Ducati Sporting Club UK > News Items > Ducati Press Releases > 1-2 for the Ducati Lenovo Team in qualifying at Aragón. Bagnaia takes Ducati's 50th MotoGP pole position and sets a new all-time lap record.

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MotoGP | Round 13 - Aragon GP 2021 | Saturday 11 September 2021

1-2 for the Ducati Lenovo Team in qualifying at Aragón. Bagnaia takes Ducati's 50th MotoGP pole position and sets a new all-time lap record. Miller, second, will start alongside his teammate in tomorrow's race

The qualifying for the Aragon GP, held this afternoon at the MotorLand Aragón (Spain) and scene of tomorrow's thirteenth Grand Prix for the 2021 MotoGP World Championship, will go down in Ducati’s history. Thanks to a new all-time lap record set in qualifying in 1:46.322, Pecco Bagnaia secured the 50th pole position in MotoGP for the Bologna-based manufacturer.

Fourth at the end of the first three free practice sessions, the Italian rider had managed to get through directly to Q2 this morning, also proving to have an excellent race pace later, in FP4. In qualifying, Pecco completed a superb lap in his time attack, improving by 313 thousandths the previous circuit record, which dated back to 2015 and belonged to Marc Márquez.

Completing the picture-perfect qualifying for the Italian team, Jack Miller, the fastest yesterday and fifth overall after FP3 this morning, posted the second-fastest time (1:46.688). Therefore, he will start alongside his teammate in tomorrow's race.

Francesco Bagnaia (#63 Ducati Lenovo Team) - 1st (1:46.322)
"I'm thrilled because, for the first time, I was able to be fast here at the MotorLand Aragón. I felt comfortable riding my Desmosedici GP from the first sessions, and we didn't have to make any setup changes. We just kept on lapping, improving steadily and, in FP4 this afternoon, we were also really competitive. In qualifying, I set an incredible lap time and knowing that I have beaten a record that has remained intact since 2015 gives me a lot of energy. Hopefully, we can continue this positive trend also in the race tomorrow.”

Jack Miller (#43 Ducati Lenovo Team) - 2nd (1:46.688)
"It's a fantastic day for Ducati, and I'm delighted, both for Pecco and for me! We have made great steps forward, considering that last year we both couldn't make it past Q1 and tomorrow, we'll start first and second on the grid! I feel comfortable on the bike, and I'm happy with my pace, so I am ready for tomorrow's race. I expect a very close race with many riders ready to fight for the victory, so we'll have to try to adopt a smart strategy and manage well the tyres".

The Ducati Lenovo Team will be back on track tomorrow at 9:40 am for the warm-up, while the Aragon GP race will get underway on a 23-lap distance at 2 pm local time.