MotoGP Misano 1 Race LIVE: Bagnaia doubles the lead by a breath in front of Quartararo

Article updated until the end of the race

If we look at the head of the starting grid for this Grand Prix in Misano, it is clear that the Ducatis are in great shape. There are four of them, in fact, in the GP21 version, to occupy the first two rows, surrounding their great rival for the title, in this case Fabio Quartararo. The latter, on the other hand, is the only representative of the Yamaha brand at the forefront, the other M1s being squarely at the back of the table. Quartararo will therefore only have to rely on himself against the Borgo Panigale pack…

By the way, Casey Stoner is the only pilot Ducati to have triumphed starting from pole on this track.  Francis Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) will therefore be keen to succeed him by starting from his third leading position this year after Qatar and Aragón. A performance established by setting the new track record in Misano. The same man made no secret of expecting a nice fight with Quarterly.

This is the fourth pole obtained by Ducati at Misano. Casey Stoner et Jorge Lorenzo had arrived there in 2007, 2008 and 2018. But unlike the Mallorcan, the No. 27 had each time managed to convert the try, either by triumphing or climbing onto the podium. Since 2007, only four polemen have managed to win at Misano: Casey Stoner (2007) Valentino Rossi (2009) Dani Pedrosa (2010) et Maverick Vinales (2020/2). We must go back to 2018 to see Ducati score a double in qualifying over two consecutive weekends. At that time, the Bologna brand had even completed three in a row, from Silverstone to Aragón.

fabio quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP), credited with the third time, had already appeared in 34 taken up on the front line on the 46 races he competed in MotoGP. And seven of these events turned into a victory, 17 into a Top 3.

Jorge Martín (Pramac Racing) finished fourth, best independent rider and third Ducati representative in qualifying. This is the sixth time in ten rounds that he will start from one of the first two rows.

Pol Espargaro (Repsol Honda Team), author of the sixth fastest time in this Q2, was the best Honda driver. No Honda has taken the front row on this track since 2017. Marc Márquez (Repsol Honda Team), which competed in its sixth repechage of the year, will start seventh overall: its worst result for a Saturday afternoon in the Adriatic.

Maverick Vinales (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini), tenth on the grid, had never qualified so well with the RS-GP. He now hopes to succeed Mike Hailwood (1961) by becoming the second driver to win two premier class races in the same season.

Joan mir (Team Suzuki Ecstar) inherits 11th place. This is the eighth time this season he has appeared beyond the third line. Eight of his 12 podiums have been achieved, without having reached one of the first two rows.

What will this San Marino Grand Prix have in store for us? Misano which marks the fourteenth round of a championship which has eighteen? Before answering this question, here is the table which summarizes the fiats known so far.

Misano-1 MotoGP™	2020	2021
FP1	1'31.721 Fabio Quartararo (See here)	1'32.666 Maverick Vinales (See here)
FP2	1'31.628 Brad Binder (See here)	1'42.097 Johann Zarco (See here)
FP3	1'31.127 Francesco Bagnaia (See here)	1'31.936 Francesco Bagnaia (See here)
FP4	1'32.005 Francesco Bagnaia (See here)	1'32.197 Fabio Quartararo (See here)
Q1	1'31.559 Jack Miller (See here)	1'31.876 Enea Bastianini (See here)
Q2	1'31.077 Maverick Vinales (See here)	1'31.065 Francesco Bagnaia (See here)
Warm Up	1'32.402 Alex Marquez (See here)	1'32.521 Alex Rins (See here)
Course	Vinales, Mir, P.Espargaro (See here)	Bagnaia Quatararo Batianini
All time lap record	1'31.077 Maverick Vinales 2020	1'31.065 Francesco Bagnaia (See here)

26.6° in the air and 29°8 on the track are the conditions proposed to the drivers for this race which will have a major protagonist to manage: the weather... While waiting for the sky to decide, here are the live images...

Let's go for 27 laps. bagnaia et Quarterly approach the first turn in the lead but Miller passes again. Marc Marquez is fourth in front of his teammate who then lets Martin and Aleix pass. Mir is tenth. zarco is twelfth. Martin pushes Marquez and goes fourth.

Martin is overexcited after Marc Marquez, he offers himself the scalp of Quarterly who now has three Ducatis in front of him.

But he immediately goes back to braking. bagnaia Meanwhile, he is in the lead, 1s5 ahead of Miller and 2.6s on Quarterly got rid of Martin who crashed at turn 14.

Aleix I will espargaro is fourth in front Marc Marquez and his brother. bastianini makes life difficult for Suzukis. It's the same Avintia driver who moved up to fourth after having passed Marc Marquez. With 21 laps to go, we have a leading trio united in 2s4 with bagnaia et Quarterly then the rest of the pack led by bastianini at 6s. zarco is 11th. Alas, he must endure a “long lap”…

zarco observe his penalty he is 14th. Morbidely is 20st, Red 22th and Dovizioso penultimate since Martin joined the race. bastianini is the fastest man on the track. Miller widens at glazing 13. bagnaia 3s ahead with 17 laps to go.

Martin after his fall takes a second “long lap” penalty. He throws in the towel. Quarterly is in the wake of Miller. Bastianini is still a solid fourth. bagnaia is under investigation following a movement at the start…

There are 14 rounds left and Quarterly pass Miller. The Frenchman is in hard medium and the Ducati and hard soft. lecuona fall at turn 4.

bastianini is always in a state of grace. He is the fastest driver on the track. He is fourth and is 4s9 behind Miller who is gradually let go by Quarterly. The Frenchman also goes back bagnaia at 2s. There are 10 rounds left. Kidneys fall.

bastianini stuck back to Miller. He is 4s7 from bagnaia... He passes it 8 laps from the goal.

 

Quarterly is 1s1 from bagnaia. The Ducati official seems at the mercy of the Yamaha factory rider with 7 laps to go. Four from the goal, the junction is made!

The final struggle is on...

Under the checkered flag, bagnaia keep the controls a little ahead Quartararo. Bastianini at his first podium in front Marc Marquez, Mir et Miller who cracked. Pol Espargaró, Aleix, Binder et Nakagami close the top 10. zarco is 12th.

MotoGP Misano 1 Race: classification

Credit classification motogp.com