MotoGP: Zarco Stuns with Surprise Brno Pole

MotoGP qualifying in Brno took a particular importance due to the close nature of the field in the Czech Republic. 

The top ten was split by less than three tenths of a second in FP3, and meant some big names missed out on direct Q2 access, including Jack Miller, Brad Binder, Takaaki Nakagami, Miguel Oliveira and Andrea Dovizioso. 

That meant that Q1 would be critical, since starting at the front would be necessary to be able to take advantage of any strong race pace that the likes of, in particular, Oliveira had displayed on Friday. Similarly, for Andrea Dovizioso, his championship hopes took a hit in Jerez when he qualified 14th and recovered only to sixth – he could not afford a repeat in Brno. 

As it was, though, there was no discovery of speed from Dovizioso in Q1, and it was Alex Rins and Brad Binder who advanced to Q2. 

There are many things to expect in MotoGP and ‘the unexpected’ is usually one of them. That is precisely what we got in Q2, when Johann Zarco took pole position on the Esponsorama Racing Ducati. It was Zarco’s first pole since Sepang 2018, and the team’s first MotoGP pole position in their premier class history.The Frenchman’s race pace may not stack up with the likes of Fabio Quartararo or Franco Morbidelli, but he has given his team much to celebrate today in Brno. Even, potentially, something to celebrate for Francesco Bagnaia, as the stark contrast with Andrea Dovizioso’s performance could work in the favour of the hospital-bound #63. 

Despite missing out on pole position for the first time in 2020, and crashing in the process on his final lap, qualifying was not a disaster for Fabio Quartararo who took second on the grid. With Zarco on his outside and Morbidelli on his inside going into turn one tomorrow, it will be interesting to see how the championship leader approaches the opening stages when surrounded by people not directly in the championship fight. HIs pace is strong, perhaps stronger than anyone’s, but saving the tyre will be the most important factor tomorrow, not leading into the first corner. 

For Morbidelli, this is something of a saving grace, since he is the only rider starting on the front three rows to not have a ‘holeshot device’. Expect to see the Italian drop back tomorrow at the start, but he should have the speed to recover. Again, though, saving the tyre will be the most important. 

Aleix and Pol Espargaro spent much of Q2 looking like they would be starting from the front row, but Aleix was unable to improve on what was a fairly magical lap on his RS-GP from his first run and ended up fourth which is quite impressive for the Aprilia, regardless. Pol, on the other hand, had set the second-fastest time in Q2 before it was cancelled for yellow flags due to a crash for Cal Crutchlow in the middle sector. The #44 qualified sixth in the end, and sandwiched between the two Espargaro brothers is Maverick Vinales, who has not looked entirely comfortable all weekend.

Brad Binder had another impressive qualifying performance, taking seventh on the grid. The South African tends to enjoy low-grip conditions, and enjoys the bike moving underneath him, which could be advantageous for him towards the end of tomorrow’s race. The #33 will be joined by Danilo Petrucci, the fastest Desmosedici GP20, and Joan Mir on the third row. 

It was a disappointing qualifying performance from Valentino Rossi, who could only manage 10th, but the Italian’s pace is strong and is generally good at managing tyres when it’s something the whole field is suffering with. Additionally, with such a tight field and the strength of Yamaha’s holeshot device, starting from the front of the fourth row is not a disaster for the #46, who will be joined by the walking wounded on row four, as Alex Rins qualified 11th ahead of Cal Crutchlow in 12th after his aforementioned crash. 

Just missing out on Q2, the third-fastest rider in Q1, was Miguel Oliveira. The Portuguese should realistically have been in in Q2 by default but a crash at the end of FP3 sent him to Q1 and he missed out by less than one tenth of a second. His race pace is strong, but Oliveira has work to do tomorrow, and he will be joined by the fast-starting Ducatis of Jack Miller and an impressive Tito Rabat on the fifth row. 

Row six was the destination of Takaaki Nakagami and Andrea Dovizioso. The Japanese had set a time good enough for second but had it cancelled for exceeding track limits, dropping him to seventh and meaning he will start 17th overall. Dovizioso, on the other hand, simply did not have the speed to advance to Q2, and taking big points tomorrow now seems impossible. Starting in front of the pair of them will be Iker Lecuona, who has suffered for most of the weekend in Brno but was able to find some competitive speed in qualifying. 

The final row will consist of Bradley Smith, who crashed early on in Q1 but seemed unhurt, and the Repsol Honda duo of Stefan Bradl and Alex Marquez, the rookie still significantly struggling to extract the speed from a fresh, soft-compound rear tyre.