So far this weekend, the Márquez brothers have been challenging Marco Bezzecchi for the top spot. As the MotoGP riders face the Misano World Circuit, Aprilia Racing and Ducati Lenovo Team looked to be the ones to beat. Ahead of qualifying, FP2 saw Marc Márquez lead the way, ahead of the Aprilia duo. But ultimately, Bezzecchi took pole position for the San Marino Grand Prix.
Fernández Leads Qualifying 1
To start, Qualifying One was the chance for riders to advance and fight for pole position. Francesco Bagnaia came out and set the benchmark, his first lap being a 1:31.161. Raúl Fernández initially joined him in the advancing places, however his lap was deleted due to exceeding track limits.
With the tyres lasting for multiple attempts, riders stayed on track to continue. Bagnaia brought his time into the 1:30’s. However, Fernández went even quicker to go P1. Coming into Turn 1 following his lap, the #25 had a moment, but was able to save it and prevent a crash.
As Run 1 ended, Fabio Quartararo then relegated the Ducati Lenovo rider, going P2 and into the advancing places. When Run 2 began, many riders, including Bagnaia, had their first laps deleted for going over the shortcut. The #63 then went wide at Turn 14 on his next lap, which saw the attempt deleted for exceeding track limits. Unable to improve, Bagnaia qualified 14th, his career-worst for the San Marino Grand Prix.
Whilst Fernández was unable to improve his lap time, Fermín Aldeguer could. The #54 went into P2, 0.145 seconds adrift of his fellow Spaniard. In his final lap, he was able to get even closer. However, whilst it was enough to advance, he was still 0.042 seconds off the top spot. No one else could improve their lap, meaning Fernández and Aldeguer would advance get the chance to fight for pole around Misano.
A New Lap Record at Misano in Q2
After Q1, it was time to fight for the pole position. Track position is key around Misano, so riders were aiming to get the best starting place that they could achieve. The 12 riders were straight out onto the track, aiming to set a banker lap. Álex Márquez set the benchmark, 1:30.733, whilst his brother had his first lap deleted. After showing pace throughout practice, Bezzecchi’s banker saw him go P7 and fall to P9.
With ten minutes remaining, Á Márquez crashed at Turn 8. M. Márquez managed to avoid the yellow flag in Sector 2 and he went into provisional pole position, 0.139 seconds up on Franco Morbidelli who slotted inbetween the brothers. Fabio Di Giannantonio briefly took provisional pole, before Bezzecchi became the first rider to set a lap in the 1:29’s. This was the first ever 1:29 lap around Misano, setting a new lap record of 1:29.982.
Following Run 1, Bezzecchi was in the prime position, nearly half a second up on the field. After advancing into the second session, Aldeguer went P2 but was unable to get under 1:30. Di Giannantonio then crashed at Turn 4. Once again, Márquez narrowly missed the yellow flag and went up to P2, just two tenths behind the #72. As the chequered flag fell, Á. Márquez had another crash.
Bezzecchi Takes Pole in San Marino
Ultimately, no one could challenge Bezzecchi’s lap record. The home hero will consequently start from the prime position. He lines up ahead of one of his title rivals and Aldeguer. Championship leader Martín lines up on row two, between Di Giannantonio and Luca Marini.
“I feel good, I’m happy, I’m satisfied about qualifying. Overall, about all the morning, it was important to try to settle up because this qualifying I was always in the wrong place. I met a lot of yellow flags and fortunately in the first stint I stayed on track one lap more compared to the plan and it was the right choice because I was able to make a good lap. But after, in the second stint, I didn’t have any clear lap, yellow flag, then Zarco ruined my only no-yellow-flag lap. So I couldn’t even try to make a little bit better, but I’m very happy, satisfied about the job from the guys. And now we can focus on the races.”
~ Marco Bezzecchi on his home pole position.
Currently, it looks like a replay of 2025 with the Aprilia rider on pole. Last year saw him and Márquez battle for the win, will that happen again this weekend? The #72 is still after a sprint win in 2026, can he do it in front of his home crowd? The San Marino Grand Prix continues with the Tissot Sprint.