MISANO ADRIATICO (Italy), Sept 13 — Marco Bezzecchi snatched pole position for the San Marino MotoGP today, denying the Marquez brothers a front-row lockout in the dying moments of qualifying.
MISANO ADRIATICO (Italy), Sept 13 — Marco Bezzecchi snatched pole position for the San Marino MotoGP today, denying the Marquez brothers a front-row lockout in the dying moments of qualifying.
The Aprilia rider thrilled home fans at the Marco Simoncelli circuit in Misano Adriatico with a fastest lap of one minute 30.134 seconds, edging Alex Marquez by just 0.088s.
Alex had appeared on course to claim back-to-back poles ahead of his brother, runaway championship leader Marc Marquez, before Bezzecchi’s late flyer handed the 26-year-old Italian his second pole of the season.
Marc Marquez, meanwhile, missed out on the front row for both yesterday’s sprint and tomorrow’s main race, as Fabio Quartararo—who advanced through the first qualifying session—clinched third on the grid, finishing 0.94s behind Bezzecchi.
Despite that setback, Marc still holds a commanding 182-point advantage over Alex and has won 14 of this year’s 15 sprints. Unless disaster strikes at Misano, the Spaniard could seal the world title at the Japan MotoGP in two weeks’ time, equalling Valentino Rossi’s seven championship crowns.
Elsewhere, Honda’s Joan Mir failed to recover from a neck injury sustained in a practice crash and will sit out the sprint. — AFP
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