MotoGP: Rookie Jorge Martin Takes Maiden Pole In Doha GP

Pramac Ducati rookie Jorge Martin took sensational pole in the Doha Grand Prix qualifying in his second-ever premier-class qualifying session. The race on Sunday will begin with a 1-2 start for Pramac Ducati as Martin pipped teammate Johann Zarco by 0.157s at the end of the qualifying session.

Martin set the pace early in qualifying with a time of 1m53.892s on the opening lap of Q2. This was quickly Bester by Franco Morbidelli on the Petronas Yamaha SRT bike with a time of 1m53.794s. However, Martin improved his time with a 1m53.587s to beat Morbidelli on the following lap. It was then Fabio Quartararo gaining up to Martin and was just 0.017s adrift from the rookie. For Qatar GP winner from last week Maverick Vinales, the rider had a hard time to putting some best laps and couldn't improve his position over P9. Nevertheless, he did put up an impressive time in the following run and took the provisional pole with a 1m53.383s. He further improved it with a 1m53.267s which seemingly put him in the front row for certain.

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However, Martin set the timesheets on fire on his final attempt with a 1m53.106s to take the pole, while Zarco followed suit with a time of 1m53.263s. Vinales completed the front row ahead of Jack Miller on the factory Ducati, while Quartararo and Francesco Bagnaia on the second factory Ducati completed the order for the second row.

Starting seventh will be Aleix Espargaro on the Aprilia followed by Suzuki duo Alex Runs and Joan Mir. Starting at P11 is Morbidelli, followed by Honda's Stefan Bradl and Miguel Oliveira on the factory KTM. Avintia Ducati rookie Luca Marini secured settled for P13 ahead of LCR Honda's Alex Marquez. Honda's Pol Espargaro had only one proper lap having aborted his first attempt. LCR Rider LCR Honda rider Takaaki Nakagami had a lap cancelled towards the end of the suggestion and drops to P16. He is followed by Tech3 KTM's Danilo Petrucci and Brad Binder on the factory KTM.

Avintia's Enea Bastiniani starts next on the Avintia Ducati followed by Iker Lecuona on the Tech3 KTM. Lastly, Valentino Ross recorded his career-worst qualifying and starts at the back of the grid at P21, only faster than Aprilia rookie Lorenzo Savadori.