San Marino MotoGP: Jack Miller Secures First Pole Of The Season In Wet Conditions
Australian rider Jack Miller, aboard the Ducati Desmosedici GP22, claimed pole in the season’s opening dry-lap after navigating highly variable weather during the San Marino Grand Prix weekend. Miller has become a specialist in conditions that reward careful classification runs, and this pole marks a strong start as teams prepared for race day under shifting track grip.
Miller is the eighth rider to take pole this season. He sits alongside fellow Australian teammates and a growing contingent of Ducati riders in the starting grid including Francesco Pecco Bagnaia on the GP22, Enea Bastianini on the GP21, and Marco Bezzecchi on the GP22. Bezzecchi was edged by a penalty that knocked him back after an incident that involved endangering Spaniard Alex Marquez, who was riding the Honda RC213V during free practice on day one.
Despite Ducati’s strong presence at the front, the factory squad faces pressure from world champion Fabio Quartararo, who sits as the current world leader on the Yamaha YZR M1. Quartararo started from an eighth-place position, a disadvantage he will look to overcome in the San Marino showdown.
The Aprilia pairing of Spaniards Maverick Viñales and Aleix Espargaró also made good progress under rain-affected practice sessions. The track conditions saw rain flags waved through much of the fourth free practice, forcing teams to assess rider condition and the feasibility of risks on the wet surface before considering any bold setups.
Quartararo, the reigning champion, pushed hard to gain ground on the Ducati-dominated field. He faced relentless pressure as Ducati riders kept him under constant scrutiny and attempted to challenge his pace whenever the track offered a dry-inclining window.
Maverick Viñales was quickest early in the session on the Aprilia RS-GP, finishing ahead of his teammate Aleix Espargaró. The pace behind them was set by Quartararo, with the Ducatis pressing from the front. The fight for pole began to crystallize as riders tested the limits on wet tyres, with most of the leaderboard slowly shifting as the track began to dry in the latter stages of the session.
The first classification was crucial for assessing which riders could improve their positions in the starting grid. Spaniard Jorge Martín on a Ducati, Pol Espargaró on the Repsol Honda RC213V, and Alex Márquez on the Honda RC213V were among those weighing options as the session progressed. A late fall for Martín forced him back to the workshop to switch to the second bike, while other Ducatis—Bezzecchi, Luca Marini, Fabio Di Giannantonio—considered their setups, with Andrea Dovizioso in the mix as he prepared for what could be his final MotoGP championship campaign on a factory machine. All were weighing the balance between securing a favorable position and taking sensible risks in changing conditions.
Weather at the venue dictated the flow of the session, and as rain intensified some riders found themselves unable to push through on the wet surface. Bezzecchi and Marini fell back in the ranking, while Jorge Martín endured a moment of frustration after a crash that curtailed his run and left him with a difficult starting position for the San Marino race. Alex Márquez started from a lower tier, and Pol Espargaró lined up in a less favorable position than hoped, with Raul Fernandez and others facing similar challenges on the field.
All riders began by calibrating the circuit state before moving to the second classification with a more stable, non-rainy window in view. Those who chose to start on wet tyres did so to test the limits as the track began to dry. However, most teams planned a switch strategy to adapt to the evolving surface once the workshop front open signal came on. Only a few riders—Miguel Oliveira of Portugal on the KTM RC16, Bezzecchi and Bastianini on the Ducatis, and the early pacesetter Miller—were ready to gamble on dry conditions as the session wound down.
The battle for pole intensified in the closing moments, with riders like Zarco, Viñales, Bagnaia, and Quartararo all joining the late push as the asphalt gradually dried. The mood in the pits grew tense as the clock ticked away and the grid began to take shape around the dry-lap pace that emerged from Miller and Oliveira. Bezzecchi pressed hard, aiming to secure a high starting slot, while Bastianini sought to maintain his momentum and restore Ducati’s dominance in the fight for top grid positions.
In the end, Jack Miller clinched the pole position, his first of the season, with Bagnaia forced to surrender three places due to a post-session penalty. Bastianini took third, and Bezzecchi slipped one more spot further back. The second place position went to Maverick Viñales, with Bagnaia and Johann Zarco occupying the next slots, followed by Luca Marini, Fabio Quartararo, and Aleix Espargaró in fourth. The field continued to stack, with Miguel Oliveira, Franco Morbidelli, and Alex Rins rounding out a condensed and highly competitive top ten. The dynamics of the session reflected the evolving weather and the ongoing battle among the premier class contenders, with each rider aware that the San Marino Grand Prix would demand both speed and adaptability on a changing track. [citation needed: MotoGP Official Results, San Marino Grand Prix qualifying]
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