MotoGP: Quartararo wins fantastic fourth Jerez pole

“It was a very fast and hard fall at Turn 7, we knew that the first crash of the season would come, but I chose maybe one of the worst corners to have this first crash. When you push for a fast lap, you don’t think about the risks and after being conservative yesterday, today was about attacking. The impact against the air fence was at a very high speed and thanks to the air fence I am here. I went to the hospital just for some further checks to be sure of my condition, and it was all clear. This crash impacted my Qualifying, it made me choose the soft front to feel a bit safer, but this was the wrong choice because the limit throughout qualifying was the front. It’s a shame because I was feeling strong and today was the first day I had really started to ‘feel’ the bike.”

All attention then turned to Q2, with Miller, tucked in behind World Champion Joan Mir (Team Suzuki Ecstar), setting the first benchmark with a 1:37.244. But that was almost instantly bettered by Quartararo, the 22-year-old producing a 1:36.807 with his first attempt. The Frenchman was nearly knocked off top spot by ex-teammate Morbidelli though, with the Italian getting to within 0.005 seconds of provisional pole position. However, the World Championship leader was the owner of the best offering from the first flying laps.

Less than three minutes remained and all 12 premier class riders were now out on track, with brand-new soft rubber thrown in the back for good measure. For the most part, though, nobody was able to muster up anything to find an improvement, never mind challenge the factory Yamaha man for pole position. That was until Jack Miller found himself another tow, this time from Ducati Lenovo teammate Francesco Bagnaia. The pair of Bologna bullets exited the final corner together, the Australian glued to the rear wheel of the Italian’s Desmosedici, and he was able to jump up to third on the timesheets. That nudged Takaaki Nakagami (LCR Honda Idemitsu) off the front row and down to fourth.

Any question marks over if someone could cause late drama and steal a fourth straight pole from Quartararo were well and truly put to bed when he found yet another improvement, a 1:36.755, with his final flying lap. The front row wasn’t settled yet though, with Bagnaia, having detached his teammate, throwing one final time attack at it. Could he knock Miller off of the front row? No, but he only just missed out. A tenth of a second was the difference but he was forced to settle for fourth. Sunday’s front row of the grid, therefore, will be Quartararo,