PEDRO ACOSTA TAKES INCREDIBLE POLE POSITION AT BARCELONA
Barcelona once again produced a tense and unpredictable qualifying day, with changing conditions, crashes and surprise performances shaping the grid for the Tissot Sprint and Sunday’s Grand Prix.
After a strong run through Friday, Pedro Acosta confirmed his form by taking pole position, his first since Motegi 2024. It was a major result for KTM, marking their return to the front of the grid in impressive fashion. Franco Morbidelli secured second place, while Alex Márquez completed the front row after another consistent performance. Championship leader Marco Bezzecchi suffered a crash at Turn 2 during qualifying and will start only 12th.
Q1 was highly intense from the beginning, with many riders fighting for just two places in Q2. Early on, Enea Bastianini and Morbidelli held the transfer positions, while Francesco Bagnaia, Jorge Martín and Ai Ogura were all under pressure.
Martín briefly moved to the top of the session on his second attempt, but then crashed at Turn 5 with only minutes remaining. Despite the fall, his time was still enough to move into Q2. Morbidelli responded in the final moments with a strong lap to secure his place alongside him. Bagnaia, however, was eliminated after finishing third in Q1, placing 13th on the grid.
In Q2, KTM immediately showed its strength. Acosta set a time of 1:38.118 early in the session to go fastest, with Alex Márquez and Raúl Fernández close behind. Martín struggled in the opening phase and sat only 12th after his first run.
Drama struck again when Bezzecchi crashed at Turn 2, ending his chances of a strong qualifying result. At the same time, Fabio Quartararo improved into the top five, while the fight for pole remained open in the final minutes.
No one could beat Acosta in the closing stages. He improved his time to secure pole position and confirm KTM’s return to the top of the grid. It was also KTM’s first pole since Pol Espargaró at the 2020 European Grand Prix, marking a significant milestone for the team.
Morbidelli delivered one of his strongest qualifying performances in recent times to take second, while Alex Márquez completed the front row in third.
Behind them, Raúl Fernández secured fourth place, his best grid position in a long time, and Johann Zarco continued his strong run with fifth. Fabio Di Giannantonio led Ducati in sixth, ahead of Quartararo in seventh and Brad Binder in eighth.
Martín ended ninth after his crash, just ahead of Joan Mir in tenth. Jack Miller and Bezzecchi rounded out the grid, with the championship leader suffering a particularly difficult session.
With KTM on pole and several big names starting outside ideal positions, Barcelona is set up for a highly competitive sprint and an unpredictable Grand Prix on Sunday.
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