Yamaha emerged dominant at Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli in Q2 on Saturday as Maverick Viñales (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) took his second pole position of the season. The Spaniard set a new record at 1:31.411, beating Franco Morbidelli (Petronas Yamaha SRT) by 0.312 seconds. Third place was taken by Championship leader Fabio Quartararo (Petronas Yamaha SRT) and fourth by home hero Valentino Rossi (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP).
Viñales was the first rider to set a flying lap time in the second qualifying session with a solid opening time of 1:32.130. But Alex Rins (Team Suzuki Ecstar) sat behind Viñales on the first lap and the Spaniard ran on at the end of the back straight, as Q1’s fastest rider Pol Espagraro (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) crashed at Turn 15.
Rossi was further behind from Quartararo and soon the nine-time World Champion was provisional P1 sending the 10,000 Misano fans wild. But Quartararo soon sent Rossi down to second with a 1:31.791.
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There were no mistakes from Viñales in the final half of the lap to take the chequered flag, setting a new Misano lap record, which previously rested with Jorge Lorenzo. Viñales was nearly four-tenths faster than Morbidelli as the Italian settled for a second on home soil, his best qualifying result of the season.
Completing the front row, Quartararo was just 0.380 behind Viñales’ lap time. Rossi heads the second row in P4 with his best Saturday afternoon result of 2020. Joining Rossi on the second row is Miller who improves on his last lap to get the better of injured teammate Francesco Bagnaia (Pramac Racing). Both Pramac riders will be upbeat about qualifying in San Marino.
Top 10:
1. Maverick Viñales (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) – 1:31.411
2. Franco Morbidelli (Petronas Yamaha SRT) + 0.312
3. Fabio Quartararo (Petronas Yamaha SRT) + 0.380
4. Valentino Rossi (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) + 0.466
5. Jack Miller (Pramac Racing) + 0.641
6. Francesco Bagnaia (Pramac Racing) + 0.643
7. Alex Rins (Team Suzuki Ecstar) + 0.679
8. Joan Mir (Team Suzuki Ecstar) + 0.691
9. Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team) + 0.773
10. Johann Zarco (Esponsorama Racing) + 0.807