Bagnaia secures a fifth pole of the season at Motorland Aragón, with Mir forced to miss the weekend
Italian rider Francesco Bagnaia, aboard the Ducati Desmosedici GP22, claimed his fifth pole of the MotoGP season at the Motorland Aragón Grand Prix. Spaniard Joan Mir, riding for Suzuki, led the official classification but did not travel to Japan the following week to contest the race there due to ongoing discomfort in his right ankle.
Bagnaia posted his best lap time of 1:46.069, shaving 0.253 seconds off the previous 2021 track record of 1:46.322 and establishing a new absolute track record for Aragón.
The top three on the starting grid for the Aragón GP reflected a strong Ducati presence: 1) Francesco Bagnaia, 2) Jack Miller, and 3) Enea Bastianini. A social media post from ESPN MotoGP captured the moment with a graphic showing this front row: Bagnaia, Miller, and Bastianini, accompanied by the caption and the ESPN logo.
Mir anticipated that he should have started from nineteenth on the official classification, but he chose to withdraw from both the Aragón race and the following weekend in Japan after consulting medical staff. The Palma de Mallorca native cited persistent discomfort in his right ankle, which made racing untenable at that level.
Mir did pass a health check the preceding Thursday, and initial signs suggested he could race despite residual soreness from the Austrian round. However, his condition worsened, compelling him to take a longer period of rest to recover fully, resulting in his withdrawal from Aragón and Japan.
In Aragón, Suzuki explained that Mir’s decision was driven by sensitivity and the need to feel comfortable on the motorcycle. The decision to skip the two grand prizes aimed to allow a complete recovery and a return to full strength.
The Aragón weekend delivered one of the season’s most compelling battles. Notable riders included Marc Márquez and Aleix Espargaró, with Márquez involved in a minor incident that Race Direction reviewed as part of the session. Fabio Di Giannantonio, riding a Ducati Desmosedici GP21, was also a prominent contender as the action unfolded. A highlight reel from ESPN MotoGP captured Márquez’s tight moments in Q1 and the performances of his rivals.
Aleix Espargaró gained an early edge in the first segment, slipping ahead of Márquez and Di Giannantonio. The moment underscored a tense start as the riders pushed to secure a strong lap. Espargaró’s teammate Maverick Viñales, another Spaniard, faced tougher luck in the opening session and could not capitalize on the early momentum. Viñales encountered a setback in the first sector, and with a yellow flag in effect, he found himself excluded from the second segment and lined up thirteenth on the grid.
Guevara’s Day at Aragón also saw Pol Espargaró, Márquez’s Repsol Honda teammate, struggle to improve his pace, slipping to eighth and ending up at the tail of the second standings as the last qualifier for the top ten on the grid. The day’s pace remained fast and fluid as riders searched for the best setup on the short straights and tight corners.
In the second session, Italian Enea Bastianini set the early benchmark with a 1:46.580, nearly half a second quicker than Bagnaia’s best from earlier that day. Yet the interlude of the session saw a flurry of laps and near-misses as the field pushed toward the limits of Aragón. Fabio Quartararo and others pressed hard, but the long back straight favored Ducati’s top-end speed, keeping Bagnaia in contention for pole as the session progressed.
As the final run approached, Aleix Espargaró surged from eleventh to second, shaving precious thousandths off the best times. However, the Ducati squad returned to the track with a vengeance: Bagnaia reclaimed the top spot, posting a new absolute track record of 1:46.322 and securing pole ahead of Miller and Bastianini. No rider could surpass Bagnaia’s mark in the closing laps, extending his pole tally for the season and boosting Ducati’s grip on the front row.
From a grid perspective, the front row featured Bagnaia, Miller, and Bastianini, with strong showings from the likes of Aleix Espargaró, Johann Zarco, Fabio Quartararo, Jorge Martín, and Alex Rins in the upper echelons. On the second row, Bezzecchi, Brad Binder, Miguel Oliveira, and Takaaki Nakagami lined up, signaling a competitive race ahead across a challenging Aragón circuit.
Notes from the day indicated a mix of strategic decisions and on-track drama—mirroring the season’s trend of Ducati’s speed versus rivals’ resilience. The Aragón Grand Prix remained a pivotal moment in the championship chase, particularly with Mir’s absence reshaping the points landscape and several key riders aiming to close the season with strong performances on home soil for many teams and fans across North America and around the world. Citations: ESPN MotoGP coverage and EFE photography contributed to the reportage of this event.