BARCELONA, Spain – Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP‘s Fabio Quartararo continued his qualifying hot streak with his fifth-straight MotoGP pole Saturday at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.
Quartararo let the rest of the Q2 rider field head out on track before him, opting instead to wait for clear track. He set a first flying lap that was already fast enough for provisional pole and went on to improve it to a 1:38.853 to keep hold of the top spot.
With four minutes left he went back on track for another run, but multiple riders crashed and his second run was aborted. Despite this, Quartararo held on to the pole with a .037-second margin over Ducati’s Jack Miller in second. Johann Zarco will join them on the front row of the grid.
“Qualifying was great. I did a great first run, but actually my best lap wasn‘t that perfect,” Quartararo. “I thought that I could improve a little bit more. On my second run, I had prepared the rear tyre really well, but then I was riding under yellow flags in sector three. Still, the most important thing is that we are on the front row in P1. I‘m so happy to see the fans back at the circuit. I think that‘s giving everyone a boost. Thanks to the team, and thanks to everyone, and let‘s enjoy the race tomorrow.”
Miguel Oliveira qualified fourth to lead row two, followed by Franco Morbidelli in fifth and Maverick Vinales in sixth. Aleix Espargaro, Brad Binder, Francesco Bagnaia and reigning MotoGP champion Joan Mir completed the top-10.