Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia) with a bang! The Spaniard set the fastest time in qualifying for the Catalan Grand Prix in MotoGP on Friday, while Frenchmen Johann Zarco (Ducati-Pramac) and Fabio Quartararo (Yamaha) took 4th and 17th places respectively. Under a blazing sun, the local of the stage, who was born a few kilometers from the Catalunya circuit, even broke the track record even though the conditions were not ideal.

The official Aprilias were particularly comfortable on Friday as his teammate Maverick Vinales set the second fastest time, just ahead of reigning world champion Francesco Bagnaia. The Italian, who prances at the top of the provisional classification of the championship, was lagging behind for a long time, before securing his place in Q2 in the last minutes of the session, which will be disputed on Saturday morning and will determine the starting positions (from pole in 12th place) on the grid for the sprint on Saturday afternoon and the Grand Prix on Sunday.

Frenchman Johann Zarco (Ducati-Pramac), who has appeared much more liberated since the announcement of his departure from Honda two weeks ago, took a good fourth place after occupying the lead several times. “The day was good. I did great lap times and I had a good feeling. I’m happy, it feels good,” explained the Avignonnais, who will aim for “the first row in qualifying and a podium in the sprint race” on Saturday.

His Spanish teammate Jorge Martin, second in the championship, clinched his place in Q2 in extremis by setting the 10th time, while the Italian Marco Bezzecchi (Ducati-VR46), who occupies the third step of the provisional podium, points in seventh place.

The other Frenchman on the grid, Fabio Quartararo, however, still had a disappointing day on the handlebars of his Yamaha. Author of the 17th fastest time, he will still have to go through the repechages (Q1) to hope to be able to fight for pole position. From 2019 to 2022, the Niçois had only played four Q1s while this season he already totaled 6 in 11 races, proof of his fall in the MotoGP hierarchy. “The day was difficult… In complicated conditions like today with the heat, we have big grip problems, it slips a lot. When it’s very hot, we’re picking up … We’re really going to have to find solutions on that for next year, ”said the Niçois.

The day was catastrophic for the Japanese Yamaha and Honda motorcycles as they took the last six places in these qualifying sessions. And the dunce cap goes to Honda, whose four riders are in the last four rows!

Classification of the qualifying practice session of the GP of Catalonia in MotoGP disputed on Friday at the Circuit de Catalunya (4.66 km) in Montmelo:

1. Aleix Espargaro (ESP/Aprilia) in 1:38.686

2. Maverick Vinales (ESP/Aprilia) at 0.362

3. Francesco Bagnaia (ITA/Ducati) 0.375

4. Johann Zarco (FRA/Ducati-Pramac) 0.571

5. Brad Binder(RSA/KTM) 0.660

6. Alex Marquez (ESP/Ducati-Gresini) 0.863

7. Marco Bezzecchi (ITA/Ducati-VR46) 0.864

8. Fabio Di Giannantonio (ITA/Ducati-Gresini) 0.935

9. Enea Bastiannini (ITA/Ducati) 0.942

10. Jorge Martin (ESP/Ducati-Pramac) 1.007

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17. Fabio Quartararo (FRA/Yamaha) 1,420

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19. Marc Marquez (ESP/Honda) at 1,563