MotoGP: Quartararo secures 10th MotoGP pole in Aragon

Qualifying for round 10 of the 2020 MotoGP World Championship took place in MotorLand Aragon. Riders had battled cold conditions all weekend which had led to a delayed schedule for Saturday and Sunday, and qualifying took place an hour later than originally planned.

For the first time this season, all six Ducatis took part in Q1 after they had struggled to turn in the wind on Friday and continued to face tyre warm up issues on Saturday morning. 

It was two Ducati riders who moved through to Q2, though, with Danilo Petrucci topping the session from Jack Miller.

Q2 saw yet another Yamaha pole position and the 10th for Fabio Quartararo in his short MotoGP career. It was quite the turnaround for Quartararo, who crashed heavily in the morning, injuring his hip, before hobbling back to the garage with the aid of a crutch. The race pace is potentially a worry for the Frenchman, as it looks like high-1’48s and low-1’49s will be the order of the day tomorrow, but after 12 laps in FP4 the #20’s pace dropped to the mid-1’49s. Whether this pace drop was down to tyre or fitness, Quartararo will need to address it for the race. 

Joining Quartararo on the front row will be Maverick Vinales and Cal Crutchlow. Vinales’ FP4 session was sublime, with one run of consistent high-1’48s and low-1’49s. On his 16th and final full lap of FP4, Vinales fired in a 1’48.909, showing he can find endurance in the soft rear tyre whilst holding a strong pace at the start of the run as well. Providing he makes a good start tomorrow there is plenty to be excited about if you are inclined towards the #12.

Cal Crutchlow was one of a few riders to focus on the medium tyre in FP4, and the third-placed qualifier was able to use it well in the early laps, although after a trip to the pits his pace dropped to the mid-1’49s.

Franco Morbidelli’s pace was arguably the strongest in FP4, if slightly inconsistent. With five laps on a soft rear tyre, the Italian was able to run in the mid-to-high-1’48s. His ability to delve into the mid-1’48s could be critical tomorrow, as it does not seem that anyone else has that capability. The #21 will start from only the second row, though, so will have work to do at the star to be able to take advantage of his speed. 

Starting alongside Morbidelli will be Jack Miller and Joan Mir. The Australian just missed out on the front row in the closing stages as Morbidelli knocked him to fourth before Crutchlow then improved. From fifth, Miller can make an impact at the start, although the tyre choice looks somewhat open for the #43. On the medium he was able to dip into the 1’48s, but it took him six laps to do so, indicating Ducati’s tyre warm up issues could be problematic at the start with a medium rear tyre. On the other hand, Miller’s pace on the soft was not so strong, so there is a decision to make for the Pramac rider. 

Joan Mir’s sixth place represents only his third top six qualifying of the season but it means he will finally start from the front two rows again. The #36’s pace looked stronger in FP4 on the soft than the medium, and knowing how the Suzuki looks after its tyres it would be a surprise for Mir to deviate from the white-banded tyre tomorrow, especially if it looks then as it looks now – that all three Yamahas will choose the soft as well.

Takaaki Nakagami will head up row three tomorrow. The Japanese rider just missed out on the second row with his final lap, and will start alongside Danilo Petrucci and Aleix Espargaro tomorrow. 

Row four is one of frustration, no doubt. All three riders, Alex Rins (10th), Alex Marquez (11th) and Pol Espargaro (12th) have a better pace than those on row three – especially Rins and Espargaro who can both consistently run in the high-1’48s and low-1’49s, although Espargaro favours the medium rear whilst Rins seems to prefer the soft. Look for all three to be making their respective ways through tomorrow.

Miller’s final lap in Q1 meant that Andrea Dovizioso was knocked out. The Italian will start 13th and displayed his frustration and anger at his current qualifying situation in the garage at the end of Q1 – a rarity for the #04. Dovizioso’s frustrations will be even greater considering his race pace, which looks relatively strong, but he will have a tough job to utilise it from the front of the fifth row. 

Alongside Dovizioso on row four will be Brad Binder and Iker Lecuona. Binder might have been able to move through to Q2 but for a mistake on his final lap at turn 12, but in any case he should be one to watch tomorrow as Aragon is one of his best circuits; one where he took two wins in Moto2 and the one where he clinched his 2016 Moto3 title. 

Johann Zarco will head up row six on his Esponsorama Racing Ducati GP19, the Frenchman just ahead of the slowest of the GP20s, that of Francesco Bagnaia whose cold weather struggles – even in comparison to the other Ducati riders – continue. Miguel Oliveira will complete row six with similar frustration to Dovizioso, a sin FP4 the Portuguese rider’s pace was strong. 

The seventh and final row will be headed up by Bradley Smith, whilst Tito Rabat and Stefan Bradl will start 20th and 21st, respectively.