Maverick Vinales bagged his first pole since 2021 at Valencia
Maverick Vinales ended Ducati’s domination in qualifying to take his first pole position for Aprilia at the 2023 MotoGP season finale.
A Ducati rider has taken pole at the last 15 rounds but today was Vinales’ day as he produced the first-ever 1:28 lap of the Ricardo Tormo Circuit with a 1:28.931. It’s the Spaniard’s first pole since 2021, when he put the Monster Energy Yamaha in top spot.
Pecco Bagnaia responded brilliantly after a difficult Friday in-which mind games were played by title rival Jorge Martin. Despite being under immense pressure in Q1, the Italian topped the session with ease by breaking the then all-time time lap record.
Things improved further in Q2 as the reigning champion finished 0.092s behind Vinales to secure an all-important spot on the front row. Martin was so successful and will start both the Sprint and GP from sixth on the grid following a hectic session which almost saw him collide with Marc Marquez. Martin had a big wobble on his final flying lap of the session which cost him the chance to improve.
Martin does however have Pramac Racing Ducati teammate Johann Zarco on the front row next to Bagnaia, but will have to overtake both Red Bull KTM riders Jack Miller (fourth) and Brad Binder (fifth). The latter suffered a big crash at turn eight in the closing seconds of the session.
Marco Bezzecchi heads row three ahead of Alex and Marc Marquez. Both of the brothers crashed with a few minutes of each other in qualifying, with Marc hitting the deck at turn two whilst following Martin. Raul Fernandez, Fabio Di Giannantonio and Aleix Espargaro complete the top 12.
Augusto Fernandez missed out on a spot in Q2 by only 0.037 after improving on his best Friday lap-time by over a second. The Tech3 GASGAS rider is joined on the fifth row by Enea Bastianini and Fabio Quartararo, with the latter suffering a big crash at turn 10 during morning practice.
Takaaki Nakagami qualified 16th for LCR Honda ahead of Luca Marini, who confirmed on Saturday morning that he will be leaving Mooney VR46 Racing Ducati following the conclusion of the season. Pol Espargaro completes row six.
Franco Morbidelli, the returning Alex Rins and Lorenzo Savadori, who is replacing the injured Miguel Oliveira. Joan Mir has withdrawn from the weekend due to neck pain caused by a crash in FP1 on Friday morning.
Saturday’s sprint race at Valencia is due to take place at 14:00 (UK Time).
Keyword: MotoGP Valencia: Maverick Vinales ends Ducati dominance with maiden Aprilia pole