Francesco Bagnaia held off Fabio Quartararo in a pulsating late battle to secure back-to-back victories at the San Marino Grand Prix on Sunday.

Bagnaia led from start to finish but came under huge pressure from Quartararo in the final few laps at Ducati's local track of Misano, where the rain that was forecast never arrived.

The Italian held his nerve to secure another victory from pole a week after claiming his maiden MotoGP win in Aragon.

Bagnaia's triumph left him 48 points behind Yamaha's championship leader Quartararo, who had to settle for second spot following a late charge after starting in third.

Rookie Enea Bastianini produced a sensational ride to get himself on the podium for the first time, having been way back in 11th on the grid, while Marc Marquez took fourth ahead of Jack Miller and Joan Mir.

Bagnaia got off to a flyer and his team-mate Miller retained second spot off the grid, while Jorge Martin spun off early on at Turn 14 but picked himself up to continue.

Marquez gained a couple of early places and Quartararo flashed past Miller to move into second spot, with Bagnaia extending his advantage out in front.

Bastianini stormed past Marquez into fourth and Martin retired with 16 laps to go before Alex Rins crashed out.

Bagnaia looked comfortable but Quartararo started to close significantly with the laps running out, with the Frenchman scenting a dramatic victory.

The ice-cool Bagnaia was not to be denied, though, and his compatriot secured a magnificent third place after overtaking Miller with nine laps remaining.

Francesco Bagnaia stormed to another MotoGP pole position but Sunday's weather could be pivotal to deciding who wins the San Marino Grand Prix.

Ducati bikes dominated qualifying, accounting for four of the top five places, with Jack Miller joining Bagnaia in a one-two for the factory team, ahead of Yamaha's championship leader Fabio Quartararo.

The Ducati-powered Pramac Racing pair of Jorge Martin and Johann Zarco took fourth and fifth at Misano, a local track for Ducati who will be hoping for a 'home' race win.

Yet Bagnaia and Quartararo both indicated after Saturday's qualifying session that should it rain, as forecasts suggest it well may, that could be a major factor in the outcome. A wet track is likely to suit the pole-sitter.

Pace-setter Bagnaia also took pole at last week's Aragon Grand Prix and converted that into a race win, his first at MotoGP level, and he sits second in the championship.

He described his fastest lap time on Saturday as "incredible" and said: "I feel great with everything. I think we did a really good pace

"In both conditions, dry and wet, I think we are ready to fight. For sure, in the dry Fabio has better pace than in Aragon, so I think it can be a good fight with him, but let's see, never say never.

"I prefer dry. It's very difficult to predict a strategy for tomorrow but I'd like to start well, push from the start, and see if I can manage the gap or I will have to fight in the last laps. In any case we will try to be ready for every condition.

"It's the second weekend in a row that all the Ducati are at the front in qualifying, and also for me to put the bike in front of Fabio for the championship. We're working well, the bike is very competitive, and we're doing a really great step every time."

Quartararo crashed as he looked to jump ahead of Bagnaia on the grid, but the French rider brushed that off after the session, declaring he was "totally OK".

"I just wanted to exaggerate a little bit on the braking, but unfortunately it was not working," Quartararo told MotoGP's official website. "But it was good, I gave it a try – at least I felt the real limit on the bike. I feel like our pace is really good compared to Aragon, where it was not great. I'm feeling ready for tomorrow – a little bit surrounded by red [Ducati] bikes but I'm feeling good.

"They are faster than us in the wet, but my feeling on the dry is super good and I want to keep going in that direction. I don't want to talk about rain and I don't want to call it."

Ducati have now been on pole four times at Misano, after Casey Stoner topped the time sheets in 2007 and 2008, followed by Jorge Lorenzo three years ago. Of those pole-sitters, only Stoner in 2007 took the chequered flag on race day.

Last season's champion Joan Mir had a qualifying session to forget, with a dashboard message on his Suzuki Ecstar bike urging him to pit proving a red herring. There was no problem with the bike, and technical manager Ken Kawauchi later apologised for the mistake.

Mir was ushered back to the track but could only finish in 11th place, with Quartararo's crash causing yellow-flag conditions in the closing stages.

"Qualifying was a shame; we didn’t have the potential to fight for pole and we're honestly quite far from that," said Mir.

"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."


Qualifying results

1. Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati) 1:31.065
2. Jack Miller (Ducati) +0.249secs
3. Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha) +0.302
4. Jorge Martin (Pramac Racing) +0.598
5. Johann Zarco (Pramac Racing) +0.771
6. Pol Espargaro (Repsol Honda) +0.858
7. Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda) +0.870
8. Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia) +0.872
9. Alex Rins (Suzuki Ecstar) +0.952
10. Maverick Vinales (Aprilia) +1.056
11. Joan Mir (Suzuki Ecstar) +1.361
12. Enea Bastianini (Avintia) +1.396

Francesco Bagnaia revelled in a "dream come true" after earning a sensational first MotoGP win by holding off Marc Marquez, who said he proved his old mentality is still burning as strong as ever.

Marquez missed almost the entirety of 2020 due to a serious arm injury and has only one victory to his name this season.

It was so nearly two in a stunning tussle at the Aragon Grand Prix on Sunday, but it was Ducati rider Bagnaia who topped a premier-class podium for the first time in his career.

Speaking afterwards, Bagnaia – who now sits second in the riders' standings, 53 points adrift of Fabio Quartararo – struggled to comprehend the level of his achievement.

"I'm feeling a lot of emotion today, I'm so happy," he said. 

"We worked a lot to achieve this result, every time we were close, something happened and the dream to win my first victory was far. 

"I'm so happy, I have to say thanks to all the team, all my family, my fantastic girlfriend, who are all with me every day.

"It's difficult to say something now but it was not easy to stay in front of Marc at this track. His body is not at 100 per cent, I think today he was very, very competitive. I just tried to do my best, to finish first is a dream come true."

Marquez made several passes during the final few laps, only to cede back the position on each occasion in a race that thrilled to the finish.

The Repsol Honda rider thinks he proved a point with his battling display.

"Yeah, I mean like some people [said] the old Marquez is not there, today we showed it's the same mentality," he said. 

"I still need to find the best level of myself. But anyway, it is a great result, I enjoyed a lot the race and the battle with Pecco on the last laps. I was a bit on the limit, but I think everybody was the same and I tried like always. 

"Even coming in from two crashes in a row, I try, this is my style. Today Pecco was faster than us, he did an incredible race. It was not possible but anyway I'm really happy."

World champion Joan Mir came home third for Suzuki Ecstar and was disappointed not to have challenged the leaders.

"I feel tired, I gave 110 per cent," he said. "And honestly, I'm a bit disappointed today. I expected a little bit better today, the pace over the weekend was better than to make only a podium. I expected to fight with those guys. 

"At the beginning, starting seventh position probably penalised us a little bit. I'm happy for the team, another podium is always a podium, but we want more, so let's push more."

Francesco Bagnaia held off Marc Marquez in a sensational Aragon Grand Prix to claim a maiden win in MotoGP.

The Ducati rider and his Spanish rival, aiming to win on his fifth straight appearance at the track having not raced there in 2020, exchanged position several times over the course of a pulsating finish.

But the Italian, who started on pole, put on a masterclass to beat Repsol Honda rider Marquez in his own backyard to clinch an unbelievable victory and move up to second in the riders' standings.

Bagnaia finished down in 14th last time out at the British Grand Prix for his worst result in two years but he and Marquez stole a march on the chasing pack this time around.

It has been a largely disappointing season for the legendary Marquez, who missed almost the entirety of 2020 through injury, yet there were signs of his best in a thrilling chase.

Marquez made his first move at Turn 5 with three laps to go, only to go wide and allow Bagnaia to reclaim the lead.

That theme continued for the rest of the race as Marquez made several passes and on each occasion giving it back, until finally he went off track at Turn 12 allowing Bagnaia to finally claim a win in the premier class.

Defending world champion Joan Mir rounded out the podium, while riders' standings leader Fabio Quartararo finished a distant eighth but was the only Yamaha rider inside the points.

Aleix Espargaro was fourth ahead of Jack Miller, who was on course for a podium finish until a costly error midway through the race saw him lose position.

TOP 10

1. Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati)
2. Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda) +0.673s
3. Joan Mir (Suzuki Ecstar) +3.911s
4. Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing) +9.269s
5. Jack Miller (Ducati) +11.928s
6. Enea Bastianini (Avintia) +13.757s
7. Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM) +14.064s
8. Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha) +16.575s
9. Jorge Martin (Pramac Racing) +16.615s
10. Takaaki Nakagami (LCR Honda) +16.904s

CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS

Riders

1. Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha) 214
2. Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati) 161
3. Joan Mir (Suzuki Ecstar) 157
4. Johann Zarco (Pramac Racing) 137
5. Jack Miller (Ducati) 129

Teams

1. Monster Energy Yamaha 309
2. Ducati 290
3. Suzuki Ecstar 225
4. Pramac Racing 212
5. Red Bull KTM 204

Francesco Bagnaia produced a "perfect lap" to seal pole position for Sunday's Aragon GP.

The Italian delivered a lap of one minute and 46.332 seconds on his second run to break the lap record at Aragon, which had stood since 2015.

Ducati team-mate Jack Miller was his nearest rival at just 0.366secs adrift, giving Ducati their first one-two in qualifying since Aragon 2018.

It marks Bagnaia's second pole of the 2021 season and the 50th for Ducati in MotoGP.

"I think it was a perfect lap," said Bagnaia. "It was great. I did a nice sector one, the sector two was incredible too and our bike in sector four helped us a lot.

"Also, entry to the last corner was incredible. I looked at the data of Jorge Martin this morning, who was doing a different line compared to me, and then I tried to do the same and I improved a lot. I didn't expect to do a lap like that."

Bagnaia has never won a MotoGP race and he is keen to avoid complacency ahead of Sunday's race at MotorLand.

"I'll just try to set my pace and be fast," he added. "It will be important what happens with the tyres after 15 or 16 laps and in the last part of the race I feel strong, we will see if I am strong enough to win.

"The important thing will be to stay with the best from start to finish.

"It’s difficult to say that I'm ready to win or that I can win, but all the things are there."

Fabio Quartararo completed the front row, extending his run of consecutive top-three qualifying results to 11 this season.

The French rider, however, does not believe he has the pace to keep up with the Ducati pair.

"I want to have fun. Of course, it would be great to fight for the podium," he said.

"But to be honest, I don't feel I have the pace, so I will try to manage the best result as possible and I will try to stay with the front guys and fight until the end.

"But right now, at least we need to make a step in the warm-up to be able to fight for the podium tomorrow.

"So, let's hope for an improvement on the warm-up."

Provisional classification

1. Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati) 1:46.322
2. Jack Miller (Ducati) +0.366
3. Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha) +0.397
4. Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda) +0.414
5. Jorge Martin (Pramac Racing) +0.556
6. Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia) +0.561
7. Joan Mir (Suzuki Ecstar) +0.840
8. Pol Espargaro (Repsol Honda) +0.872
9. Enea Bastianini (Avintia Esponsorama) +0.956
10. Johann Zarco (Pramac Racing) +0.966
11. Takaaki Nakagami (LCR Honda) +1.044
12. Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM) +1.610

Jorge Martin capitalised on his record-setting pole position to claim victory in a dramatic Styrian Grand Prix on Sunday to seal his maiden win in MotoGP.

Martin, competing in his maiden MotoGP campaign, clinched pole with a time of 1:22.994 – the fastest recorded at the Red Bull Ring.

However, he needed a second chance to turn his superb qualifying session into a race triumph following an early red flag due to a crash involving Dani Pedrosa and Lorenzo Savadori.

Francesco Bagnaia had taken an early lead ahead of Martin, but when the race restarted, the original grid positions were used, and having reclaimed control from Jack Miller – who later crashed out – the Pramac Racing rider held firm to secure a first premier class success ahead of Joan Mir and runaway championship leader Fabio Quartararo.

Bagnaia wasted no time in getting on the attack and had overtaken Martin within seconds of the start, while Mir, Quartararo and Marc Marquez had an almighty tussle for position on Turn 6.

Yet their efforts proved fruitless as the red flag was soon raised.

Pedrosa fell on the exit hairpin of Turn 3 with Savadori subsequently colliding with the stricken bike.

Making his first start in MotoGP since 2018, Pedrosa came away unscathed, though Savadori had to receive further medical attention and was carried away on a stretcher. Meanwhile, race marshals had to contend with a fire on the track – a result of a ruptured fuel tank from one of the bikes.

After a 30-minute delay, the race restarted with 27 laps remaining. This time, it was Miller who was the early aggressor, with six-time MotoGP champion Marquez dropping to 14th and Martin back to third.

Miller could not hold on, though, with Martin picking his line perfectly to undertake, while defending champion Mir and Quartararo soon followed suit.

Matters were made worse for Miller with 10 laps to go, the Australian skidding out on Turn 7 as he attempted to hunt down Quartararo. It is the second successive race he has failed to finish.

The day instead belonged to Martin, the 23-year-old keeping compatriot Mir at bay to win with a 1.548-second cushion.

Quartararo came in in third, collecting more points in his quest for the world title, while Marquez – who finished on the podium in three of his four previous MotoGP races at the Red Bull Ring – had to settle for eighth.

Jorge Martin made history as he claimed his second pole of the MotoGP season, which resumed at the Styrian Grand Prix on Saturday.

The Pramac Racing rider's winning time of 1:22.994 was the fastest recorded at the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg, as he finished 0.044s ahead of Francesco Bagnaia.

There was drama as Martin's effort was almost eclipsed by Fabio Quartararo, only for the runaway championship leader to exceed track limits by drifting into the green at the vital moment.

MotoGP debutant Martin made a strong start to his maiden campaign; taking pole in Doha in round two on the way to an impressive third-place finish.

However, injury during qualifying at the Portuguese Grand Prix two weeks later ruled him out of four races, while he was also forced to retire at the Dutch TT last time out.

Nevertheless, the 23-year-old has demonstrated brilliant determination to bounce back and finish fastest in qualifying, which he dedicated to his currently hospitalised grandfather.

"It wasn't the perfect lap," he said. "I started quite well in the first sector.

"I kept pushing and saw I was coming in hot, but then I made a mistake with the gearbox in corners four and five. 

"In the last two corners, I tried my best not to go to the green because with the wind, it was difficult. When I finished the lap and saw the time on my screen, I thought: 'that's a good time.'

"I want to dedicate this pole position to my grandfather. He's in hospital and he's battling a lot."

Despite missing out on a sixth pole of the season, Quartararo will begin Sunday's Grand Prix on the front row of the grid for Monster Energy Yamaha.

"It's a shame because of the track limit. I did the maximum with what I had," said the Frenchman, who is currently 34 points clear at the top of the riders' standings.

"Sunday, it looks like it's going to rain, so it's good to have a great position on the grid. 

"I pushed my bike to the limit. I will not say it's my best lap because I made many mistakes, but it's the first time that I've pushed that much on a bike."

It was a good day for Ducati with Martin and Bagnaia first and second with Jack Miller and Johann Zarco, who finished fourth and sixth respectively, not far behind.

World champion Joan Mir will start fifth for Suzuki Ecstar.

Meanwhile, seven-time MotoGP champion Valentino Rossi, who announced earlier this week that he would retire at the end of this season, was 17th.

Provisional classification

1. Jorge Martin (Pramac Racing) 1:22.994
2. Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati) +0.044s
3. Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha) +0.081s
4. Jack Miller (Ducati) +0.306s
5. Joan Mir (Suzuki Ecstar) +0.328s
6. Johann Zarco (Pramac Racing) +0.382s
7. Alex Espargaro (Aprilia) +0.454s
8. Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda) +0.495s
9. Maverick Vinales (Monster Energy Yamaha) +0.514s
10. Takaaki Nakagami (LCR Honda) +0.542s
11. Alex Marquez (LCR Honda) +0.847s
12. Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM) +0.950s

Fabio Quartararo claimed his first MotoGP race win since Catalonia last year as Monster Yamaha secured a second successive Grand Prix triumph in Qatar.

Quartararo has been open about his struggles with the pressure of mounting a championship bid in 2020 but, having worked closely with a psychologist in recent months, will be hoping his win in Doha is the start of something special.

It was already a momentous occasion for rookie Jorge Martin, who secured pole in just his second outing in qualifying for a premier-class event, and the Spaniard held firm at the front for much of the race.

With his Pramac Racing team-mate Johann Zarco for company at the front, Martin looked in good shape but there was always a sense some of the big hitters from further down the field were just biding their time.

Alex Rins (Team Suzuki Ecstar) was the first to make his move but ultimately lost out in his tussle with Zarco, while reigning champion Joan Mir (Team Suzuki Ecstar) and Jack Miller (Ducati Lenovo Team) engaged in some risky jostling as they looked to get themselves in position for a late surge.

The pair touched a couple of times, including a particularly hefty bump on lap 13 that saw them exchange gestures, though both stayed up.

Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) also looked a threat for a while but misjudged the first turn at the start of lap 17 and lost four places.

It was around this time that Quartararo, who started fifth, began to make his move as he looked to match his Monster Yamaha colleague Maverick Vinales' win last time out.

It did not take him long to get around Zarco and by the end of the 18th lap he had passed Martin, who quickly responded only to be overtaken once again by the persistent Quartararo.

Martin kept the pressure on but Quartararo never looked unduly worried in the final stages, while Zarco finally managed to pass his rookie team-mate to finish second and seal successive podium finishes.

Jorge Martin will start Sunday's Doha MotoGP on pole after stunning the field in qualifying but the rookie insists the race win will belong to someone else.

The Spaniard nudged Pramac Racing team-mate Johann Zarco into second place with a superlative display, with Maverick Vinales – who won the season-opening race in Qatar – in third.

It was a phenomenal result for Martin on just his second outing in qualifying for a premier-class event, but the 23-year-old refused to get carried away as he lowered expectations ahead of the race at the Losail International Circuit. 

"It's difficult to describe my feelings," he said of his first pole. "In the first run, I was behind [Joan] Mir and I felt super confident, I was catching him so fast, and I said, 'Okay, I need a faster bike [to follow]'.

"I was hoping to be behind Pecco [Francesco Bagnaia] but he wasn't improving at all, so I said, 'Okay, it’s my time to boost, my time to demonstrate who I am'.

"For sure, I didn't expect to make pole; I was expecting to be front four, front five.

"When I finished the lap and I was up there in first position, it's unbelievable. This is so great. Tomorrow – another day to learn because for sure it's not my day to win.

"If we can fight for a top six that'd be great and I will be super happy."

Martin picked up a point with a 15th-place finish last week, when Zarco and pole-sitter Bagnaia joined Vinales on the podium.

A best lap of one minute and 53.106 seconds saw Martin clinch pole this time around and Zarco admitted he was taken aback when he realised who had gone faster than him.

"I'm pretty happy, a low one minute 53 seconds was a good target to be on the first row," said the Frenchman.

"When I saw this one minute 53.2 seconds when I crossed the finish line I expected to be on pole.

"But when I understood it was the 89 on pole, my team-mate, I was a bit surprised.

"I'm happy anyway because it's all going too perfect for Pramac team – first and second and it's just happiness to take. It has been great."

Provisional classification

1. Jorge Martin (Pramac Racing) 1:53.106
2. Johann Zarco (Pramac Racing) +0.157
3. Maverick Vinales (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) +0.161
4. Jack Miller (Ducati Lenovo Team) +0.197
5. Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) +0.363
6. Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) +0.548
7. Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini) +0.599
8. Alex Rins (Team Suzuki Ecstar) +0.639
9. Joan Mir (Team Suzuki Ecstar) +0.679
10. Franco Morbidelli (Petronas Yamaha SRT) +0.688
11. Stefan Bradl (Repsol Honda Team) +1.118
12. Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) +1.990

Francesco Bagnaia targeted "a really great result" at the Qatar Grand Prix after setting a stunning lap record on his factory Ducati debut.

Third-year MotoGP rider Bagnaia had finished 15th and 16th in his two seasons with Pramac Racing but has quickly focused on loftier ambitions following his bow with the factory team.

Ducati - winners of the previous two Qatar GPs with the since-departed Andrea Dovizioso - had been fast all week at the season opener, with Jack Miller setting the practice pace in his 100th grand prix with a best time of one minute and 53.387 seconds ahead of second-placed team-mate Bagnaia.

But Bagnaia later suggested he had believed he could run in less than 1:53 in qualifying and so it proved, a magnificent 1:52.772 setting a two-wheel lap record at the Losail International Circuit.

That was enough for a healthy 0.266-second gap to Fabio Quartararo, while Bagnaia gave veteran Valentino Rossi - a four-time Qatar winner - a tow to take him to the front of the second row.

Rossi has 10 podiums at Losail and his next in MotoGP will make him the first to 200.

Even from his commanding position, Bagnaia could be forgiven for being pessimistic after his year-high six abandonments in 2020 - including five in the final eight races - but he was full of positivity following an outstanding display.

"I'm very happy," he said. "Already yesterday I was thinking it was possible today to arrive at (1:)52.

"In the second attempt, when I started pushing, I thought it was possible. After the third sector, I was very close to this lap time.

"I'm very happy; my first pole position in my first race with this team. I would like to make everything possible to finish the race tomorrow in the best way possible. I think we can make a really great result."

Miller had to settle for fifth, next to Rossi, as he pursues a third straight podium for the first time in his career following two to end 2020.

Quartararo also had reason to be disappointed with his day as he mistimed his second run and the chequered flag denied him the opportunity to challenge Bagnaia.

Another debutant at a factory team, Yamaha's Quartararo won the first two races of the season last year but has had only one podium in 12 outings since.

The 21-year-old, who has colleague Maverick Vinales - the 2017 Qatar winner - behind him in third, said: "It's a shame I couldn't do the second lap on my second run. I had the chequered flag for a second.

"But I'm quite happy. I think we did a great lap. We tried something in FP4 that was bad, honestly - I didn't feel great on the bike. But I feel that we have great potential for tomorrow.

"We will go with that bike for the race because it's the one that I feel good [on]. I think we made too much changes today, but I'm feeling happy.

"I think we did a great, great job in the qualifying. Now we're just missing the race. I can't wait."

Neither the Ducatis nor the Yamahas should have to worry this weekend about defending champion Joan Mir, who failed to capitalise on the absence of Repsol Honda great Marc Marquez.

Mir was forced to contend in Q1 and will start from 10th, having finished eighth in his only previous Losail entry in 2018.


Provisional classification

1. Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati) 1:52.772
2. Fabio Quartararo (Monster Yamaha) +0.266s
3. Maverick Vinales (Monster Yamaha) +0.316s
4. Valentino Rossi (Petronas Yamaha) +0.342s
5. Jack Miller (Ducati) +0.443s
6. Johann Zarco (Pramac Racing) +0.514s
7. Franco Morbidelli (Petronas Yamaha) +0.541s
8. Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing Team) +0.543s
9. Alex Rins (Team Suzuki Ecstar) +0.718s
10. Joan Mir (Team Suzuki Ecstar) +0.910s
11. Takaaki Nakagami (LCR Honda) +0.949s
12. Pol Espargaro (Repsol Honda) +1.158s

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