Spanish MotoGP, Jerez - Full Qualifying Results
| Spanish MotoGP, Jerez - Full Qualifying Results | ||||||
| Pos | Rider | Nat | Team | Time/Diff | Lap | Max |
| 1 | Aleix Espargaro | SPA | Aprilia Racing (RS-GP23) | 1'37.216s | 9/9 | 293k |
| 2 | Jack Miller | AUS | Red Bull KTM (RC16) | +0.221s | 7/7 | 294k |
| 3 | Jorge Martin | SPA | Pramac Ducati (GP23) | +0.242s | 8/8 | 296k |
| 4 | Brad Binder | RSA | Red Bull KTM (RC16) | +0.316s | 8/8 | 296k |
| 5 | Francesco Bagnaia | ITA | Ducati Lenovo (GP23) | +0.341s | 8/8 | 293k |
| 6 | Dani Pedrosa | SPA | Red Bull KTM (RC16) | +0.367s | 8/8 | 297k |
| 7 | Miguel Oliveira | POR | RNF Aprilia (RS-GP22) | +0.380s | 9/9 | 293k |
| 8 | Johann Zarco | FRA | Pramac Ducati (GP22) | +0.400s | 6/7 | 298k |
| 9 | Luca Marini | ITA | Mooney VR46 Ducati (GP22) | +0.450s | 9/9 | 290k |
| 10 | Maverick Viñales | SPA | Aprilia Racing (RS-GP23) | +0.549s | 7/7 | 293k |
| 11 | Takaaki Nakagami | JPN | LCR Honda (RC213V) | +0.660s | 9/9 | 292k |
| 12 | Alex Marquez | SPA | Gresini Ducati (GP22) | +0.704s | 9/9 | 292k |
| Qualifying 1: | ||||||
| 13 | Marco Bezzecchi | ITA | Mooney VR46 Ducati (GP22) | 1'36.578s | 9/9 | 296k |
| 14 | Franco Morbidelli | ITA | Monster Yamaha (YZR-M1) | 1'36.793s | 6/8 | 293k |
| 15 | Fabio Di Giannantonio | ITA | Gresini Ducati (GP22) | 1'36.967s | 7/8 | 287k |
| 16 | Fabio Quartararo | FRA | Monster Yamaha (YZR-M1) | 1'37.072s | 6/8 | 293k |
| 17 | Raul Fernandez | SPA | RNF Aprilia (RS-GP22) | 1'37.164s | 6/8 | 293k |
| 18 | Alex Rins | SPA | LCR Honda (RC213V) | 1'37.256s | 8/8 | 290k |
| 19 | Stefan Bradl | GER | Team HRC (RC213V) | 1'37.297s | 6/8 | 293k |
| 20 | Joan Mir | SPA | Repsol Honda (RC213V) | 1'37.346s | 7/8 | 287k |
| 21 | Augusto Fernandez | SPA | Tech3 GASGAS (RC16)* | 1'37.753s | 8/8 | 290k |
| 22 | Jonas Folger | GER | Tech3 GASGAS (RC16) | 1'38.492s | 7/8 | 292k |
| 23 | Iker Lecuona | SPA | Repsol Honda (RC213V) | 1'38.582s | 6/8 | 290k |
Fastest Friday time:
Aleix Espargaro SPA Aprilia 1m 36.708s
Official Jerez MotoGP records:
Best lap:
Francesco Bagnaia ITA Ducati 1m 36.170s (2022)
Fastest race lap:
Francesco Bagnaia ITA Ducati 1m 37.669s (2022)
Aleix Espargaro takes a tense pole position for the Spanish MotoGP from Jack Miller and Jorge Martin, with light rain just before the start of Qualifying 2 fuelling a frantic 15-minute session.
The unknown track conditions meant some riders fitted wet tyres for their out-lap, but most went straight for slicks.
Dry rubber soon proved the correct choice - soft rears and either the soft or medium front - with the rain passing and lap times constantly improving.
Pole position came down to a duel between Miller and Espargaro, the Aprilia rider (who dodged a cat on track before later suffering a fast fall and losing his number one bike in the previous FP3 session) persevering by 0.221s on his final lap.
"This guy has big balls!" said Aprilia Racing boss Massimo Rivola.
Brad Binder, Francesco Bagnaia and wild-card star Dani Pedrosa will form row two.
Bagnaia and Binder had progressed through Qualifying 1 but title leader Marco Bezzecchi and a distraught former world champion Fabio Quartararo missed out on the final transfer places and will start both Jerez races from just 13th and 15th on the grid, respectively.
Enea Bastianini tried to return to action after being side-lined by shoulder injuries in the season-opening sprint race but withdrew on Saturday morning due to ongoing pain.
Marc Marquez is missing his third event in a row due to hand injuries sustained in his collision with Miguel Oliveira in Portimao.
The eight-time world champion is being replaced at Jerez by Honda WorldSBK rider Iker Lecuona, who raced in MotoGP for Tech3 KTM during the 2020 and 2021 seasons with a best finish of sixth place. Lecuona, 23, took a WorldSBK podium last season and is currently ninth in the early 2023 standings.
31-time MotoGP winner Dani Pedrosa is also re-joining the premier-class grid this weekend, as a KTM wild-card. It is Pedrosa’s first grand prix appearance since Austria 2021 and first at Jerez since his final full-time season, at Repsol Honda, in 2018.
Pol Espargaro continues to recover from multiple injuries in Portugal and is again replaced at Tech3 by Pedrosa’s fellow KTM test rider Jonas Folger.
Peter has been in the paddock for 20 years and has seen Valentino Rossi come and go. He is at the forefront of the Suzuki exit story and Marc Marquez’s injury issues.
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