MotoGP riders reflect on QP and look to the race ahead

2021 MotoGP – Round 18 – Valencia
Saturday Qualifying Results/Quotes/Notes

Jorge Martin (Pramac Racing) put in a stunning lap at the Gran Premio Motul de la Comunitat Valenciana on Saturday to take his fourth pole position of the season and Ducati’s first at the Circuit Ricardo Tormo since 2010, his final push enough to depose Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) by just 0.064.

It’s an all-Ducati front row with Jack Miller (Ducati Lenovo Team) in third, with the factory riders suffering a crash each but once again, Bologna bringing the noise on Saturday afternoon. That’s now 11 poles for the manufacturer this season, and there’s been a Ducati on the front row at every single Grand Prix. They’ve taken 30 front row placements out of 54, to be exact. Martin’s pole is his fourth of the season after a stunning premier class debut, and he heads the grid at the venue where he took his first Grand Prix win in Moto3.

Joan Mir (Team Suzuki Ecstar) may not have taken another front row, but he had another great qualifying. He said after the Algarve GP he wanted to start routinely qualifying on the front two rows, and in the pre-event Press Conference in Valencia the 2020 Champion said he wanted to se if they could replicate the quality qualifying… so that’s mission accomplished in fourth.

Alongside Mir on Row 2 are Johann Zarco (Pramac Racing), to make it four Ducatis in the top five, with Rins in P6 coming through from Q1 to make it two Suzukis in the top six.

Binder likewise converted the chance from Q1 into a good grid position, the South African taking P7 to head the third row. He’s joined by reigning Champion Quartararo as the Frenchman had another muted Saturday, out of the top six for the third race in a row.

Ninth went to Takaaki Nakagami (LCR Honda Idemitsu) ahead of one of the best recent qualifying sessions for Rossi in tenth, the ‘Doctor’ also having gone straight through to Q2.

Franco Morbidelli (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP), who also went straight through, is P11, with Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini) taking P12.

Pol Espargaro suffered a vicious highside on the exit of Turn 12 heading into Turn 13 in FP3. Scans revealed heavy bruising, especially around the right thorax and abdomen.  Espargaro will rest Saturday night before assessing his condition and a decision on his continued participation on Sunday morning.

That’s an interesting grid to round out the season. A Ducati front-row lock out, Mir with a lot less work to do on Sunday and Rins too, and of course, a farewell for the ‘Doctor’…

MotoGP Rider Quotes

Jorge Martin – P1

“I knew I could do it, before qualifying I was really confident. But the target was the front row, here it’s so important to be on the front row because it’s difficult to overtake. The first lap was good but I knew with some mistakes, and I could improve. On the second tyre was perfect, I felt a lot of speed from the beginning, improved the weak points and was fully focused. For sure still with some margin but on the limit. Really happy about my performance, the base isn’t bad. It’s a pity that in FP4 we tried to hard tyre but I think it’s not the race tyre. I hope the medium works well at the end of the race but I think we can battle for the podium for sure.”

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Francesco Bagnaia – P2

“I’m happy with today’s result in qualifying. Unfortunately, I was pushing too hard on the last lap and crashed. Despite that, we’re starting from the front row, from the second position, and that’s a good result. Valencia is not one of the tracks that best suits my riding style, and this is the first year I have been able to be competitive here. All weekend I have struggled to be perfect on a single lap, but the pace for the race is good. We’ve been working well all weekend, and we already know what tyres we’ll use for the race, so I’m positive and ready for the final Grand Prix of the season”.

Jack Miller – P3

“This was our last qualifying session of the year, so I really tried to give everything and once again, I was close to the pole. During the last lap, I crashed at turn 9, and maybe I was pushing a little too hard, but in any case, I had fun: the good feeling I have with my Desmosedici and the good weather conditions today allowed me to take advantage of the full potential of my bike. I feel like I have a good pace for tomorrow’s race, and now we just have to figure out exactly what tyre choice to make for it. It would be nice to end the season with a third win!”

Joan Mir – P4

“I’m happy about qualifying today, we worked well and we missed out on the front row by a very small amount. We’re following the steps to have a stronger bike and a better package for next year. I’ve been feeling good all weekend and my pace is pretty strong, both with the used tyres and with the fresh ones. It gives me a boost that we were so close to the front row and I’m pleased to show my potential ahead of the final round. Tomorrow will be a special race with so many fans.”

Johann Zarco – P5

“I am satisfied. To start from the second row is an excellent result. Tomorrow we need to be good and maintain a good race-pace for every lap. Congratulations to Jorge for the pole position!”

Alex Rins – P6

“It was a good day for the team with both Joan and I pretty fast. My final laps in Q2 were disturbed by the two yellow flags, which was a bit of a shame, but it’s nice to be on the second row and I feel that I can get a good start. It’s tricky with all the Ducatis around, but I know our pace is strong. One thing is sure; we will give our all to have a great final race.”

Brad Binder – P7

“In general I’m happy with the way qualification went today. I’d say we made a positive step. I was happy to get through Q1 and I only had one set of tires and managed just one flying lap, which was a bit of a shame but we went OK. The guys did well to give me something that worked for Q2 and the feeling is a bit better. I believe I can do a good job tomorrow but it won’t be as simple as it looks because we’ll have to manage the rear tyre well.”

Fabio Quartararo – P8

“In FP4, we made a step because we put on the hard tyre, and that was much better, but I feel like the front tyre is too soft for me, and there‘s no turning. We need to find a solution to improve this. It will be tricky to recover some positions, but our race pace looks not too bad. I will be pushing on the first laps to make up some places. The main thing now is to improve the setting and accordingly the feeling with the front, and then we can also improve on braking.”

Takaaki Nakagami – P9

“To be honest, I expected a little bit of a better result, but third row (P9) is not too bad for tomorrow’s race. In FP4 we were fastest and that’s good for the race pace. In qualifying it was a little bit strange as I struggled with the performance of the speed, but I’m really looking forward to the race. Hopefully we can make a good start and follow the top guys and I’ll fight until the chequered flag.”

Valentino Rossi – P10

“It was a good Saturday and I am very happy about today because I felt good with the bike from this morning, and I was able to go straight to Q2. This was great and everything felt easier, like the tyres for example. I was able to do a good lap in Q2 and I will start my last MotoGP race in the top-ten, so it means that I am part of the fastest ten riders in the world. I am so proud of this for me, but also for my team. Now we need to improve in two or three places, try to ride well and have a good race tomorrow. I did have some help from ‘Pecco’ [Bagnaia], as I used his slipstream both this morning and afternoon, so I have to say thanks to him. To be honest, I was worried about this weekend because it is difficult to manage everything, but everything has been good and I have enjoyed the many surprises, like the big mural. So I want to say thank you to everybody, I’m enjoying it all.”

Franco Morbidelli – P11

“I‘m a bit disappointed, actually, because I think that our potential was more than this. But I made a mistake. I tried something different in the second run of FP4, and it didn‘t feel too bad, but then I brought it to qualifying, and with the soft tyres I had to adapt to it. I thought I would have adapted to it by the second run, but then that didn‘t happen. I had a yellow flag when Bagnaia crashed, and then on my second lap there were some people cruising on track because they thought it was already after the chequered flag. I slowed down. It‘s a pity because I think that our potential was better in FP4. In every practice we felt really good, and we were up there. But it‘s okay. I need to work and improve my riding. I need to move a little bit more on the bike, but my physical state doesn’t allow me to do that yet. But we are improving.”

Aleix Espargaro – P12

“We took a step forward and I’m pleased. The bike worked well today. Despite the crash in FP4, I went back out with the second RS-GP on extremely used tyres and still managed to lap with good times. It’s a pity that we got unlucky in qualifying, with yellow flags that cancelled out all my fast laps. It’s frustrating, but sometimes that’s the way it goes. Let’s just say that starting from the fourth row isn’t idea, especially here in Valencia, but we have the pace to make up for it.”

Andrea Dovizioso – P13

“I’m not too happy about the position today, but the speed is a bit better. I’m happy about that because from the first session yesterday we have been faster and have been closer to the quickest riders. This is what we need and I was only two tenths shy of the fastest Yamaha rider, which is really good. I’m happy and let’s see what happens tomorrow. I know that I am closer to the group of riders ahead of me in the times, but Valencia can be a strange race as you use the left side of the tyre a lot and it will affect the race more than at other circuits. I’m not sure what I will be able to achieve tomorrow, but my pace isn’t too bad. It will be important to gain positions at the start and then be consistent until the end.”

Maverick Vinales – P14

“I’m truly satisfied with what we accomplished today, although I would have expected to be faster in qualifying, to be honest. If we look at my pace in race simulation during FP4, we did a good job and I’m able to be fast even after a lot of laps. I lose a lot in the third sector, which is where I lose the most ground. Now that we have a good base for the race, we’ll try some specific changes in the warm-up session to try and improve in that situation.”

Iker Lecuona – P15

“We were struggling throughout the day and worked very hard to find a good base. At the same time, we are very close. In FP3 I finished about five tenths behind the top and was in P14, so it’s super-tight. In Q1, I was pushing a lot, I made some mistakes but I’m happy because we are there, we have the speed. For sure tomorrow we have to give a bit more but we are ready to fight.”

Danilo Petrucci – P16

“It was a very tight qualifying and everybody is so close to each other. I didn’t do the best lap but I was pushing a lot and was still missing some hundredths. I still think we can do a decent race tomorrow. I feel good with the bike and with a fine start I believe there is the chance for us to score some points.”

Luca Marini – P17

“It’s a tricky track where it’s difficult to find a good feeling with the asphalt and tyres. I’m missing something at the front to be able to be completely comfortable with the handling. It was a pity the yellow flag in FP3, it would have been a different Saturday with direct access to Q2. I was fast, but maybe I lacked a bit of experience with the asymmetric front tyre, plus the rear grip is very difficult to manage. The more experienced riders are making the difference.”

Enea Bastianini – P18

“It was a bad day. Unfortunately we couldn’t understand why we couldn’t make a step forward compared to yesterday. I will start 18th and I will try to make a comeback, but I think it will be difficult. It’s the last race of the season, I will try to enjoy it and to finish in the best possible way.”

Álex Márquez – P19

“I’m a bit angry and sad with myself as I made a mistake in qualy and wasn’t able to go very fast after that. The first lap was good and after that maybe I was little too optimistic. I’m upset because in FP4 we saw our potential with used tyres. I know that on this track it’s hard to pass and I made a mistake, but we can’t change the past and we have to look to the future. The future is that we have a race tomorrow, we’ll try to make a good start and a good first part, that will be important to making a good race if we can be close to the top 10. So ,we’ll try our best from the first lap.”

Miguel Oliveira – P20

“FP4 was a good improvement for us in terms of speed and pace everything looked OK for qualifying. When we added the new tires and less fuel – the normal procedure for us in qualifying – we easily found a limit on the lap-time again. It is frustrating because I am putting in a lot of effort and things are not coming my way. Also, for the team because there are no clear answers. I don’t know what kind of race we can have tomorrow. We have a long way to come back.”

Pol Espargaro – P21

“Unfortunately today I had a very big crash during FP3 at Turn 13. The impact was very hard but fortunately I have no serious injuries and nothing appeared broken in the tests we did at the hospital. At the moment I have a lot of pain from around my ribs when I breathe, this is what hurts most. I’m really disappointed because we had great speed and I was feeling really confident. I’m sorry for my team. Tonight we will rest, take painkillers and see what the situation is in the morning.”

MotoGP Combined Times

Moto2

Simone Corsi (MV Agusta Forward Racing) claimed a first pole position since the 2012 Aragon GP in Moto2, and after coming through Q1.

It was a session that saw title-chasing Raul Fernandez (Red Bull KTM Ajo) crash, but the Spaniard starts P5, with World Championship leader Remy Gardner (Red Bull KTM Ajo) going for title glory from P8.

Celestino Vietti (Sky Racing Team VR46) and Augusto Fernandez (Elf Marc VDS Racing Team) bagged front row starts.

Moto2 Combined Times

Moto3

Newly-crowned Moto3 Champion Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM Ajo) signed off from the lightweight class in style on Saturday, with the youngster saying he was on a mission to take a pole position before he graduates to Moto2 and he got the job done. His 1m38.668 puts him three tenths clear of Tatsuki Suzuki (SIC58 Squadra Corse) in second, with rookie Izan Guevara (Valresa GASGAS Aspar Team) completing the front row after having been fastest on Friday.

Acosta is also the 12th different rider on pole this year, equalling the record for the most in a Moto3 season from 2019.

Moto3 Combined Times

Comunitat Valenciana-Ricardo Tormo Schedule (AEST)

MotoGP Championship Standings

Constructor Standings

Team Standings

2021 FIM MotoGP World Championship calendar