MotoGP Dutch GP: Bezzecchi leads all-Ducati front row in qualifying

Having been fastest in all three practice sessions, he beat reigning champion Francesco Bagnaia and team-mate Luca Marini as Ducati sealed the front row. 

First up, though, Johann Zarco and Miguel Oliveira, arguably the favourites to make it through from Q1, did exactly that as they topped the session and joined the big guns in Q2.  

Zarco’s time of 1m31.993s, set in the early part of Q1, survived through to the chequered flag, with only Oliveira’s 1m32.087s lap coming within a tenth following the mid-session lull.  

A number of potential late attacks by others were disturbed by Marc Marquez falling with just a minute to go, which brought out yellow flags in sector one.  

The troubled Honda rider was involved in a nasty misunderstanding with Ducati’s Enea Bastianini. He ran into the back of the Italian, who in turn was trying to stay out of everybody’s way following a big moment of his own. 

The fall means Marquez will start 17th on the grid.  

The Pramac Ducati team had a terrible start to Q2, with Zarco wheeling an apparently hobbled bike away from the track and Martin losing the rear end at the Turn 5 hairpin behind the pits. It was a convenient spot to fall, as the evidently uninjured Spaniard was able to get back to the garage and jump on another bike. Zarco was also able to continue the session. 

By the 10-minute mark, with most contenders in the pits following a first run, Marco Bezzecchi had set a benchmark time at 1m31.874s. His nearest challenger at that point was Bagnaia, almost exactly two tenths behind and also having run a hard front tyre.   

As the riders headed back out for a final flurry of laps, it was Fabio Quartararo who laid down the first serious time with a 1m31.770s.  

Bezzecchi then hit back with a 1m31.472s with four minutes on the clock – a time that would prove good enough for pole.  

Bagnaia came closest to the VR46 Ducati with a 1m31.704s time moments later, but then ran off the track and ultimately failed to improve.  

Marini set a 1m31.630s lap to complete the front row, but then ended his session in the gravel after dropping his VR46 Ducati. 

Once again, that meant yellow flags were a feature at the end of the session, helping Bezzecchi to keep his place at the top. 

Yamaha’s Quartararo delivered on the promise of some decent pace in FP3 by coming in fourth-fastest, a superb starting position in the context of the team’s year. 

Brad Binder was fifth for KTM, with the Aprilia pairing of Aleix Espargaro and Maverick Vinales next up. 

The Pramac Ducatis had to make do with eighth and tenth positions following their early strife. They will be split on the grid by Gresini Ducati's Alex Marquez. 

Oliveira will start 11th, and Jack Miller an unusually poor 12th on the factory KTM. The Australian wasn’t able to improve on his first run in the 15-minute session.  

MotoGP Dutch GP - Q2 results:

Cla	Rider		Bike	Time	Gap
1	Marco Bezzecchi		Ducati	1'31.472
2	Francesco Bagnaia		Ducati	1'31.533	0.061
3	Luca Marini		Ducati	1'31.630	0.158
4	Fabio Quartararo		Yamaha	1'31.671	0.199
5	Brad Binder		KTM	1'31.704	0.232
6	Aleix Espargaro		Aprilia	1'31.812	0.340
7	Maverick Viñales		Aprilia	1'31.837	0.365
8	Johann Zarco		Ducati	1'31.881	0.409
9	Alex Marquez		Ducati	1'31.898	0.426
10	Jorge Martin		Ducati	1'32.170	0.698
11	Miguel Oliveira		Aprilia	1'32.174	0.702
12	Jack Miller		KTM	1'32.715	1.243
View full results

MotoGP Dutch GP - Q1 results:

Cla	Rider		Bike	Time	Gap
1	Johann Zarco		Ducati	1'31.993
2	Miguel Oliveira		Aprilia	1'32.087	0.094
3	Fabio Di Giannantonio		Ducati	1'32.185	0.192
4	Takaaki Nakagami		Honda	1'32.497	0.504
5	Franco Morbidelli		Yamaha	1'32.530	0.537
6	Raúl Fernández		Aprilia	1'32.671	0.678
7	Marc Marquez		Honda	1'32.672	0.679
8	Enea Bastianini		Ducati	1'32.844	0.851
9	Lorenzo Savadori		Aprilia	1'33.008	1.015
10	Stefan Bradl		Honda	1'33.040	1.047
11	Augusto Fernandez		KTM	1'33.082	1.089
12	Iker Lecuona		Honda	1'33.088	1.095
13	Jonas Folger		KTM	1'33.300	1.307
View full results