MONTMELO, Spain – Franco Morbidelli earned the first MotoGP pole of his career with an impressive drive during qualifying Saturday at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.
Morbidelli impressed with a stunning 1:38.798 lap to give him the pole over Petronas Yamaha SRT teammate Fabio Quartararo by more than two tenths of a second.
Valentino Rossi, who announced earlier in the day he’d remain in MotoGP with the Petronas Yamaha team next year, qualified third to give Yamaha a sweep of the front row.
Jack Miller, who advanced from Q1, qualified a solid fourth for Pramac Racing to lead the second row. Maverick Vinales qualified fifth, followed by Johann Zarco in the sixth spot to complete the second row.
Pol Espargaro qualified seventh for Red Bull KTM, followed by Suzuki’s Joan Mir, Ducati’s Danilo Petrucci and Red Bull KTM’s Brad Binder.
Andrea Dovizioso, who entered the weekend as the championship leader for Ducati, failed to advance from Q1 and will start Sunday’s race from the 17th starting position.