Ducati Sporting Club UK > News Items > Ducati Press Releases > Ducati secures another front-row lockout at the MotorLand Aragón as Bagnaia qualifies on pole at the Aragon GP ahead of Miller and Bastianini

[webteam]

MotoGP | Round 15 - Aragon GP 2022 | Saturday 17 September 2022

Ducati secures another front-row lockout at the MotorLand Aragón as Bagnaia qualifies on pole at the Aragon GP ahead of Miller and Bastianini

Pecco Bagnaia took a record-breaking pole position in qualifying for the Aragon GP, the fifteenth round of the 2022 MotoGP season held this weekend at the MotorLand Aragón, near Alcañiz (Spain).

Thanks to a formidable lap in 1:46.069, the Ducati Lenovo Team rider took his fifth pole position of the season as he improved by 253 thousandths the previous record dated back to 2021 and that already belonged to him. Jack Miller, who set the fastest lap time in FP3 this morning ahead of Bagnaia, closed qualifying just 90 thousandths behind his teammate. Thanks to a fastest lap in 1:46.159, the Australian rider was the second fastest. Therefore, he will start in tomorrow's race from the front row for the fourth consecutive time, the sixth this year.

Completing an all-Ducati front row (the fifth this season) is Enea Bastianini, who set the third fastest time with the Desmosedici GP of the Gresini Racing team. It is the third consecutive time this year that Bagnaia, Miller and Bastianini have taken one of the top three positions in qualifying.

Francesco Bagnaia (#63 Ducati Lenovo Team) - 1st (1:46.069)
"It was a beautiful qualifying session, and I think it was my best qualifying lap ever. It felt perfect: the bike followed me in every movement, and I had a lot of fun in the last two sectors. The feeling I have had with the Desmosedici GP lately is incredible. Today in Q2, we adopted a different strategy. I let some riders follow me so they could qualify between Quartararo and me. It could have been a double-edged sword, but fortunately, it went well. Tomorrow it will be crucial to get a good start: Quartararo and Bastianini are the two riders with the closest pace to mine, but right now, I know I have a competitive package at my disposal, so we can definitely have a good race."

Jack Miller (#43 Ducati Lenovo Team) - 2nd (1:46.159)
"I'm thrilled with this other good result in qualifying. Lately, I've been feeling really comfortable on the bike, and I'm having a lot of fun riding my Desmosedici GP, which almost seems to be a part of me. Here at Aragón, in the beginning, we suffered from the lack of grip on the asphalt, but compared to yesterday, we improved, adapting better to the track conditions. Now we have to understand the race pace, but we've done a great job, and we're ready for tomorrow."

The Ducati Lenovo Team will be back on track tomorrow at 9:40am CEST for a 20-minute warm-up before tackling the race at 2pm local time over 23 laps.