Ducati Sporting Club UK > News Items > Ducati Press Releases > Front-row start for Miller, third in qualifying for the Spanish Grand Prix

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MotoGP | Round 4 - Spanish GP 2021 | Saturday 1 May 2021

Front-row start for Miller, third in qualifying for the Spanish Grand Prix. Bagnaia, fourth, will start from Row 2 at Jerez

Jack Miller will start from the front row in the Spanish Grand Prix scheduled for tomorrow at the Circuito de Jerez - Ángel Nieto as he closed third in qualifying today.

After ending as eleventh fastest this morning in FP3, which saw once again close gaps, the Australian finished among the ten riders qualified directly to take part in Q2, as Morbidelli's lap time was cancelled later. In the qualifying held this afternoon, the Ducati Lenovo Team rider closed with a fastest lap in 1'36.860, taking the third spot on the grid on the front row.

Also, Francesco Bagnaia took part directly into Q2 as he was seventh overall at the end of FP3 this morning. The Italian set the fourth fastest time in this afternoon qualifying, just as the chequered flag came out, closing 205 thousandths off Quartararo's pole position and conquering the start from the second row of the grid in tomorrow's race.

Jack Miller (#43, Ducati Lenovo Team) - 3rd (1:36.860)
"Starting from the front row here will definitely be a big help: Jerez is a very tight and technical track where it's quite difficult to overtake and, if I can get a good start, I can then try to manage the race in the best way possible, and stay calm especially in the first laps. After a complicated start to the season, it is a relief to be back at the front for me. Obviously, this was only qualifying, and we still have the race tomorrow to look forward to, but for now, I'm happy to have been able to tick this first target off the list."

Francesco Bagnaia (#63, Ducati Lenovo Team) - 4th (1:36.960)
“It has been a pretty difficult day. This morning, due to another yellow flag, I went close to miss the access to Q2 but fortunately, I’d managed to complete one final lap and end in the top ten. In qualifying, I closed fourth, which is a good result considering that I wasn’t able to take full advantage of the soft tyre. In FP4, we worked on the race pace, and I set a good lap time with a tyre that had done already 26 laps. For the race, we are still missing something, but I am sure that tomorrow morning in the warm-up, we will make another step forward”.

Tomorrow at 9:20 am (CEST), the Ducati Lenovo Team will return to the track for the final 20-minute warm-up, while the Spanish Grand Prix race (25 laps) is scheduled for 2 pm.