Qualifying

Francesco Bagnaia has amazingly claimed pole position for the 2024 Emilia Romagna MotoGP, setting a new lap record at Misano of 1:30.031 in the process.

The reigning world champion finishied only 0.214 seconds ahead of his title rival, Jorge Martin, who is currently only seven points ahead of Bagnaia in the standings.

Bagnaia’s teammate, Enea Bastianini has secured a spot on the front row, finishing ahead of the KTMs ridden by Brad Binder and Pedro Acosta. Marco Bezzecchi from the VR46 team is positioned was the last one to join the second row.

Marc Marquez, who won the first Misano race this season after qualifying ninth due to a crash, faced another tough day. The Spanish driver fell at Turn 3 during his first run, marking his second accident of the day. Although he had enough time to switch to his spare bike, he couldn't improve his position and ended up in seventh place.

Maverick Viñales finished eight, followed by Fabio Quartararo in ninth for Yamaha, while Franco Morbidelli completed the top 10.

Sprint

Starting from pole position and having set a new lap record, Bagnaia encountered a surprising setback right at the beginning of the race. He not only lost the lead to Martin but also found himself overtaken by Brad Binder.

Nonetheless, Bagnaia, along with his teammate Bastianini, quickly regained their momentum. The duo swiftly navigated past the KTM rider, pushing Binder down to fifth place by the conclusion of the first lap. This shift was facilitated by Marc Marquez, who had made an impressive comeback from his seventh-place starting position.

By the halfway point of the 13-lap race, Bagnaia had closed the gap and was right behind Martin. The pressure eventually got to Martin, causing him to make a mistake and run slightly wide and lose the lead with six laps remaining.

From that moment on, Bagnaia, the reigning double world champion, managed to hold off Martin and maintained his position all the way to the finish line, as he set his sights on claiming Ducati's 100th grand prix victory on Sunday.

Bastianini made a late charge and ended up just 1.034 seconds behind Martin, while Marquez, unable to match the pace of the top three, gradually fell back as the race progressed and finished fourth overall.

Fifth place took Pedro Acosta, followed by Brad Binder for KTM and Yamaha's Fabio Quartararo. Italian riders Marco Bezzecchi and Franco Morbidelli finished eight and ninth, respectively, and secured the last Saturday points.

With this home sprint race victory Bagnaia cut Martin’s lead in the championship to only 4 points gap.