MotoGP Aragon Q1 LIVE: Aleix Espargaró passes but remains under investigation, Johann Zarco follows

FP3 which determined the numbers for the Q1 and Q2 ranks was marked by Ducati domination in Aragon. Jack Miller obtained the best performance at the end of a real ragtag battle: the first 22 drivers were united in less than a second at the end of the session. Tenth-placed Alex Rins missed Miller's best time by just 0,280 seconds...

The Australian in red set the best lap in 1'46.992, ahead of four teammates, in order: Pecco Bagnaia (+0.030s), Marco Bezzecchi (Mooney VR46 Racing Team + 0.056s), Enea Bastianini (Gresini Racing + 0.065s) and Jorge Martin (Pramac Racing + 0.090s.). Five Ducati are therefore in the lead and grouped in less than a tenth to precede the KTMs of Brad Binder et Miguel Oliveira, the Yamaha of the title holder fabio quartararo, the Honda LCR of Takaaki Nakagami and the Suzuki ofAlex Rins, the last driver to go directly to the final phase of qualifying, Q2.

Many big names find themselves in Q1, including: Aleix Espargarò with Aprilia, Marc Marquez with Honda, Luca marini with the Ducati of the Mooney VR46 Racing Team, Johann zarco with the Ducati Pramac, Maverick Vinales with the second Aprilia, and Franco Morbidelli with Yamaha. Only two drivers will emerge from this melee to join the qualifying final. This promises...

What will this Q1 in Aragon have in store for us? Before you know it, here is the table that summarizes the facts known so far.

Aragon MotoGP™	2021	2022
FP1	1'48.048 Marc Marquez (See here)	1'48.686 Aleix Espargaro (See here)
FP2	1'47.613 Jack Miller (See here)	1'47.402 Jorge Martin (See here)
FP3	1'46.926 Fabio Quartararo (See here)	1'46.992 Jack Miller (See here)
FP4	1'48.116 Marc Marquez (See here)	1'47.430 Miguel Oliveira (See here)
Q1	1'47.293 Johann Zarco (See here)	1'46.569 Aleix Espargaró A(See here)
Q2	1'46.322 Francesco Bagnaia (See here)	(See here)
Warm up	1'48.054 Francesco Bagnaia (See here)	(See here)
Course	Pecco Bagnaia, Marc Marquez, Joan Mir (See here)	(See here)
All time lap record	1'46.322 Francesco Bagnaia (2021)

It will be recalled that FP4 ended with the best time of Miguel Oliveira in 1'47″ 4 ahead of Bezzecchi, Quartararo, Bagnaia and Bastianini. 6th Aleix Espargarò followed by Rins, Martin, Alex Marquez and Marini.

It's 22° in the air, 39° on the track and the wind is blowing at 14 km/h. The blue sky and the dominant sun impatiently await the course of events.

The wild animals are released and Marc Marquez already start looking for the best wheel… Marc Marquez wants to follow Aleix Espargaró, but Espargaró does not allow it. He interrupts his first flying lap after T1, the Honda driver does the same. All riders opted for the hard front and soft rear. There is therefore unanimity regarding the choice of tires.

The first reference is signed by Marc Marquez in 1'46.909 ahead Aleix Espargaro who is the subject of an investigation after having hindered Fabio DiGiannantonio. Here is the subject of the dispute:

We're already attacking the last five minutes. Casa Particular in Viñales fall at turn 2. He is a candidate for victory who has just made his task difficult. This is his first crash since he started racing the RS-GP.

Johann zarco takes the lead in 1'46.843 but Aleix Espargaró slams a 1'46.569. We'll leave it there. But the pilot Aprilia is under investigation… The first one eliminated is Marc Marquez. His teammate Pol Espargaro dropped.

Results of Qualifying 1 of the Aragon MotoGP Grand Prix:

 

Classification credit: MotoGP.com