Spielberg (Austria), Aug 17 (IANS): Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac Racing) destroyed the lap record at the Red Bull Ring, setting a magical time of 1:27.748 as he claimed the pole position for the Austrian Grand Prix, the 11th leg of the MotoGP 2024 Championship, here on Saturday.

Martin set a new benchmark, starting from P1 ahead of his title rival Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) at the Motorrad Grand Prix von Osterreich. The Italian will start from second after showing incredible pace early on in Q2 before he was pipped by Martin with a handful of minutes remaining.

The #1 was forced to abort his final flying lap but will start alongside Marc Marquez (Gresini Racing MotoGP™) on the front row. It was the first time this season that Martin, Bagnaia and Marquez qualified on the front row together.

It was a tense battle in Q1, with a talented pack session where the fight for the top two spots went down to the wire. Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Jack Miller and Pol Espargaro were the two riders who were promoted to Q2 after the #44 and Miguel Oliveira (Trackhouse Racing) had identical times, with Pol Espargaro setting a faster second lap.

After this, Q2 soon got underway with fast times from the off and Bagnaia obliterating the lap record, setting a 1:28.142 on his opening run.

The riders returned to the pitlane to prepare for a final run with Bagnaia becoming the first rider to return to the track. The #1 had Miller on his tail on the second run as red sectors began to appear for Bagnaia and Martin, with rider #89 destroying Bagnaia’s time – becoming the first rider to enter the 1:27 bracket.

Bagnaia also entered the 1:27 bracket, bringing an incredible show to the Austrian crowd. Meanwhile, it was a disappointing end to the session for Pol Espargaro, crashing at Turn 3, getting an early end to his session.

Aleix Espargaro leaps to fourth

Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing) will start from P4 on the grid, finding time late in the session and missing out on a front-row start by 0.052s. The #41 will start alongside Jack Miller (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing), who continued to find time after a strong showing in Q1. The Australian starts from fifth, with Maverick Viñales (Aprilia Racing) capping off a strong second row.

Meanwhile, Enea Bastianini (Ducati Lenovo Team) will head the third row of the grid, qualifying in seventh position -– less than one second adrift from the pole. Bastianini starts in front of Prima Pramac Racing’s Franco Morbidelli, who had a great save at Turn 9 early in the session. The Italian is continuing to have a strong weekend, starting alongside Marco Bezzecchi (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team), who rounds off the front three rows.