesco BAGNAIA DUCATI Q2 1m31.065
2 Jack MILLER DUCATI Q2 +0.249
3 Fabio QUARTARARO YAMAHA Q2 +0.302
4 Jorge MARTIN DUCATI Q2 +0.598
5 Johann ZARCO DUCATI Q2 +0.771
6 Pol ESPARGARO HONDA Q2 +0.858
7 Marc MARQUEZ HONDA Q2 +0.870
8 Aleix ESPARGARO APRILIA Q2 +0.872
9 Alex RINS SUZUKI Q2 +0.952
10 Maverick VIÑALES APRILIA Q2 +1.056
11 Joan MIR SUZUKI Q2 +1.361
12 Enea BASTIANINI DUCATI Q2 +1.396
13 Takaaki NAKAGAMI HONDA Q1 (*) 0.334
14 Michele PIRRO DUCATI Q1 (*) 0.411
15 Luca MARINI DUCATI Q1 (*) 0.413
16 Franco MORBIDELLI YAMAHA Q1 (*) 0.420
17 Brad BINDER KTM Q1 (*) 0.551
18 Stefan BRADL HONDA Q1 (*) 0.563
19 Alex MARQUEZ HONDA Q1 (*) 0.600
20 Iker LECUONA KTM Q1 (*) 0.605
21 Miguel OLIVEIRA KTM Q1 (*) 0.945
22 Danilo PETRUCCI KTM Q1 (*) 1.015
23 Valentino ROSSI YAMAHA Q1 (*) 1.091
24 Andrea DOVIZIOSO YAMAHA Q1 (*) 1.222

2021 MotoGP Standings

Pos Rider Bike Nation Points
1 Fabio QUARTARARO Yamaha FRA 214
2 Francesco BAGNAIA Ducati ITA 161
3 Joan MIR Suzuki SPA 157
4 Johann ZARCO Ducati FRA 137
5 Jack MILLER Ducati AUS 129
6 Brad BINDER KTM RSA 117
7 Aleix ESPARGARO Aprilia SPA 96
8 Maverick VIÑALES Aprilia SPA 95
9 Miguel OLIVEIRA KTM POR 87
10 Marc MARQUEZ Honda SPA 79
11 Jorge MARTIN Ducati SPA 71
12 Alex RINS Suzuki SPA 68
13 Takaaki NAKAGAMI Honda JPN 64
14 Pol ESPARGARO Honda SPA 55
15 Alex MARQUEZ Honda SPA 49
16 Enea BASTIANINI Ducati ITA 45
17 Franco MORBIDELLI Yamaha ITA 40
18 Iker LECUONA KTM SPA 38
19 Danilo PETRUCCI KTM ITA 37
20 Luca MARINI Ducati ITA 28
21 Valentino ROSSI Yamaha ITA 28
22 Stefan BRADL Honda GER 11
23 Dani PEDROSA KTM SPA 6
24 Lorenzo SAVADORI Aprilia ITA 4
25 Michele PIRRO Ducati ITA 3
26 Tito RABAT Ducati SPA 1

Moto2

Raul Fernandez (Red Bull KTM Ajo) keeps impressing and the rookie again took pole at the Gran Premio di San Marino e della Riviera di Rimini, the first since MM93 to take five or more in a rookie Moto2 season.

He’s joined by Sam Lowes (Elf Marc VDS Racing) in second, with Lowes’ team-mate and man on form Augusto Fernandez taking third – back on the front row for the first time since 2019. Given his recent run of podiums, that could be a warning shot.

2021 Misano Moto2 Front Row
1 Raul Fernandez – Red Bull KTM Ajo – Kalex – 1’36.264
2 Sam Lowes – Elf Marc VDS Racing Team – Kalex – +0.351
3 Augusto Fernandez – Elf Marc VDS Racing Team – Kalex – +0.524

Remy Gardner heads row two alongside Aron Canet and Jorge Navarro.

Moto2 Combined Qualifying Times

Pos Rider Motorcycle Q Time/Gap
1 Raul FERNANDEZ KALEX Q2 1m36.264
2 Sam LOWES KALEX Q2 +0.351
3 Augusto FERNANDEZ KALEX Q2 +0.524
4 Remy GARDNER KALEX Q2 +0.597
5 Aron CANET BOSCOSCURO Q2 +0.605
6 Jorge NAVARRO BOSCOSCURO Q2 +0.664
7 Xavi VIERGE KALEX Q2 +0.664
8 Marco BEZZECCHI KALEX Q2 +0.757
9 Fabio DI GIANNANTONI KALEX Q2 +0.907
10 Lorenzo DALLA PORTA   ITA KALEX Q2 +0.928
11 Nicolò BULEGA KALEX Q2 +0.968
12 Ai OGURA KALEX Q2 +1.048
13 Marcel SCHROTTER KALEX Q2 +1.081
14 Thomas LUTHI KALEX Q2 +1.124
15 Joe ROBERTS KALEX Q2 +1.168
16 Stefano MANZI KALEX Q2 +1.210
17 Celestino VIETTI KALEX Q2 +1.353
18 Somkiat CHANTRA KALEX Q2 +1.405
19 Hafizh SYAHRIN NTS Q1 (*) 0.655
20 Jake DIXON KALEX Q1 (*) 0.707
21 Hector GARZO KALEX Q1 (*) 0.731
22 Tony ARBOLINO KALEX Q1 (*) 0.753
23 Marcos RAMIREZ KALEX Q1 (*) 0.936
24 Yari MONTELLA BOSCOSCURO Q1 (*) 0.955
25 Simone CORSI MV AGUSTA Q1 (*) 1.070
26 Albert ARENAS BOSCOSCURO Q1 (*) 1.082
27 Bo BENDSNEYDER KALEX Q1 (*) 1.165
28 Cameron BEAUBIER KALEX Q1 (*) 1.189
29 Lorenzo BALDASSARRI   ITA MV AGUSTA Q1 (*) 1.434
30 Barry BALTUS NTS Q1 (*) 1.501

Moto2 Championship Points Standings

Pos Rider Bike Nation Points
1 Remy GARDNER Kalex AUS 251
2 Raul FERNANDEZ Kalex SPA 212
3 Marco BEZZECCHI Kalex ITA 179
4 Sam LOWES Kalex GBR 127
5 Augusto FERNANDEZ Kalex SPA 108
6 Aron CANET Boscoscuro SPA 103
7 Fabio DI GIANNANTONIO Kalex ITA 101
8 Ai OGURA Kalex JPN 95
9 Marcel SCHROTTER Kalex GER 80
10 Jorge NAVARRO Boscoscuro SPA 71
11 Xavi VIERGE Kalex SPA 67
12 Joe ROBERTS Kalex USA 59
13 Celestino VIETTI Kalex ITA 47
14 Tony ARBOLINO Kalex ITA 40
15 Bo BENDSNEYDER Kalex NED 40
16 Somkiat CHANTRA Kalex THA 35
17 Cameron BEAUBIER Kalex USA 28
18 Albert ARENAS Boscoscuro SPA 23
19 Jake DIXON Kalex GBR 21
20 Stefano MANZI Kalex ITA 20
21 Marcos RAMIREZ Kalex SPA 20
22 Thomas LUTHI Kalex SWI 16
23 Fermín ALDEGUER Boscoscuro SPA 13
24 Simone CORSI MV Agusta ITA 13
25 Hector GARZO Kalex SPA 12
26 Nicolò BULEGA Kalex ITA 12
27 Lorenzo DALLA PORTA Kalex ITA 10
28 Hafizh SYAHRIN NTS MAL 8
29 Alonso LOPEZ Boscoscuro SPA 4
30 Lorenzo BALDASSARRI MV Agusta ITA 3
31 Barry BALTUS NTS BEL 2

Moto3

Before summer break, Romano Fenati (Sterilgarda Max Racing Team) hadn’t had a pole position since 2017. Now, he’s had three! The Italian put in a stunner on home turf to top qualifying at the Gran Premio Octo di San Marino e della Riviera di Rimini by two and a half tenths, now in the perfect position to bounce back from some bad luck last time out.

Misano Moto3 Front Row
1 Romano Fenati – Sterilgarda Max Racing Team – Husqvarna – 1’41.756
2 Dennis Foggia – Leopard Racing – Honda – +0.257
3 Niccolo Antonelli – Avintia VR46 Academy – Honda – +0.264

He’s joined by Aragon winner and key rival Dennis Foggia (Leopard Racing) in second, with Niccolo Antonelli (Avintia VR46 Academy) forced to settle for third by just 0.007.

Moto3 Combined Qualifying Times

Pos Rider Bike Q Time/Gap
1 Romano FENATI HUSQVARNA Q2 1m41.756
2 Dennis FOGGIA HONDA Q2 +0.257
3 Niccolò ANTONELLI KTM Q2 +0.264
4 Andrea MIGNO HONDA Q2 +0.343
5 Jaume MASIA KTM Q2 +0.355
6 Xavier ARTIGAS HONDA Q2 +0.515
7 Riccardo ROSSI KTM Q2 +0.520
8 Elia BARTOLINI KTM Q2 +0.796
9 Pedro ACOSTA KTM Q2 +0.802
10 Carlos TATAY KTM Q2 +0.810
11 Stefano NEPA KTM Q2 +0.863
12 Sergio GARCIA GASGAS Q2 +0.931
13 Ayumu SASAKI KTM Q2 +0.973
14 Darryn BINDER HONDA Q2 +0.996
15 Matteo BERTELLE KTM Q2 +1.040
16 Ryusei YAMANAKA KTM Q2 +1.265
17 Izan GUEVARA GASGAS Q2 +1.277
18 Kaito TOBA KTM Q2 +1.351
19 John MCPHEE HONDA Q1 (*) 0.654
20 Andi Farid IZDIHAR HONDA Q1 (*) 0.736
21 Adrian FERNANDEZ HUSQVARNA Q1 (*) 0.762
22 Maximilian KOFLER KTM Q1 (*) 0.777
23 Lorenzo FELLON HONDA Q1 (*) 0.796
24 Yuki KUNII HONDA Q1 (*) 1.087
25 Jeremy ALCOBA HONDA Q1 (*) 1.340
26 Filip SALAC KTM Q1 (*) 1.791
27 Deniz ÖNCÜ KTM FP1 0.780
28 Tatsuki SUZUKI HONDA FP1 0.923
29 Gabriel RODRIGO HONDA FP1 1.138
30 Alberto SURRA HONDA FP3 2.036

Moto3 Championship Points Standings

Pos Rider Bike Nation Points
1 Pedro ACOSTA KTM SPA 201
2 Sergio GARCIA GASGAS SPA 155
3 Dennis FOGGIA Honda ITA 143
4 Romano FENATI Husqvarna ITA 134
5 Jaume MASIA KTM SPA 111
6 Darryn BINDER Honda RSA 104
7 Niccolò ANTONELLI KTM ITA 98
8 Ayumu SASAKI KTM JPN 87
9 Deniz ÖNCÜ KTM TUR 73
10 Izan GUEVARA GASGAS SPA 72
11 Andrea MIGNO Honda ITA 68
12 Kaito TOBA KTM JPN 62
13 Tatsuki SUZUKI Honda JPN 61
14 Jeremy ALCOBA Honda SPA 60
15 Gabriel RODRIGO Honda ARG 60
16 John MCPHEE Honda GBR 53
17 Filip SALAC KTM CZE 46
18 Ryusei YAMANAKA KTM JPN 42
19 Xavier ARTIGAS Honda SPA 30
20 Stefano NEPA KTM ITA 30
21 Jason DUPASQUIER KTM SWI 27
22 Riccardo ROSSI KTM ITA 24
23 Carlos TATAY KTM SPA 20
24 Adrian FERNANDEZ Husqvarna SPA 20
25 Yuki KUNII Honda JPN 15
26 Maximilian KOFLER KTM AUT 10
27 Elia BARTOLINI KTM ITA 7
28 Syarifuddin AZMAN Honda MAL 3
29 Andi Farid IZDIHAR Honda INA 3
30 Daniel HOLGADO KTM SPA 1
31 Lorenzo FELLON Honda FRA 0
32 Joel KELSO KTM AUS 0
33 Takuma MATSUYAMA Honda JPN 0
34 Alberto SURRA Honda ITA 0
35 David SALVADOR Honda SPA 0

MotoE

Race 1 at Misano was a big one for the 2021 FIM Enel MotoE World Cup, with the crown at stake already – and certainly a hotseat in the standings for the final race of the season on Sunday. As the dust settles, it’s Jordi Torres (HP Pons 40) who emerges as the winner and the new points leader, with the Spaniard playing it to perfection in a wily last corner. Dominique Aegerter (Dynvolt Intact GP) was just pipped to it and was forced to settle for second after seeing off a late lunge from Eric Granado (ONE Energy Racing), with the Brazilian going in too hot and sliding out. Mattia Casadei (Ongetta SIC58 Squadra Corse), meanwhile, rounded out the podium after an impressive return to action.

There was drama from the off as points leader going in, Alessandro Zaccone (Octo Pramac MotoE), crashed early on Lap 1, out of contention and also taken to the medical centre after the Italian suffered post-crash contact from Hikari Okubo (Avant Ajo MotoE). Zaccone was then transferred to hospital for further checks and was found to have an iliac wing fracture in his pelvis. He’s unfit, so will sit out Race 2, and everyone at the FIM Enel MotoE™ World Cup wishes him a quick recovery.

As Zaccone sadly lost his chance to fight for the crown, that battle raged on at the front and was getting tight. Torres had made a great start, joined in a breakaway group by Casadei, Aegerter and Granado, the latter making up some ground, as the four bolted just over a second free of Matteo Ferrari (Indonesian E-Racing Gresini MotoE). The pace was hot and the elbows out, with some stunning moves and certainly a scare for Torres as the Spaniard just clipped the rear wheel of Aegerter. But no harm done, and he slotted back in.

As the final sector of the final lap dawned, Aegerter was holding on in the lead as he put on another masterclass in door-closing, but Granado was close and Torres too. And Granado went for it right at the final corner, all-in and briefly edging ahead. But then hit the heartbreak as the Brazilian slid out, losing a key chance to gain big in the standings.

The attack left Aegerter slightly on the back foot and Torres capitalised to perfection, sweeping past and just able to beat the Swiss rider to the line. For the reigning Cup winner it’s the first victory of the season and it couldn’t have come at a better time, seeing him head into Sunday eight points clear of Aegerter at the top.

Casadei completed the podium after an impressive return for the final round, with Ferrari then classified fourth as he found his podium record at Misano take a dent. He was followed by rookie Miquel Pons (LCR E-Team). The final positions in the top 10 went to Kevin Zannoni (LCR E-Team); an impressive best yet, Fermín Aldeguer (OpenBank Aspar Team), Lukas Tulovic (Tech3 E-Racing), Yonny Hernández (Octo Pramac MotoE) and Xavi Cardelús (Avintia Esponsorama Racing).

It’s now eight points in it between Torres and Aegerter, with Zaccone a further nine behind the Swiss rider and sidelined too. Granado remains in contention, just, but now 24 off the top. Race 2 will see the grid do battle for the final time in 2021, and that could all shuffle again.

MotoE Race One

Pos Rider Bike Time/Gap
1 Jordi TORRES ENERGICA 12m11.858
2 Dominique AEGERTER ENERGICA +0.160
3 Mattia CASADEI ENERGICA +0.405
4 Matteo FERRARI ENERGICA +2.786
5 Miquel PONS ENERGICA +3.072
6 Kevin ZANNONI ENERGICA +3.095
7 Fermín ALDEGUER ENERGICA +3.621
8 Lukas TULOVIC ENERGICA +10.598
9 Yonny HERNANDEZ ENERGICA +10.482
10 Xavi CARDELUS ENERGICA +10.905
11 Andrea MANTOVANI ENERGICA +11.088
12 Corentin PEROLARI ENERGICA +16.045
13 Maria HERRERA ENERGICA +17.087
14 Jasper IWEMA ENERGICA +25.402
15 Andre PIRES ENERGICA +32.416
Not Classified
DNF Eric GRANADO ENERGICA 1 lap
DNF Alessandro ZACCONE ENERGICA DNF
DNF Hikari OKUBO ENERGICA DNF

MotoE Combined Qualifying Times

Pos Rider Bike Time/Gap
1 Jordi TORRES ENERGICA 1m43.265
2 Eric GRANADO ENERGICA +0.229
3 Alessandro ZACCONE ENERGICA +0.320
4 Mattia CASADEI ENERGICA +0.409
5 Dominique AEGERTER ENERGICA +0.441
6 Matteo FERRARI ENERGICA +0.622
7 Fermín ALDEGUER ENERGICA +0.835
8 Miquel PONS ENERGICA +0.887
9 Kevin ZANNONI ENERGICA +1.014
10 Lukas TULOVIC ENERGICA +1.282
11 Yonny HERNANDEZ ENERGICA +1.376
12 Hikari OKUBO ENERGICA +1.520
13 Xavi CARDELUS ENERGICA +2.194
14 Andrea MANTOVANI ENERGICA +2.408
15 Corentin PEROLARI ENERGICA +2.487
16 Maria HERRERA ENERGICA +2.804
17 Jasper IWEMA ENERGICA +3.776
18 Andre PIRES ENERGICA +4.368

MotoE Championship Points Standings

Pos. Rider Bike Nation Points
1 Jordi TORRES Energica SPA 97
2 Dominique AEGERTER Energica SWI 89
3 Alessandro ZACCONE Energica ITA 80
4 Eric GRANADO Energica BRA 73
5 Lukas TULOVIC Energica GER 61
6 Matteo FERRARI Energica ITA 61
7 Mattia CASADEI Energica ITA 59
8 Miquel PONS Energica SPA 57
9 Yonny HERNANDEZ Energica COL 47
10 Fermín ALDEGUER Energica SPA 42
11 Hikari OKUBO Energica JPN 35
12 Kevin ZANNONI Energica ITA 31
13 Corentin PEROLARI Energica FRA 25
14 Andrea MANTOVANI Energica ITA 22
15 Maria HERRERA Energica SPA 22
16 Xavi CARDELUS Energica AND 13
17 Andre PIRES Energica POR 12
18 Jasper IWEMA Energica NED 11
19 Stefano VALTULINI Energica ITA 1
19 Stefano VALTULINI Energica ITA 0

2021 MotoGP Round Five Misano Schedule (AEST)

Time Class Session
1620 Moto3 WUP
1650 Moto2 WUP
1740 MotoGP WUP
1900 Moto3 Race
2020 Moto2 Race
2200 MotoGP Race
2330 MotoE Race 2

2021 FIM MotoGP World Championship calendar

Round Date Location
Round 1 Mar-28 Qatar, Losail (night race)
Round 2 Apr-04 Doha, Losail (night race)
Round 3 Apr-18 Portugal, Portimao
Round 4 May-02 Spain, Jerez
Round 5 May-16 France, Le Mans
Round 6 May-30 Italy- Mugello
Round 7 Jun-06 Catalunya, Barcelona
Round 8 Jun-20 Germany, Sachsenring
Round 9 Jun-27 Netherlands, Assen
Round 10 Aug-8 Styria, Red Bull Ring
Round 11 Aug-15 Austria, Red Bull Ring
Round 12 Aug-29 Great Britain, Silverstone
Round 13 Sep-12 Aragon, Motorland Aragon
Round 14 Sep-19 San Marino, Misano
Round 15 Oct-03 Americas, Circuit of the Americas
Round 16 Oct-24 Italy e dell’Emilia Romagna, Misano
Round 17 Nov-7 Portugal, Algarve
Round 18 Nov-14 Valencia, Circuit Ricardo Tormo

Source: MCNews.com.au

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