Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) secured an incredible pole position at the Thailand PT Grand Prix, unleashing his full potential with an incredible 1:28.700. #1 set an impressive time on the final run, claiming pole position as he prepared to start ahead of teammate Enea Bastianini (Ducati Lenovo Team). ‘The Beast’ was adrift by 0.232s and was another rider to jump in the 1:28 bracket. Bastiani crucially starts in front of Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac Racing), who takes the last position on the front row after crashing on the last run.
The MotoGP™ stars had one last chance to prepare for qualifying on Saturday morning when FP2 started. Marc Marquez took FP2 honors ahead of Franco Morbidelli (Prima Pramac Racing), putting him well into qualifying. Once Q1 started, it was incredible speed from Fabio Di Giannantonio (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team) who took an early advantage in the first race. The action continued until the final seconds, with sector times dropping and Fabio Quattararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP™) gaining a place in Q2 with Di Giannantonio.
After a few moments of silence, the track action resumed as the stick position battle began. It was a bright start to the season, with Bagnaia setting a lap record of 1:29.076 and becoming the new reference after the first run. In the closing moments of the session, Marc Marquez (Gresini Racing MotoGP™) made another Q2 mistake, sitting in P4 and crashing into Turn 3. Moments later, Bagnaia put away a lap in 1:28s when Martin crashed in turn 5, with teammate Morbidelli quickly following.
Marco Bezecchi (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team) made time to move up to fourth on the grid as he prepared to lead the second row. The Italian will start alongside Marc Marquez, who will start from P5 despite a crash at Turn 3. The Spaniard will set his sights on a return to the podium at the Changi International Circuit, but will face stiff competition as Quattararo joins him on the second row #93. The Frenchman took the maximum out of the Yamaha – fighting all the way to Q1.
Pedro Acosta (Red Bull GASGAS Tech3) starts from seventh, the rookie continues his impressive performance in Thailand. Acosta is positioned as the top mover of the pair and will start from a strong eighth – 0.735s ahead of the battle ahead of Di Giannantonio. Meanwhile, Alex Marquez (Gresini Racing MotoGP™) secured the final row three position with a time of 1:29.527.
Further back, Morbidelli starts from 11th, ending Q2 ahead of Johan Zarco (CASTROL Honda LCR) after both riders crashed in qualifying. Meanwhile, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Brad Binder and Jack Miller have work to do on the grid from 13th and 15th in the opening round as Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing) prepares for a tough job starting from a difficult P14 so far in Thailand over the weekend.