MotoGP

Vinales leads all-Yamaha top four in Misano qualifying

by Valentin Khorounzhiy
3 min read

Maverick Vinales took pole position for MotoGP’s San Marino Grand Prix at Misano, as Yamaha locked out the top four in qualifying.

Vinales’ 1m31.411s was enough to give him a third Misano pole in four years by three tenths of a second, but came only at the very end of the session.

Petronas SRT Yamaha’s championship leader Fabio Quartararo had his first push lap in the pole shootout chalked off for track limits, yet struck back with a 1m31.791s, snatching the top spot from Valentino Rossi and heading an initial top-three lock-out for Yamaha.

That became a top-four lock-out when Vinales, electing to do three separate runs over the course of the 15-minute session, went 0.004s quicker with five minutes left on the clock.

Neither Quartararo, nor Rossi were able to improve on their late runs, but Quartararo’s team-mate Franco Morbidelli cleared both, briefly taking provisional pole with a 1m31.723s, only to be eclipsed by Vinales.

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Pramac Ducati rider Jack Miller was best of the rest behind the four Yamahas, pipping his team-mate Francesco Bagnaia – who is back from injury – by just 0.002s at the chequered flag.

Alex Rins led works Suzuki team-mate Joan Mir in seventh, while Quartararo’s nearest rival in the standings, factory Ducati rider Andrea Dovizioso, was ninth.

Johann Zarco settled for 10th on the Avintia-run year-old Ducati, having shrugged off a late crash in the pre-qualifying fourth practice.

Pol Espargaro led KTM’s efforts but was only 11th, ahead of Styrian Grand Prix winner and fellow KTM rider Miguel Oliveira.

Having advanced from Q1 alongside Oliveira and used a medium rear on his fastest Q1 lap, Espargaro was unable to match it in Q2, his session disrupted by an early crash at the final corner.

Pol Espargaro KTM Misano MotoGP 2020

His brother Aleix Espargaro was on course for his and Aprilia’s second Q2 appearance of the season after the opening runs in Q1, having run in Oliveira’s tow, but was relegated to 13th on the grid by the Portuguese Tech3 rider’s last-gasp improvement.

Takaaki Nakagami led Honda’s efforts, but his LCR-run 2019-spec Honda qualified only 14th – while the two 2020-spec factory bikes of Stefan Bradl and Alex Marquez will both line up on the seventh and final row of the grid.

And while three of the current-spec Ducati GP20s made it to Q2 directly, the fourth – of Danilo Petrucci – was stuck in Q1 and unable to make it through, the Ducati factory rider settling for a season-worst qualifying of 15th.

Qualifying Results

Pos Name Team Bike Group 1 Group 2
1 Maverick Viñales Yamaha Factory Racing Yamaha 1m31.411s
2 Franco Morbidelli Petronas Yamaha SRT Yamaha 1m31.723s
3 Fabio Quartararo Petronas Yamaha SRT Yamaha 1m31.791s
4 Valentino Rossi Yamaha Factory Racing Yamaha 1m31.877s
5 Jack Miller Pramac Racing Ducati 1m32.052s
6 Francesco Bagnaia Pramac Racing Ducati 1m32.052s
7 Alex Rins Team Suzuki MotoGP Suzuki 1m32.09s
8 Joan Mir Team Suzuki MotoGP Suzuki 1m32.102s
9 Andrea Dovizioso Ducati Team Ducati 1m32.184s
10 Johann Zarco Avintia Racing Ducati 1m32.218s
11 Pol Espargaró Red Bull KTM Factory Racing KTM 1m32.064s 1m32.266s
12 Miguel Oliveira Red Bull KTM Tech 3 KTM 1m32.212s 1m32.323s
13 Aleix Espargaró Aprilia Racing Team Gresini Aprilia 1m32.295s
14 Takaaki Nakagami LCR Honda Honda 1m32.382s
15 Danilo Petrucci Ducati Team Ducati 1m32.418s
16 Brad Binder Red Bull KTM Factory Racing KTM 1m32.534s
17 Tito Rabat Avintia Racing Ducati 1m32.791s
18 Iker Lecuona Red Bull KTM Tech 3 KTM 1m32.838s
19 Stefan Bradl Repsol Honda Team Honda 1m32.915s
20 Bradley Smith Aprilia Racing Team Gresini Aprilia 1m33.166s
21 Alex Marquez Repsol Honda Team Honda 1m33.333s
22 Cal Crutchlow LCR Honda Honda
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