Pecco Bagnaia misses out on pole and will start #StyrianGP from 2nd, Jack Miller 4th on the grid

There will be two Ducati bikes on the front row of the grid at the MotoGP Grand Prix of Styria, scheduled to take place at the Red Bull Ring, near Zeltweg (Austria), tomorrow. In fact, Pecco Bagnaia closed second fastest today in qualifying as he finished just 44 thousandths off Jorge Martín, who took another sensational pole position, his second in MotoGP, with the Desmosedici GP bike of the Pramac Racing Team.

After setting the fastest time at the end of free practices and gaining direct access to Q2, Bagnaia continued to show his excellent form as he closed second in both FP4 and qualifying, thus obtaining a front row start for the fourth time this season. Jack Miller will start from the second row of the grid in tomorrow’s GP. The Australian rider, ninth at the end of free practices, failed to put in a perfect lap in qualifying, closing in fourth place with a best lap in 1:23.300.

Despite the uncertain weather forecast for tomorrow’s race, both Ducati Lenovo Team riders declared to be confident about tackling the tenth round of the 2021 MotoGP season in all conditions, dry or wet.

Francesco Bagnaia

I’m thrilled with this front row. It wasn’t easy to find an ideal setup for our bike at this track: I couldn’t race here last year, so I had to start from scratch. But today, we were able to take a big step forward, which allowed me to be fast both this morning in free practice and qualifying. Tomorrow’s race could be wet but, after yesterday afternoon’s wet FP2, I think I can be competitive even in those conditions. Obviously, I hope the weather stays dry. I’m expecting a very close race, but I’m ready for it.

Jack Miller

Overall. I’m satisfied with the fourth place in qualifying, even though it wasn’t exactly what I expected today. The feeling with the bike was great, and after the first lap on the soft tyre, I felt I could easily do another one. Unfortunately, I made some small mistakes that compromised both of my two time attacks. In any case, we’ll start from the second row, and I know I can have a good race both in the dry and in the wet, but also mixed asphalt conditions.

The Ducati Lenovo Team riders will take to the track tomorrow at 9:40 am for the twenty-minute warm-up before tackling the 28-lap Styrian GP, at 2 pm local time.