Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo) – the Italian was the fastest man on the track on Friday, but his time of 1’37.209 suggests that Saturday will be a lot faster. At least Fabio Quartararo confirmed this view and is convinced that he can improve a good bit on the second day.

A special Saturday awaits the decisions in qualifying

When Marc Marquez did without a fast lap at the end of the second free practice session, many were amazed. In the end he was on P16, and we checked for similar bad placements in the 3 years before his injury. And lo and behold, in Jerez of all places he was only to be found in position 14 in 2017. The only worse result since then was P17 at the Barcelona GP two years later. In FP3 it was enough the day after for P9 and in qualifying for starting position 2. In the last 3 years before his injury he had an average position between 4.4 and 4.8 in FP2. So there is currently nothing to suggest that his fans have cause for concern. With Valentino Rossi we are less sure about this after position 21 on Friday. The old master was still right at the front on the second weekend of the previous year. With Jack Miller, Joan Mir and Pol Espargaró, another 3 pilots are significantly further behind than expected before the FP3. In this respect, it should already be exciting on Saturday morning.

It is a shame that the Spanish Grand Prix has to take place without spectators even in the second year of the pandemic. In the top right of the picture you can see the huge visitor parking lot and on the left the one for motorbikes on GP weekends. On the first track without a long straight, a completely different race is expected than in Qatar and Portugal.

The reference times on the Circuito de Jerez for the individual classes are:
MotoGP: 1’36,584 for the lap record (Viñales, 2020) / 1’36,705 best poles (Quartararo, 2020).
Moto2: 1’41.109 for the lap record (Schrötter, 2020) / 1’41.182 best pole (Navarro, 2019).
Moto3: 1’45.165 for the lap record (Migno, 2020) / 1’45.410 best pole (Suzuki, 2020).

Valentino Rossi (Petronas Yamaha SRT) After third from last place in FP2 on Friday, he is in an almost hopeless position for Saturday – unless the old master manages a real exploit on Saturday morning and he manages to improve by more than ten positions.

The FP3 of MotoGP – the riders are on the track

With twenty-seven minutes to go, Brad Binder crashes violently into Turn 5. In contrast to FP2, he was no longer in the top ten, but only in P12. Instead, Mir and Marc Marquez made it into the top 10, but of course nothing has been decided until the time runs out in the third free practice. With 1’37.010 Quartararo just set a new best time and is thus at the top when the last quarter of an hour began. A little later, Miller and Rins make it into the top ten almost at the same time and are in P6 and 7. This means that Nakagami and Oliveira have dropped out of the top ten and are currently no longer directly qualified for Q2. With 10 minutes left on the clock, Bradl would still be in the top ten on P9 in front of Mir, but the last time attacks are already beginning.
The decision to move into Q2
Binder pushed Bradl to P10 and Mir is now on the track to fight his way back into the top ten. Joan Mir probably made it with the current second-best time. Shortly afterwards Bradl is a tad faster and Morbido sets the best time, but is outdone by Nakagami shortly afterwards. Marquez is on all fours, he fell violently in Turn 7 and will not be able to manage a time attack! Bagnaia made it at the last minute and threw Miller out of the top ten. The first 10 drivers are only separated by 0.193 seconds and hardly anyone would have expected Takaaki Nakagami on P1 and Bradl as third. However, the German was allowed to test intensively in Jerez beforehand, which enhances the Japanese’s performance all the more. Once again, Bagnaia and Zarco are the best Ducati riders. Except for Rossi, the 3 Yamahas easily made it into Q2, while Rins’ second Suzuki with P10 was still very close. In addition, the again very strong Aleix Espargaró on the Aprilia with P5. Below are the drivers who are in Q2 for the afternoon, of course without Marquez, which, like all other unqualified riders, is listed in italics.

P, No, Rider, Nat, Team, Bike, Km/h, Time, Gap 1st/Prev.
1, 30, Takaaki NAKAGAMI, 290.3, 1’36.985,
2, 20, Fabio QUARTARARO, 289.5, 1’37.010, 0.025 / 0.025
3, 6, Stefan BRADL, 297.5, 1’37.026, 0.041 / 0.016
4, 36, Joan MIR, 288.0, 1’37.036, 0.051 / 0.010
5, 41, Aleix ESPARGARO, 290.3, 1’37.049, 0.064 / 0.013
6, 12, Maverick VIÑALES, 289.5, 1’37.083, 0.098 / 0.034
7, 21, Franco MORBIDELLI, 288.0, 1’37.083, 0.098
8, 63, Francesco BAGNAIA, 294.2, 1’37.136, 0.151 / 0.053
9, 5, Johann ZARCO, 296.7, 1’37.157, 0.172 / 0.021
10, 42, Alex RINS, 292.6, 1’37.178, 0.193 / 0.021
11, 43, Jack MILLER, 297.5, 1’37.188, 0.203 / 0.010
12, 93, Marc MARQUEZ, 291.1, 1’37.354, 0.369 / 0.166
13, 33, Brad BINDER, 291.8, 1’37.360, 0.375 / 0.006
14, 73, Alex MARQUEZ, 291.8, 1’37.642, 0.657 / 0.282
15, 46, Valentino ROSSI, 286.4, 1’37.704, 0.719 / 0.062
16, 88, Miguel OLIVEIRA, 294.2, 1’37.710, 0.725 / 0.006
17, 44, Pol ESPARGARO, 294.2, 1’37.753, 0.768 / 0.043
18, 10, Luca MARINI, 290.3, 1’37.771, 0.786 / 0.018
19, 32, Lorenzo SAVADORI, 286.4, 1’37.814, 0.829 / 0.043
20, 23, Enea BASTIANINI, 291.8, 1’37.913, 0.928 / 0.099
21, 9, Danilo PETRUCCI, 285.7, 1’37.934, 0.949 / 0.021
22, 53, Tito RABAT, 292.6, 1’38.413, 1.428 / 0.479
23, 27, Iker LECUONA, 291.1, 1’38.501, 1.516 / 0.088

A picture that will go around the world, like the one in July 2020. Marc Marquez on all fours on the ground at Turn 5 and behind his completely demolished Honda RC213V. By the way, it was also interesting when Marquez fell that it happened on Turn 7 in a fast left and not right, which, according to him, is currently his weaker side.

The FP2 of Moto2 – the riders are on the track

Garzo, Arenas and Chantra fell in the first 20 minutes. In the latter case, there were several rollovers, but he was able to stand up again and walk out of the gravel bed on shaky legs. MV Forward driver Simone Corsi also got hit in the last 10 minutes. Marcel Schrötter just set the fourth-best time and should therefore be safely in Q2. Navarro, Lowes, Bezzecchi, Gardner, Roberts and Vierge should also be safe in Q2, while Jake Dixon still needs a quick time. Aron Canet crashed in the last 2 minutes and Gardner set the fastest time shortly afterwards, but was immediately trumped by “Di Gia”. Gardner is fastest in the end and Dixon also made it into the top ten. Below is the ranking list with the drivers who have to go into Q1 in italics.

P, No, Rider, Nat, Team, Bike, Km/h, Time, Gap 1st/Prev.
1, 87, Remy GARDNER, 248.8, 1’40.841,
2, 21, Fabio DI GIANNANTONIO, 248.8, 1’40.861, 0.020 / 0.020
3, 9, Jorge NAVARRO, 251.1, 1’40.912, 0.071 / 0.051
4, 16, Joe ROBERTS, 247.7, 1’40.998, 0.157 / 0.086
5, 25, Raul FERNANDEZ, 250.5, 1’41.002, 0.161 / 0.004
6, 22, Sam LOWES, 247.1, 1’41.078, 0.237 / 0.076
7, 72, Marco BEZZECCHI, 251.7, 1’41.083, 0.242 / 0.005
8, 23, Marcel SCHROTTER, 248.8, 1’41.083, 0.242
9, 37, Augusto FERNANDEZ, 251.1, 1’41.126, 0.285 / 0.043
10, 96, Jake DIXON, 248.8, 1’41.171, 0.330 / 0.045
11, 75, Albert ARENAS, 247.7, 1’41.178, 0.337 / 0.007
12, 97, Xavi VIERGE, 249.4, 1’41.342, 0.501 / 0.164
13, 44, Aron CANET, 247.1, 1’41.388, 0.547 / 0.046
14, 79, Ai OGURA, 248.8, 1’41.392, 0.551 / 0.004
15, 11, Nicolò BULEGA, 248.2, 1’41.423, 0.582 / 0.031
16, 64, Bo BENDSNEYDER, 247.1, 1’41.523, 0.682 / 0.100
17, 40, Hector GARZO, 248.8, 1’41.524, 0.683 / 0.001
18, 7, Lorenzo BALDASSARRI, 242.1, 1’41.603, 0.762 / 0.079
19, 42, Marcos RAMIREZ, 248.8, 1’41.605, 0.764 / 0.002
20, 19, Lorenzo DALLA PORTA, 249.4, 1’41.657, 0.816 / 0.052
21, 12, Thomas LUTHI, 248.8, 1’41.722, 0.881 / 0.065
22, 35, Somkiat CHANTRA, 252.3, 1’41.768, 0.927 / 0.046
23, 62, Stefano MANZI, 248.2, 1’41.780, 0.939 / 0.012
24, 24, Simone CORSI, 246.0, 1’41.788, 0.947 / 0.008
25, 6, Cameron BEAUBIER, 247.7, 1’41.853, 1.012 / 0.065
26, 5, Yari MONTELLA, 248.2, 1’41.863, 1.022 / 0.010
27, 14, Tony ARBOLINO, 249.4, 1’42.035, 1.194 / 0.172
28, 13, Celestino VIETTI, 247.1, 1’42.364, 1.523 / 0.329
29, 55, Hafizh SYAHRIN, 247.7, 1’42.475, 1.634 / 0.111
30, 10, Tommaso MARCON, 241.6, 1’43.758, 2.917 / 1.283
31, 32, Taiga HADA, 247.1, 1’43.885, 3.044 / 0.127

Qualifying of Moto3

Below is the result in FP3 with all drivers who have to go into Q1 in italics. The Scot John McPhee is of course already in third place in Q2.
P, No, Rider, Nat, Team, Bike, Km/h, Time, Gap 1st/Prev.
1, 16, Andrea MIGNO, 214.7, 1’44.988,
2, 53, Deniz ÖNCÜ, 217.3, 1’45.566, 0.578 / 0.578
3, 17, John MCPHEE, 214.7, 1’45.598, 0.610 / 0.032
4, 40, Darryn BINDER, 212.1, 1’45.662, 0.674 / 0.064
5, 12, Filip SALAC, 211.7, 1’45.795, 0.807 / 0.133
6, 5, Jaume MASIA, 215.5, 1’45.797, 0.809 / 0.002
7, 43, Xavier ARTIGAS, 216.4, 1’45.949, 0.961 / 0.152
8, 24, Tatsuki SUZUKI, 214.2, 1’46.032, 1.044 / 0.083
9, 2, Gabriel RODRIGO, 213.4, 1’46.057, 1.069 / 0.025
10, 71, Ayumu SASAKI, 215.1, 1’46.078, 1.090 / 0.021
11, 92, Yuki KUNII, 214.7, 1’46.091, 1.103 / 0.013
12, 50, Jason DUPASQUIER, 216.8, 1’46.209, 1.221 / 0.118
13, 23, Niccolò ANTONELLI, 213.4, 1’46.217, 1.229 / 0.008
14, 6, Ryusei YAMANAKA, 212.1, 1’46.218, 1.230 / 0.001
15, 19, Andi Farid IZDIHAR, 214.2, 1’46.267, 1.279 / 0.049
16, 37, Pedro ACOSTA, 209.7, 1’46.295, 1.307 / 0.028
17, 99, Carlos TATAY, 212.1, 1’46.315, 1.327 / 0.020
18, 82, Stefano NEPA, 212.5, 1’46.344, 1.356 / 0.029
19, 7, Dennis FOGGIA, 214.7, 1’46.374, 1.386 / 0.030
20, 28, Izan GUEVARA, 214.7, 1’46.471, 1.483 / 0.097
21, 52, Jeremy ALCOBA, 215.5, 1’46.492, 1.504 / 0.021
22, 11, Sergio GARCIA, 216.4, 1’46.658, 1.670 / 0.166
23, 31, Adrian FERNANDEZ, 216.0, 1’47.338, 2.350 / 0.680
24, 54, Riccardo ROSSI, 213.4, 1’47.354, 2.366 / 0.016
25, 73, Maximilian KOFLER, 211.7, 1’47.398, 2.410 / 0.044
26, 20, Lorenzo FELLON, 211.3, 1’47.427, 2.439 / 0.029
27, 27, Kaito TOBA, 213.8, 1’47.563, 2.575 / 0.136
28, 55, Romano FENATI, 207.6, 1’49.480, 4.492 / 1.917

Marc Marquez in the hospital – as just reported by MGP!
At the moment he is not sure whether he will be in FP4. Significantly, the six-time world champion fell in a left turn, his actually better side, as he had emphasized the day before. Since he looked very battered, it was decided to have him examined in the hospital. Meanwhile, the Moto3 riders are back on track and Q1 has started. Shortly before the end, Kofler was provisionally in Q2, but some are on the red when the time is up. In the end, the Austrian flew out of the top ten. Below the result of the first Moto3 qualifying, of which the top four made it into Q2. Not surprisingly, only 16-year-old Pedro Acosta is there.

P, No, Rider, Nat, Team, Bike, Km/h, Time, Gap 1st/Prev.
1, 37, Pedro ACOSTA, 208.8, 1’46.138,
2, 28, Izan GUEVARA, 212.5, 1’46.164, 0.026 / 0.026
3, 99, Carlos TATAY, 205.7, 1’46.388, 0.250 / 0.224
4, 52, Jeremy ALCOBA, 210.1, 1’46.503, 0.365 / 0.115
5, 6, Ryusei YAMANAKA, 210.9, 1’46.579, 0.441 / 0.076
6, 19, Andi Farid IZDIHAR, 207.6, 1’46.737, 0.599 / 0.158
7, 11, Sergio GARCIA, 208.8, 1’46.754, 0.616 / 0.017
8, 31, Adrian FERNANDEZ, 210.5, 1’46.763, 0.625 / 0.009
9, 7, Dennis FOGGIA, 212.5, 1’46.777, 0.639 / 0.014
10, 54, Riccardo ROSSI, 211.7, 1’46.830, 0.692 / 0.053
11, 82, Stefano NEPA, 211.7, 1’46.839, 0.701 / 0.009
12, 27, Kaito TOBA, 207.2, 1’46.867, 0.729 / 0.028
13, 73, Maximilian KOFLER, 209.7, 1’47.114, 0.976 / 0.247
14, 20, Lorenzo FELLON, 210.1, 1’47.686, 1.548 / 0.572

Q2 of Moto3 – it’s about the starting grid
Darryn Binder fell in the “Marquez corner” 7, with a highsider and for the South African the qualifying was probably over with it, but he was brought back to the pits on the scooter. As usual, the last 2 minutes were the moment of decision. Some missed the checkered flag again and had to abandon their attempt. Apparently some of them just never learn to get out of the pits in time to get a quick lap. In the end, Suzuki was the fastest ahead of Alcoba and Migno. Below the ranking of the second qualifying.

P, No, Rider, Nat, Team, Bike, Km/h, Time, Gap 1st/Prev.
1, 24, Tatsuki SUZUKI, 209.7, 1’45.807,
2, 52, Jeremy ALCOBA, 207.6, 1’45.932, 0.125 / 0.125
3, 16, Andrea MIGNO, 210.9, 1’46.007, 0.200 / 0.075
4, 2, Gabriel RODRIGO, 208.4, 1’46.048, 0.241 / 0.041
5, 55, Romano FENATI, 208.0, 1’46.166, 0.359 / 0.118
6, 17, John MCPHEE, 207.2, 1’46.185, 0.378 / 0.019
7, 40, Darryn BINDER, 206.8, 1’46.288, 0.481 / 0.103
8, 71, Ayumu SASAKI, 210.1, 1’46.312, 0.505 / 0.024
9, 23, Niccolò ANTONELLI, 212.1, 1’46.440, 0.633 / 0.128
10, 53, Deniz ÖNCÜ, 210.9, 1’46.449, 0.642 / 0.009
11, 28, Izan GUEVARA, 209.7, 1’46.522, 0.715 / 0.073
12, 12, Filip SALAC, 208.4, 1’46.566, 0.759 / 0.044
13, 37, Pedro ACOSTA, 207.2, 1’46.667, 0.860 / 0.101
14, 50, Jason DUPASQUIER, 211.7, 1’46.714, 0.907 / 0.047
15, 5, Jaume MASIA, 210.9, 1’46.843, 1.036 / 0.129
16, 99, Carlos TATAY, 206.5, 1’47.060, 1.253 / 0.217
17, 43, Xavier ARTIGAS, 210.9, 1’47.517, 1.710 / 0.457
18, 92, Yuki KUNII, 206.8, 1’47.686, 1.879 / 0.169
5, 6, Ryusei YAMANAKA, 210.9, 1’46.579, 0.441 / 0.076
6, 19, Andi Farid IZDIHAR, 207.6, 1’46.737, 0.599 / 0.158
7, 11, Sergio GARCIA, 208.8, 1’46.754, 0.616 / 0.017
8, 31, Adrian FERNANDEZ, 210.5, 1’46.763, 0.625 / 0.009
9, 7, Dennis FOGGIA, 212.5, 1’46.777, 0.639 / 0.014
10, 54, Riccardo ROSSI, 211.7, 1’46.830, 0.692 / 0.053
11, 82, Stefano NEPA, 211.7, 1’46.839, 0.701 / 0.009
12, 27, Kaito TOBA, 207.2, 1’46.867, 0.729 / 0.028
13, 73, Maximilian KOFLER, 209.7, 1’47.114, 0.976 / 0.247
14, 20, Lorenzo FELLON, 210.1, 1’47.686, 1.548 / 0.572

The FP4 of the MotoGP

Marc Marquez is said to have been discharged from the hospital without serious injuries. As we know, almost a heartbeat and being able to sit on a bike is enough for the Medical Commission to be declared fit. But what will happen to the 6-time world champion in Q1? We’ll know more shortly and, as usual, the half-hour FP4 of the premier class comes first. Obviously, very fast times are out of the question with Marquez. So far, the Catalan has limited himself to a 1’38.406 lap, which is over a second slower than Quartararo. The French, on the other hand, currently looks like looseness in person. He shakes fast times out of his sleeve apparently without any effort, which makes him one of the favorites for Q2. Eight minutes before the end of FP4, Lorenzo Savadori trudges through the gravel, but the Aprilia driver seems to have fallen harmlessly. Shortly afterwards, his teammate Aleix Espargaró also had a crash. A little later, Rins in turn 5 and Pol Espargaró in the “Marquez turn” 7 with a rough landing in the gravel. The last one to fall is Danilo Petrucci, but “Petrux” didn’t seem to be hurt either.

MotoGP qualifying

Because his best lap in FP3 was later canceled due to a few centimeters in the green area, Franco Morbidelli is also in Q1. This of course makes it even more difficult for his opponents in the first qualifying, including Marc Marquez. With 8 minutes left on the clock, Binder is in the lead in front of Morbido and Marc Marquez pits. Shortly before that he was still on P2, but the best times in FP3 are still around 2 tenths missing anyway. Shortly before the end, Marc Marquez found it difficult to prevent another fall in Turn 1. At the same time, Morbidelli and Pol are on course for the best time. While the Italian makes it, Pol Espargaró misses the top two. The time is up and in the end Morbido and Binder are the two pilots who make it into Q2. Marquez, on the other hand, was only fourth behind the two fastest and Pol and therefore has to start the race on Sunday from quite far behind. At first Oliveira was ahead of the comeback man, but his fastest lap was canceled.

P, No, Rider, Nat, Team, Bike, Km/h, Time, Gap 1st/Prev.
1, 21, Franco MORBIDELLI, 285.7, 1’36.916,
2, 33, Brad BINDER, 288.7, 1’37.350, 0.434 / 0.434
3, 44, Pol ESPARGARO, 291.8, 1’37.407, 0.491 / 0.057
4, 93, Marc MARQUEZ, 291.1, 1’37.489, 0.573 / 0.082
5, 23, Enea BASTIANINI, 293.4, 1’37.675, 0.759 / 0.186
6, 88, Miguel OLIVEIRA, 291.1, 1’37.746, 0.830 / 0.071
7, 46, Valentino ROSSI, 284.2, 1’37.915, 0.999 / 0.169
8, 10, Luca MARINI, 290.3, 1’37.925, 1.009 / 0.010
9, 9, Danilo PETRUCCI, 284.9, 1’38.065, 1.149 / 0.140
10, 73, Alex MARQUEZ, 289.5, 1’38.069, 1.153 / 0.004
11, 27, Iker LECUONA, 285.7, 1’38.139, 1.223 / 0.070
12, 32, Lorenzo SAVADORI, 285.7, 1’38.325, 1.409 / 0.186
13, 53, Tito RABAT, 287.2, 1’38.641, 1.725 / 0.316

Q2 of MotoGP with the decision for the starting grid
Instead of Morbidelli, Miller was directly qualified and the Italian then made it through Q1 together with Binder. Quartararo in front of Morbidelli and Miller is the first row, followed by Bagnaia, Nakagami and Zarco. Stefan Bradl, on the other hand, was last in Q2, although he was talking about the second row before that, as we noticed on the edge. Maverick Viñales has to be content with the third row of the grid and has Aleix Espargaró and Alex Rins next to him on Sunday. World champion Joan Mir is in the fourth row with Binder and Bradl. Below is the starting grid with the placements from Q1 in italics.

P, No, Rider, Nat, Team, Bike, Km/h, Time, Gap 1st/Prev.
1, 20, Fabio QUARTARARO, 288.0, 1’36.755,
2, 21, Franco MORBIDELLI, 287.2, 1’36.812, 0.057 / 0.057
3, 43, Jack MILLER, 298.3, 1’36.860, 0.105 / 0.048
4, 63, Francesco BAGNAIA, 295.8, 1’36.960, 0.205 / 0.100
5, 30, Takaaki NAKAGAMI, 287.2, 1’37.008, 0.253 / 0.048
6, 5, Johann ZARCO, 294.2, 1’37.054, 0.299 / 0.046
7, 12, Maverick VIÑALES, 288.0, 1’37.070, 0.315 / 0.016
8, 41, Aleix ESPARGARO, 288.7, 1’37.085, 0.330 / 0.015
9, 42, Alex RINS, 289.5, 1’37.124, 0.369 / 0.039
10, 36, Joan MIR, 287.2, 1’37.154, 0.399 / 0.030
11, 33, Brad BINDER, 288.0, 1’37.467, 0.712 / 0.313
12, 6, Stefan BRADL, 291.8, 1’37.502, 0.747 / 0.035
3, 44, Pol ESPARGARO, 291.8, 1’37.407, 0.491 / 0.057
4, 93, Marc MARQUEZ, 291.1, 1’37.489, 0.573 / 0.082
5, 23, Enea BASTIANINI, 293.4, 1’37.675, 0.759 / 0.186
6, 88, Miguel OLIVEIRA, 291.1, 1’37.746, 0.830 / 0.071
7, 46, Valentino ROSSI, 284.2, 1’37.915, 0.999 / 0.169
8, 10, Luca MARINI, 290.3, 1’37.925, 1.009 / 0.010
9, 9, Danilo PETRUCCI, 284.9, 1’38.065, 1.149 / 0.140
10, 73, Alex MARQUEZ, 289.5, 1’38.069, 1.153 / 0.004
11, 27, Iker LECUONA, 285.7, 1’38.139, 1.223 / 0.070
12, 32, Lorenzo SAVADORI, 285.7, 1’38.325, 1.409 / 0.186
13, 53, Tito RABAT, 287.2, 1’38.641, 1.725 / 0.316

Moto2 qualifying

The drivers are on track for Q1 and at halftime Cameron Beaubier is in front of Stefano Manzi, Bo Bendsneyder and Somkiat Chantra. Yari Montella crashes into Turn 11, so his chances for Q2 are over. Behind Leader Beaubier and Manzi, Hector Garzo pushed himself in front of Bendsneyder when the last two minutes began. The 4 drivers for Q2 have been determined. In the end it is Cameron Beaubier, Marcos Ramirez, Bo Bendsneyder and Niccolò Bulega.

POS#RIDERTIME/GAP
16C. BEAUBIER1:41.308
242M. RAMIREZ+0.043
364B. BENDSNEYDER+0.044
411N. BULEGA+0.095
562S. MANZI+0.175
640H. GARZO+0.213
77L. BALDASSARRI+0.249
835S. CHANTRA+0.293
919L. DALLA PORTA+0.328
1014T. ARBOLINO+0.367

The Q2 with the decision for the starting grid
Just before the end of Q2, Jake Dixon crashed and has no chance of improving. He is currently on P10 and his compatriot Lowes is on position 4, when the clock is still 2 minutes. After the latter almost fell in the finish curve before his last lap, he ends up in the gravel bed a little later in turn 2. A little later, Albert Arenas also crashes when the clock has already run out and the last riders are still trying to improve. In the end, it is Gardner, “Di Gia” and Bezzecchi who share the front row. Below are the provisional top ten before the official list is published. Meanwhile, Sam Lowes is already back in the box with a grin on his face. Thanks to P5, he has not yet lost his good mood. Below is the starting grid with the placements from Q1 in italics.

P, No, Rider, Nat, Team, Bike, Km/h, Time, Gap 1st/Prev.
1, 87, Remy GARDNER, 244.8, 1’40.667,
2, 21, Fabio DI GIANNANTONIO, 248.2, 1’40.738, 0.071 / 0.071
3, 72, Marco BEZZECCHI, 250.5, 1’40.753, 0.086 / 0.015
4, 25, Raul FERNANDEZ, 252.3, 1’40.808, 0.141 / 0.055
5, 22, Sam LOWES, 250.0, 1’40.833, 0.166 / 0.025
6, 97, Xavi VIERGE, 250.5, 1’41.038, 0.371 / 0.205
7, 37, Augusto FERNANDEZ, 248.8, 1’41.210, 0.543 / 0.172
8, 16, Joe ROBERTS, 246.5, 1’41.235, 0.568 / 0.025
9, 79, Ai OGURA, 248.2, 1’41.251, 0.584 / 0.016
10, 96, Jake DIXON, 246.0, 1’41.266, 0.599 / 0.015
11, 44, Aron CANET, 248.2, 1’41.329, 0.662 / 0.063
12, 9, Jorge NAVARRO, 249.4, 1’41.458, 0.791 / 0.129
13, 11, Nicolò BULEGA, 244.8, 1’41.521, 0.854 / 0.063
14, 42, Marcos RAMIREZ, 249.4, 1’41.704, 1.037 / 0.183
15, 64, Bo BENDSNEYDER, 248.2, 1’41.714, 1.047 / 0.010
16, 6, Cameron BEAUBIER, 248.8, 1’41.736, 1.069 / 0.022
17, 75, Albert ARENAS, 248.2, 1’41.933, 1.266 / 0.197
18, 23, Marcel SCHROTTER, 247.7, 1’41.945, 1.278 / 0.012
5, 62, Stefano MANZI, 250.0, 1’41.483, 0.175 / 0.080
6, 40, Hector GARZO, 250.5, 1’41.521, 0.213 / 0.038
7, 7, Lorenzo BALDASSARRI, 242.1, 1’41.557, 0.249 / 0.036
8, 35, Somkiat CHANTRA, 251.1, 1’41.601, 0.293 / 0.044
9, 19, Lorenzo DALLA PORTA, 249.4, 1’41.636, 0.328 / 0.035
10, 14, Tony ARBOLINO, 251.1, 1’41.675, 0.367 / 0.039
11, 24, Simone CORSI, 246.5, 1’41.705, 0.397 / 0.030
12, 12, Thomas LUTHI, 245.4, 1’41.841, 0.533 / 0.136
13, 5, Yari MONTELLA, 247.7, 1’41.974, 0.666 / 0.133
14, 55, Hafizh SYAHRIN, 248.2, 1’42.124, 0.816 / 0.150
15, 13, Celestino VIETTI, 248.2, 1’42.159, 0.851 / 0.035
16, 32, Taiga HADA, 248.8, 1’43.014, 1.706 / 0.855
17, 10, Tommaso MARCON, 243.2, 1’43.271, 1.963 / 0.257

This live blog is now closed. For more, see our conclusion on the day shortly.

Iker Lecuona (Tech 3 KTM) – a discontinued model for the oranges after we were the first news portal to announce Remy Gardner’s MotoGP contract with KTM for the coming season. After the Spaniard was publicly criticized by sports director Pit Beirer and team boss Hervé Poncharal, it has long been clear who will have to make room for the Australian in 2022.

The tension before the Spanish Grand Prix is increasing

After many surprises in the first 3 laps and at the beginning of the Jerez weekend, the tension among the teams, drivers and fans increases until the lights go out on Sunday. The gaps were already very small on the first day and the first ten were separated by less than seven tenths. After Marc Marquez was the fastest man on the track in the first race last year, he is automatically one of the favorites. But you can be sure that his opponents will definitely not make it easy for him. At least three Yamaha pilots, two Suzukis, 2 or 3 Ducati riders and the two Red Bull KTM’s must be taken into account by the man with the 93 and some of his fellow brand riders during the race. The list is therefore quite long.

World Championship intermediate result in all classes

From left to right the World Championship stand of MotoGP, Moto2 and Moto3 with some names that one would not have expected so far ahead before the start of the season, but supposed favorites very far behind.

Schedule and TV program Jerez Grand Prix

Unless otherwise stated, this applies to all images (© MotoGP).