The Spanish
Jorge Martín
(
Ducati Desmosedici GP21
), debutant in the
MotoGP
category
, got his first
pole position
by being the fastest in the official classification for the
Doha Grand Prix
which takes place this Sunday at the Losail circuit, Martín added the twenty-second pole position of his sports career but the first in MotoGP, a personal sporting milestone in his second race in the top flight, which he "caressed" for a good part of the session and endorsed in an impressive last lap.
The German Stefan Bradl (Repsol Honda RC 213 V) was not too lucky in the fourth free practice session, in which he suffered a crash at turn thirteen, although without consequences for his physical integrity, in a session in which the fastest It was the French Johann Zarco (Ducati Desmosedici GP21), with a time of 1: 54.543, which was almost a second and a half slower than the fastest record in the category, due to the strong prevailing wind.
Yes, it was some interesting practice for some riders to overcome the set-up difficulties that were posed to them both in the previous race in Losail and during the first day of Friday, as was the case of the
Suzuki
riders
, who improved remarkably, although they had to endorse it in the two qualifying sessions,
Alex Rins
directly in the second classification and
Joan Mir after
passing through the first.
The first classification was going to have the attraction of having the participation of the world champion Joan Mir, very much in need of going to the second, as well as
Pol Espargaró
(Repsol Honda RC 213 V) or the Italian
Valentino Rossi
(Yamaha YZR M 1) .
And it was almost said and done, because Joan Mir came out convinced of his possibilities and on his first lap launched he already rolled in 1: 54.754, which was a good time for the first classification, although he was surpassed by the South African
Brad Binder
(KTM RC 16) , which rolled at 1: 54.619, almost immediately after him.
Ducati's "common front"
Joan Mir was not willing to sell his defeat cheaply and in the next lap he regained first place by rolling in 1: 54.314, knowing how important it was to finish in one of the first two positions, which are the ones that give the pass to the second classification, finishing the "task" in his last lap by getting a 1: 53.931, the only one to roll in that second.
His immediate pursuer was the Portuguese
Miguel Oliveira
(KTM RC 16), who also made it to the second classification.
Not so Pol Espargaró, who finished fifth in Q1, between the Honda of Alex Márquez and that of the Japanese
Takaaki Nakagami
.
The second classification was very intense but with a "common front", the Ducati riders with their fast Desmosedici as the main rivals to beat after taking four of the first five positions after the previous sessions and with a session in which the wind of front could play more than one trick.
If the surprise was already in the third round,
Jorge Martín
(Ducati Desmosedici GP21) did it again by setting the first fastest lap of the session with a time of 1: 53.892, seconded by
Aleix Espargaró
(Aprilia RS-GP), although he Frenchman
Fabio Quartararo
(Yamaha YZR M 1)
removed the position
.
Fight between Martín and Zarco
In the second lap of the riders, Italian
Franco Morbidelli
(Yamaha YZR M 1) took the lead, but he was immediately
overtaken by
both
Jorge Martín
(1: 53.597) and Aleix Espargaró, who were after him, although Aprilia's he narrowly surpassed, again, Fabio Quartararo.
With a very intense start, the riders went into their workshops to make the relevant tire change and hit the track again for a second 'time attack'.
The first to do it was
Maverick Viñales
and after him, practically the rest of those who were in their workshops at that time, who saw how the Yamaha rider put first when rolling in 1: 53.383, with just over a minute of effective training ahead and a following lap in which he lowered his record again to 1: 53.267.
But behind the Yamaha rider, the Frenchman Johann Zarco went like a missile, who stopped the clock at 1: 53.263 to get first and, from behind, the rookie Jorge Martín took the "honey from his lips" when he rolled in 1: 53.106 and get his first pole position.
He will be accompanied on the front row by Zarco himself - his teammate - and Maverick Viñales, winner of the opening round of the World Championship.
Jack Miller, Fabio Quartararo and
Francesco "Pecco" Bagnaia
will be on the second row
, with Aleix Espargaró, Alex Rins and Joan Mir on the third row.
According to the criteria of The Trust Project
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