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Italian Enea Bastianini will start from pole on his Ducati-Gresini bike in Sunday’s Austrian MotoGP whilst his in form compatriot Francesco Bagnaia kept the pressure on series leader Fabio Quartararo in posting a faster time in qualifying.
Bagnaia is bidding to reduce the 49 point gap between himself and defending world champion Quartararo having already made inroads with victory in the last two MotoGP’s.
Bagnaia will start on the front row of the grid on his Ducati along with Australian team-mate Jack Miller whilst Yamaha rider Quartararo will set off in the row behind.
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Boosting Bagnaia’s spirits further is Ducati have dominated at the Austrian MotoGP since it returned in 2016 winning five in a row before Brad Binder stopped their run on a KTM last year.
For Bastianini his first ever pole position is a welcome return to form having hit a dry patch after winning three races earlier in the campaign — the last the French MotoGP in May.
“We had a good start to the weekend,” said the 24-year-old.
“But today we took a further step forward, having arrived well prepared for the qualifying session.”
‘STUPID’: DEBATE OVER MOTOGP SCHEDULE CHANGE
It came after MotoGP announced it will follow Formula One’s lead and introduce Saturday sprints to race weekends next year, an initiative denounced as “stupid” by world champion Fabio Quartararo.
In contrast to F1, which is staging only three sprints this campaign, MotoGP plans to hold one on the eve of every grand prix throughout 2023.
And in another marked difference, the sprint, half the normal race distance with half the points on offer, will not serve to shape the grid for the following day’s grand prix.
With its arrival a rider who wins the sprint and the race itself can collect 37 points — as opposed to the 25 on offer at the moment.
“It’s time to give (MotoGP) more exposure not only on television but also to the fans,” FIM president Jorge Viegas told a press conference at this weekend’s Austrian MotoGP in Spielberg.
“We need more fans, we need a better spectacle and we are going to fill up Saturdays,” he added.
The new weekend sprint schedule has been tweaked, with only two, longer, practice runs before the traditional two-part qualifying session.
Q2 comprises the 10 best combined practice times, plus the two quickest riders from Q1.
The qualifying result will shape the grids for both the sprint and the grand prix itself 24 hours later.
The idea has not received universal approval from the pits however, with Quartararo leading the dissenters.
“I find that it’s totally stupid,” said the Yamaha star who raised the issue of increased rider burn out.
“If we staged a sprint from time to time like in Formula One that could be interesting but not every Saturday.
“There are circuits which really push us.” He hit out like other riders have done at the sport’s authorities for approving the measure “without asking the advice of the riders”.
The first they heard about it was on Friday evening.
“It was during a meeting of the security commission that we were all told of the change,” he said.
“We have kept them informed as much as possible that there will be some changes, (as well as) on the spirit of the sprint race”, countered Herve Poncharal, president of the International Road Racing Teams Association.
Quartararo’s scepticism was not shared by all though, with Enea Bastianini suggesting the new format “may be a good thing, another reason to do things well”.
The Italian rider was speaking before going out to claim pole for Sunday’s Austrian Grand Prix.
The Moto2 and Moto3 championships are unaffected by the changes coming in in 2023, with the sprint only involving MotoGP.
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