Ducati Sporting Club UK > News Items > Ducati Press Releases > Ducati secures another front-row lockout in Buriram. Pecco Bagnaia closes third in qualifying for the Thai GP. Bezzecchi takes pole ahead of Martin

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MotoGP | Round 17 - Thai GP 2022 | Saturday 1 October 2022

Ducati secures another front-row lockout in Buriram. Pecco Bagnaia closes third in qualifying for the Thai GP. Bezzecchi takes pole ahead of Martin, while Jack Miller finishes seventh

For the ninth time this season, Pecco Bagnaia will start from the front row of the grid as he closed qualifying for the Thai GP, scheduled for tomorrow at the Chang International Circuit in Buriram, with the third fastest time.

In Q2, held this afternoon, the Ducati Lenovo Team rider was, in fact, able to set a time of 1:29.775, closing just 104 thousandths from the pole. Marco Bezzecchi secured the first position, also setting the new circuit record in 1:29.671 with the Desmosedici GP of the VR46 Racing Team. Jorge Martin completes the front row; the Spaniard closed second with the Ducati of the Pramac Racing team, 21 thousandths behind his fellow Ducati rider. It is the sixth time for the 2022 season that the front row of the grid will be occupied by three Ducati bikes. The Borgo Panigale-based manufacturer has taken 13 pole positions in 2022 so far with seven different riders.

On the other hand, Jack Miller will start from the third row, from the seventh spot on the grid. The Australian rider, who has been consistently competitive at the Thai track since yesterday's first session, was hindered by a technical problem in qualifying, which did not allow him to complete his second "time attack" attempt and forced him to pit in the final minutes of Q2.

Francesco Bagnaia (#63 Ducati Lenovo Team) - 3rd (1:29.775)
"The main goal of this qualifying was the front row, and we achieved it, so I am satisfied. Unfortunately, I couldn't get a clean lap, and with the first soft tyre, I didn't feel good. Anyway, the most important session for us today was FP4: with a tyre that had already done 26 laps, we managed to set a good lap time, two tenths slower than this morning's best lap with new tyres. We have a good pace, so I'm confident we can have a good race again tomorrow."

Jack Miller (#43 Ducati Lenovo Team) - 7th (1:30.106)
"Unfortunately, in qualifying, we had a problem with the bike after our second exit from the pits, and when I came back in, there was no time to go out again with the second bike. In any case, I think we can do well tomorrow, even starting from seventh. In FP4, I was very comfortable with the bike: we completed 18 laps and had a good pace, so I am satisfied. It will be important to make a few passes in the beginning. I expect a very demanding race because of the high temperatures."

The Ducati Lenovo Team riders will be back on track tomorrow at 10:40am for the warm-up, while the Thai GP will get underway at 3:00pm local time (10:00am in Italy) over a 26-lap distance.