Francesco Bagnaia (1) had to shake his fellow Ducati riders off his tail in final qualifying, but when it mattered, he put the hammer down and nailed pole and a new record with the circuit's first 2:01 lap. Photo by Michael Gougis.
Francesco Bagnaia pushed hard, ignored the pressure from his fellow Ducati racers and set a new lap record to snag pole position for the MotoGP races at Circuit of The Americas. Jorge Martin, who was quickest on Friday, crashed twice in the final qualifying session. Riders continued to complain about the surface of the track, saying it was not only bumpy but deteriorated.
Friday fast man Jorge Martin (89) crashed twice in qualifying, ending up 12th on the grid. Photo by Michael Gougis.
Alex Rins (42) continued his stunning form on the LCR Honda RC213V, taking second on the grid. Photo by Michael Gougis.
Johann Zarco (5) bounced back from a Friday crash to power to the top of the timesheet in the first qualifying session, but was only able to climb to ninth in final qualifying. Photo by Michael Gougis.
Diogo Moreira (10) was quickest on Saturday morning in the Moto3 practice. Photo by Michael Gougis.
Note the deteriorated, wavey pavement at the apex of Turn 12, at the end of the long back straight at COTA. For the MotoGP riders, this was bad enough for them to use words like “destroyed” and “a disaster.” KTM factory rider Jack Miller said, “Trying to brake from 350 kph (217.48 mph) into a first-gear corner like this…” and then just shook his head. Photo by Michael Gougis.
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