Marc Márquez dominated Q2 at Motegi but his best time was ultimately canceled, giving Pedro Acosta his first pole ahead of Pecco Bagnaia, while Jorge Martín suffered a crash in Q2.
Q1 – Morbidelli and Quartararo reach the second part
Two places remained to be taken in Q2, coveted by the two French people in the field, Fabio Quartararo and Johann Zarco, who fell in EL2 just before the start of qualifying, but also Franco Morbidelli, only one of the eight Ducati representatives not to be directly qualified for this part, Jack Miller or Aleix Espargaró.
The session started on a dry track but during the drivers’ first fast lap, the track marshals started waving the flag indicating a few drops of rain. An alert which absolutely did not bother Miller, who quickly took a clear advantage over the rest of the field. The KTM rider completed his first stint ahead of Raúl Fernández, Zarco and Espargaró. Quartararo was only sixth and Morbidelli only eighth, after a big jolt on his first fast lap.
After passing through the pit box, the drivers returned to the track, still on slicks as raindrops remained rare. A sign of the good conditions, Morbidelli was even able to take the lead with more than half a second ahead of Miller. Espargaró moved up to second place, before being overtaken by Quartararo.
Morbidelli decided to return to his garage, believing that he would not do better, opening up opportunities for his rivals… which they were unable to seize. Miller, followed by many drivers, only moved up to third and Quartararo looked like he could take the lead but made a mistake. Morbidelli and Quartararo finally retained the qualifying places for Q2, the fourth in a row for the Frenchman.
Raúl Fernández took third place, synonymous with 13th place on the starting grid, ahead of Miller, Espargaró and Zarco, Honda’s best representative on the circuit owned by the manufacturer. Joan Mir will start from 17th place, while Álex Rins will only be 19th, ahead of Luca Marini.
Note that Lorenzo Savadori, 12th in this Q1, replaces an injured Miguel Oliveira, and that Remy Gardner pilots a third Yamaha, entered as a wild card.
MotoGP Japanese GP – Q1
Q2 – Márquez dominant but Acosta on pole
Pole seemed promised to Ducati, who had their eight representatives among the 12 drivers present in Q2, but the few drops of rain, always present, brought their share of uncertainty. The drivers rushed onto the track. Marc Márquez overtook Pecco Bagnaia on the opening lap, to ensure he was first on track, and the Italian, clearly on eggshells, was also overtaken by Álex Márquez and Jorge Martín on his first fast lap.
Marc Márquez immediately took the lead ahead of Morbidelli and Brad Binder, a rare rider not to have the Ducati in this Q2, while Martín was fourth… and Bagnaia only 12th. Acosta was a modest ninth at this stage of the session.
In his second fast lap, the leader had a big scare but he was able to stay on his bike and clearly improve his reference. Acosta moved up to second place, but 0″282 behind, and Martín was third, 0″706 behind Márquez, despite contact with the latter’s brother, Álex Márquez! Still in great difficulty, Bagnaia preferred to return to his garage.
Marc Márquez ended his stint, leaving the drivers to battle it out for first place. Acosta took power, ahead of Enea Bastianini and Marco Bezzecchi. Fabio Di Giannantonio took advantage of one more lap to take fourth place, ahead of Marc Márquez, Binder and Martín. The session finally offered a few moments of respite when these drivers returned to their pits.
Back on track, Bagnaia moved up to second place, despite big movements on his bike, with a delay of 0″038 on Acosta. His second fast lap gave him an advantage of 0″494, for only a few moments since Marc Márquez did better, pushing his future teammate back to 0″396, thanks to a 1’42″868 which then gave him the track record, never before has a driver driven under the 1’43 mark at Motegi. Maverick Viñales took third place.
And Martin in all this? The championship leader was only ninth and crashed at high speed at turn 9, losing any chance of pole.
At the end of the session, Acosta took second place and Bagnaia made a small mistake. Márquez’s pole seemed validated… but his best lap was ultimately erased for a run off the track at turn 4, dropping him to ninth place.
Pedro Acosta thus inherited pole, his first in MotoGP, while he is mathematically assured of being named best rookie this season since this Saturday. This is only KTM’s fourth MotoGP pole, the first since Portimão 2020.
Pecco Bagnaia, out of fuel at the end of the session, and Maverick Viñales will accompany him on the front row. Enea Bastianini took fourth place ahead of Brad Binder, Franco Morbidelli, Fabio Di Giannantonio, Marco Bezzecchi and therefore Marc Márquez.
His brother Álex Márquez will be tenth on the grid ahead of Jorge Martín, who made his task difficult for the two races of the weekend with his fall, and Fabio Quartararo, who was unable to defend his chances in the second part of the qualifications.
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