The Italian Enea Bastianini rode a Ducati Desmosedici GP21 to lead the so-called Ducati Armada in qualifying at the Red Bull Ring, with Francesco Bagnaia following closely on the GP22. France’s Fabio Quartararo, the championship leader on a Yamaha YZR M1, sits in a strong position as the session unfolds.
For Quartararo, the challenge is clear. Aleix Espargaró on the Aprilia RS-GP faces a difficult task, needing a clean run amid a pack of four Ducatis early in the session after a tough start that put him from the front row back several places on the grid.
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In the fourth free practice, observers noted Quartararo asserting his control over key rivals, including Bagnaia. The Italian pressed hard, nearly causing a dramatic moment at Turn nine, as the two battled for position. Elsewhere on the track, Aprilia riders Aleix Espargaró and Maverick Viñales took advantage of some technical moments to welcome an unexpected pit visit from a renowned former Formula 1 world champion, Fernando Alonso, into their garages. This session often helps riders settle into a rhythm for the race ahead.
The practice saw Bastianini establishing a clear pace, with a Ducati trio emerging at the front including Bagnaia and Luca Marini. Quartararo held fourth, Espargaró was tenth, and Viñales found himself in sixteenth as the session concluded.
Espargaró confronted a tougher path, failing to secure a direct pass into the second segment. He left the track determined to rebound, perhaps drawing motivation from a difficult earlier day and a lingering left-foot calcaneal issue that challenged him throughout the weekend.
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In a second-level fight, Aleix Espargaró showed resilience, delivering strong laps in succession as he aimed to push toward the second row. His effort also had the side effect of energizing his brother Pol Espargaró and shaping the trajectory of the session. Neither the Repsol Honda rider nor the others managed to mount a pace that would shake the championship leader, who has been central to the Austrian drama on home soil for the weekend.
Onlookers watched as the Espargaró brothers traded positions on track, a scene underscored by the quick laps from Jack Miller, the standout Ducati rider, as well as Bastianini and Joan Mir on the Suzuki. Quartararo remained in the mix, underscoring the tight competition across the top class.
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The French rider Johann Zarco also affected the field as the final minutes began, his performance pushing Espargaró into a tougher position right behind the leading Ducati and Mir on the Suzuki. Bagnaia surged into action on his sixth lap, with Quartararo clocking a notable time of 1:28.796 to sit close to Miller, and the race pace within reach of the front runners. Yet Bastianini seized the moment, earning his first MotoGP pole to place the Ducati pair of Bagnaia and Miller in a strong row, with Zarco and Mir nearby in the first row mix.
Espargaró finished ninth in the third row, joined by teammates Viñales and Mir. In the mix behind them, Fabio di Giannantonio, Alex Rins on the Suzuki, and Brad Binder on the KTM shaped the remainder of a tense qualifying session that kept fans guessing into the final minutes.
Note: This recap follows the weekend’s racing narrative with attribution to the organizing bodies and race officials as needed, while avoiding external links and maintaining a concise record of results for fans and followers of MotoGP. [Attribution: Official MotoGP results and press materials].
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