Fabio Di Giannantonio secured his pole position in MotoGP qualifying at the Autódromo Internacional de Goiânia – Ayrton Senna in Brazil on Saturday. Riding a Ducati Desmosedici GP26 in the Pertamina Enduro VR46 race on the dry 2.38-mile (3.84 km) track, the Italian clocked a 1:17.410. Not only was he a good fit in the 22-rider field, but it was his first pole since 2022.
Marco Bezecchi was the best of the rest with a 1:17.480 in his Aprilia Racing RS-GP26, and Marc Marquez took third and final place in his Lenovo Team Ducati Desmosedici GP26 with a 1:17.491.
Row two qualifiers included Monster Energy Yamaha’s Fabio Quattararo (1:17.561), Bezzicchi team-mate Jorge Martin (1:17.630) and Trackhouse Aprilia’s I Ogura (1:17.702).
More from the MotoGP press release:
Di Giannantonio is in charge of Bezcicci after an impressive debut in Brazil. The Q1 qualifiers stole the show, with Marc Marquez taking third and Quatararo working some magic to lead Row 2.
Fabio Di Giannantonio (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team) took first place in a thrilling Q2 in Brazil, taking the lead from Q1 to the grid and making it even quicker if he fell on his lap. His 1:17.410 saw him secure pole from Q1 qualifier Marco Bezecchi (Aprilia Racing), with Marc Marquez (Ducati Lenovo Team) forced to settle for third after a crash on the first run. He was far from the only one.
A word of praise to the fourth-placed rider – with Fabio Quattararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) doing a remarkable job of qualifying fourth and taking Row 2 in his second full-time Grand Prix with the new V4-powered YZR-M1.
Q1: Bezzecchi on a mission, Diggia in pursuit
There was early drama when Luca Marini (Honda HRC Castrol) crashed in the first few minutes – a rider perfectly fine – after a crash for the Italian in FP2, who is clearly looking for the limit in a new position. Bezecchi was another to crash in FP2 – compounding the pressure of being in Q1 – but the Italian was top of the timesheets from the first gates.
Later in Q1 he suffered a leak but regrouped, and his position at the top of the session was never threatened – in fact, his Q1 lap remained the fastest of the day. Di Giannantonio joined him on pole in Q2, having achieved some impressive speed on Saturday and is close to achieving more.
Q2: Drama and magic in equal measure
Drama hits early again in Q2. First for Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) as the Italian took turn 9, rider OK, and soon after for championship leader Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing). Acosta was electric on his feet running for the service lane, luckily finding his KTM stablemate Mika Kallio ready and waiting on his scooter to return to the paddock.
Then, 30 seconds later, Marc Marquez was on the floor – in exactly the same place. Back to the box, the race took place, with Diggia leading Marc Marquez by 0.071 at the time screens, Acosta hovering in P7 and Bagnaia remaining the only rider to put no time down before putting one in.
But #63 was back out first and was soon adjusted to at least get into P9. Bezeci threatened the front row and took second place by 0.060 from Diggia, with Jorge Martin (Aprilia Racing) coming in fourth after a few red spots and saw his lap fade slightly.
Meanwhile, Diggia improved on top of 0.010, and then more drama – this time for Martin. Red Sectors This time the #89 crashes and there’s no time to get back into the session, although the rider is safe.
The next red sector shock ending in the gravel came from Diggia with an advantage of more than a tenth – in his own time – when he started on the outside. The yellow flag got in the way for a few riders, and with the clock running out, there were only a few laps to go.
One of the entrants was from Quatararo. #20 was higher in the first sector, higher in the second, and only 0.040 lower in the third. Crossing the line wasn’t quite the pole, but he was just 0.151 off the clock entering fourth in a supernatural performance on Saturday morning.
Polaris, after its impressive Q1 payout, stayed with Diggia. The #49 heads Bezecic by 0.070 with Marc Marquez – who was unable to make up the time on his way back – just 0.011 behind to complete the front row heading back to Brazil for MotoGP. The Q1 qualifiers lead the grid and Bezcicci’s Q1 final time is actually the fastest qualifying stage – but Digia’s pole position is only 0.002 off.
Grid
Behind Diggia, Bezecic and Marc Marquez, Quatararo leads the second row, just 0.070 ahead of the #93 and 0.069 ahead of Martin. Ai Ogura (Trackhouse MotoGP Team) takes P6 to complete that second row.
Fermin Aldeguer (BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP) returned from injury in P7 qualifying, ahead of eighth-placed Alex Marquez. Acosta would break down as he lined up on the third row in P9, looking to make a big advance from the lights to defend his championship lead.
Johan Zarco (CASTROL Honda LCR) takes P10, with Bagnaia unable to make it much further than his 1:18.122 – putting him P11 on the grid. Torak Razgatlioglu will line up P12 after his impressive exploits against Prama Pramac Yamaha MotoGP on Friday, and the Turkish rookie is just 0.300 ahead of Bagnaya.
The stage is set for a spectacular Tissot sprint for the first time in Brazil, with Acosta moving up, Bezecchi and Marc Marquez right at each other… Get the full qualifying results here and tune in from 15:00 local time (UTC -3)!
Post MotoGP: Di Giannantonio on pole position in Brazil It appeared at first Roadracing World Magazine | Motorcycle riding, racing and technology news.
 track, the Italian turned a 1:17.410. Not only was that good enough to top the 22-rider field, it was also his first pole since 2022. Marco Bezzecchi was the best of the rest with a 1:17.480 on his Aprilia Racing RS-GP26, and Marc Marquez claimed the third and final spot on the front row with a 1:17.491 on his Lenovo Team Ducati Desmosedici GP26. Row-two qualifiers included Monster Energy Yamaha’s Fabio Quartararo (1:17.561), Bezzecchi's teammate, Jorge Martin (1:17.630) and Trackhouse Aprilia's Ai Ogura (1:17.702). More from a press release issued by MotoGP: Di Giannantonio heads Bezzecchi after dramatic first qualifying in Brazil. The Q1 graduates steal the show, Marc Marquez takes third and Quartararo makes some magic to head Row 2. Fabio){kind=link}