Marc Marquez showcased an extraordinary performance during the qualifying session for the 2024 Aragon MotoGP as he dominated the track and secured pole position.
Free Practice Overview
The weekend began with free practice sessions on Friday, where riders faced challenging conditions due to intermittent rainfall that affected grip levels on the freshly resurfaced MotorLand Aragón circuit.
Despite the challenges, Marc Marquez quickly adapted, demonstrating his exceptional skill and experience. The six-time champion topped the timesheets in both Free Practice 1 and Free Practice 2, establishing himself as the rider to beat.
In Free Practice 1, Marquez clocked a time of 1:48.234, which was a solid benchmark for the rest of the field. His closest competitors, including reigning champion Francesco Bagnaia and Jorge Martin, struggled to match his pace.
Bagnaia, in particular, showed signs of inconsistency, finishing the session in a disappointing sixth place.
Free Practice 2 saw Marquez further extend his lead, improving his time to 1:47.890. This session was crucial as it provided insights into tire performance and setup adjustments ahead of the qualifying rounds.
Martin and Bagnaia managed to close the gap slightly, but they were still over half a second behind Marquez, who seemed to have found a perfect balance with his Gresini Ducati.
Qualifying Session
As the riders entered the qualifying session on Saturday, the weather conditions had improved, but the track remained slick from the previous rain.
Marquez capitalized on this, showcasing his prowess in navigating the tricky conditions and posted a blistering lap time of 1:46.766, which not only secured him pole position but also marked the largest margin of pole since 2019 at the Brno GP.
Marquez’s performance in qualifying was nothing short of spectacular. He was the only rider to break the 1:47 mark consistently, finishing eight tenths of a second ahead of his nearest rival, Pedro Acosta, who had an impressive qualifying run himself.
Acosta, riding for Tech3 Gas Gas, demonstrated his potential by pushing through Q1 and securing a front-row start, which is a remarkable achievement for the rookie.
Francesco Bagnaia, however, faced challenges throughout the session and could only manage a third-place start, which was a disappointment given his championship aspirations. Meanwhile his rival Jorge Martin managed to qualify fourth after a minor crash earlier in Q2 but his resilience was evident as he recovered quickly to secure a competitive position.
The second row of the grid will feature Alex Marquez and Franco Morbidelli, both of whom showed strong performances. Alex Marquez’s consistent lap times placed him in a favorable position, while Morbidelli’s efforts signaled a resurgence for the Pramac Ducati team
Brad Binder also came through Q1, but he did not manage to match Acosta’s pace. The South African rider ended up qualifying in seventh.
Aprilia had a session to forget as Miguel Oliveira was the fastest of the four and the only RS-GP rider to be within two seconds of Marquez in eighth place, 1.784 seconds behind pole. Meanwhile, Raul Fernandez finished ninth, less than 0.4 seconds behind his Trackhouse teammate.
Honda secured their first Q2 appearance of the season with 10th place for LCR rider Johann Zarco.
The two factory Aprilias performed significantly worse than the satellite riders, with Aleix Espargaro only one place better in 11th, 2.941 seconds off Marquez’s best, and Maverick Vinales placing 12th, 3.760 seconds off pole.
Enea Bastianini was the major casualty in Q1, losing many laps due to errors at the turn nine inclines and eventually qualified in 14th behind Marco Bezzecchi (VR46 Ducati) who came up a tenth short of denying Acosta a Q2 spot.
Fabio Quartararo was the lead Yamaha and will line-up 17th on the grid alongside Takaaki Nakagami – who will start 18th.
