LIVE MotoGP, Styrian GP: qualifying updates. Pol Espargaro takes the pole position with KTM

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15.21 Thank you for following the Styrian GP qualifying session with us. Keep following OA Sport for more stories, news, updates, comments, analysis and videos. Enjoy the rest of the day. Until tomorrow!

15.20 Q2 results:

1 44 Pol ESPARGARO SPA Red Bull KTM Factory Racing KTM 311.2 1’23.580
2 30 Takaaki NAKAGAMI JPN LCR Honda IDEMITSU Honda 310.3 1’23.602 0.022 / 0.022
3 5 Johann ZARCO FRA Esponsorama Racing Ducati 313.0 1’23.632 0.052 / 0.030
4 36 Joan MIR SPA Team SUZUKI ECSTAR Suzuki 308.5 1’23.678 0.098 / 0.046
5 43 Jack MILLER AUS Pramac Racing Ducati 314.8 1’23.700 0.120 / 0.022
6 12 Maverick VIÑALES SPA Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Yamaha 306.8 1’23.778 0.198 / 0.078
7 42 Alex RINS SPA Team SUZUKI ECSTAR Suzuki 310.3 1’23.782 0.202 / 0.004
8 88 Miguel OLIVEIRA POR Red Bull KTM Tech 3 KTM 310.3 1’23.797 0.217 / 0.015
9 4 Andrea DOVIZIOSO ITA Ducati Team Ducati 313.0 1’23.849 0.269 / 0.052
10 20 Fabio QUARTARARO FRA Petronas Yamaha SRT Yamaha 305.9 1’23.866 0.286 / 0.017
11 21 Franco MORBIDELLI ITA Petronas Yamaha SRT Yamaha 304.2 1’24.021 0.441 / 0.155
12 9 Danilo PETRUCCI ITA Ducati Team Ducati 310.3 1’24.174 0.594 / 0.153

15.19 So far, no one has taken a huge advantage on the world title race. If it will continue like this, and Marc Marquez comes back for the Misano GP at maximum abilities, he might still win the world title.

15.18 KTM and Suzuki seem to have the best race pace, as they showed it during FP4. It is hard for Dovizioso to win, but the podium is still possible. It will be a hard race for Yamaha, as they struggle with tyre management.

15.15 Bad qualifying day for the Italians: Andrea Dovizioso, will start from P8. It will be hard for him to replicate his success of last week. KTM and Suzuki are also very fast and will fight for the victory. Morbidelli P10 and Rossi P14: a complicated weekend for them.

15.12 First pole-position in MotoGP for Pol Espargaro. 4° Mir, 5° Miller, 6° Viñales, 7° Rins, 8° Oliveira, 9° Dovizioso, 10° Quartararo, 11° Morbidelli and 12° Petrucci. However, all the aforementioned riders will start the race from a position ahead as Zarco, who qualified in P3 will start from the pit-lane as a penalty for the incident with Morbidelli last week.

15.11 POLE POSITION FOR POL ESPARGARO! Another great performance for KTM. His lap is 1’23″580. Nakagami from the second position only 0.022. Zarco in P3, but he will start from the pit-lane.

15.10 Viñales has an advantage in Sector 2. Not enough though to take the lead.

15.09 Viñales and Quartararo do not improve their times. Dovizioso is in P8.

15.08 Dovizioso gains some positions and goes into P6. Mir is in P3.

15.07 P. Espargaro in the lead in 1’23″580, Nakagami follows 0.022 behind and Miller in P3 0.120 behind.

15.07 Morbidelli is faster but stays in P9.

15.06 Dovizioso does not improve his time. It will be hard for him.

15.05 Dovizioso on track with soft tyres. He cannot commit mistakes. If he starts from P10, not only he compromises the race but also the fight for the world title.

15.04 Nakagami is in the lead with 0.043 advantage on P. Espargaro, 0.264 advantage on Quartararo and 0.278 advantage on Viñales. Follow, in order, Oliveira, Zarco, Rins, Mir, Morbidelli, Dovizioso, Miller and Petrucci.

15.03 Not a great qualifying session for the Italians: Morbidelli in P9, Dovizioso P10 and Petrucci in P12.

15.02 NAKAGAMI takes the pole-position for now in 1’23″602, 0.043 faster than Espargaro.UNBELIEVABLE

15.01 POL ESPARGARO in the lead in 1’23″645. Over two-tenths advantage on Quartararo and Viñales.

15.01 VINALES! only 0.014 behind Quartararo.

14.59 Now they are all in! 1’23″866 for Quartararo in the lead followed by Zarco +0.053, Mir +0.196.

14.59 Rins takes the lead with only 0.018 advantage on Quartararo.

14.58 1’24″479 for Quartararo who takes the lead.

14.57 Hard tyre on the back, and soft on the front for Morbidelli. Both soft tyres for Dovizioso and Quartararo. Medium in the front and soft in the back for Viñales.

14.56 Morbidelli is the first on track.

14.56 It seems it will be a race between both Suzuki, P. Espargaro, Viñales and Quartararo.

14.55 Q2 starts now! 15 minutes to decide the pole position.

14.53 Valentino Rossi will start from P1 tomorrow. It is unthinkable that he will get to his 200th podium. He will have to race for an incredible comeback and try to gain as many points as possible.

14.51 The images of Rossi’s fall

? @ValeYellow46 is down!!!

The Doctor is unhurt but will not go through to Q2! ?#AustrianGP ? pic.twitter.com/ZBXUWweJcR

— MotoGP™? (@MotoGP) August 22, 2020

14.50 Valentino Rossi was improving his time, but probably, he would have not made it into Q2. His delay from Zarco was 0.261 during sector 3. He had to fight with Petrucci to take the second spot behind Zarco and qualify to the second session.

14.48 Zarco (Ducati Esponsorama Racing) and Petrucci (Ducati) go into Q2. As a reminder, Zarco will start from the pit-lane following the penalty he received for the incident with Morbidelli last weekend on this same track.

14.46 PETRUCCI QUALIFIES! He is second, 0.163 behind Zarco. Follow, in order, Lecuona, Binder, Rossi, Pirro, A. Marquez, Crutchlow, Smith, A. Espargaro, Bradl and Rabat.

14.45 INCREDIBLE FALL FOR VALENTINO ROSSI! he was improving his time by pushing a lot, but he falls at turn 9 during his last attempt. The rider is ok, but it will be hard for him in the race tomorrow. Once again, his race is damaged by poor qualifying.

14.44 1’23″609 ZARCO TAKES THE LEAD!

14.44 Lecuona in the lead by only 0.004. UNBELIEVABLE LAST LAPS IN Q1!

14.43 BINDER immediately in front of Rossi in 1’23″932. Rossi is 0.195 behind Binder.

14.42 UNBELIEVABLE ROSSI! With an incredible and almost impossible sector 4, Rossi takes the lead in 1’24″127.

14.40 Petrucci back on track with two soft tyres.

14.39 New tyres for Rossi, same combination as before. He will try all in to qualify in Q2.

14.38 Valentino Rossi confirms his struggles in the qualifying lap, he needs to come up with something extraordinary to close the gap with other riders who are more at ease in the qualifying lap.

14.36 Improves Rossi, 1’24″327, and gains some positions but it is not enough, he is only fourth now, 0.169 behind Petrucci. Zarco in P2, with 0.007 delay and Binder with 0.009 delay. Only the top two qualify to Q2.

14.35 PETRUCCI IN THE LEAD! 1’24″158 with two soft tyres. Binder only 0.009 behind him. Follow A. Espargaro, Zarco, Crutchlow e Lecuona. Rossi in P8, it will be hard for him.

14.33 Lecuona (KTM) surprisingly in the front in 1’24″501. Aleix Espargaro right behind with 0.142 and Rossi with a delay of 0.237.

14.31 Medium tyre in the front and soft in the back for Rossi, Crutchlow and Zarco. Double soft for Petrucci.

14.30 Just a reminder, Zarco will start from the pit-lane tomorrow as a penalty for the horrible incident he caused during the race last week.

14.30 Q1 starts now!

14.26 Q1 starts at 14.30 with Rossi, Binder, Zarco, Bradl, Petrucci, Lecuona, Crutchlow, Smith, A: Espargaro, Pirro, Rabat and A. Marquez.

14.24 Suzuki is faster than anyone else on the race pace, and then there is KTM. Quartararo, although he improved, stays behind with the Yamaha. Rossi and Viñales are struggling. Dovizioso has not convinced in this practice session, but he had a used medium tyre on the back, perhaps he was hiding his true potential in this session.

14.23 Free practice 4 is over. Nakagami finished the session ahead of Mir, P. Espargaro, Rins, Quartararo, Oliveira, A. Espargaro, Morbidelli, Dovizioso and Pirro. Viñales finished in P12, Rossi in P13 and Petrucci in P16.

Good afternoon and welcome back to the LIVE updates of the qualifying session of the Styrian GP, the fifth weekend of MotoGP 2020. Every team and rider will try to use the experience of the past weekend on the same track, here in Spielberg, to improve the result of the last qualifying.

The favourite for this race is Andrea Dovizioso. The Italian rider won the Austrian GP, after announcing he will not be part of Ducati team next year, gaining his first win of the season on the Spielberg track where he won three times in his career. This weekend he will try to replicate the victory of the last week, also using all the experience about how his motorbike reacts on this track. Considering the result of Fabio Quartararo (Yamaha) last Sunday, Dovizioso could aim to take the lead of the championship, creating a significant gap that will assure him to fight for the world title even when Marc Marquez will come back on track. At the moment Quartararo has 67 points, while Dovizioso has 56. 

Valentino Rossi can still have his say this weekend. A week ago he finished fifth and showed a good race pace. However, the nine-time world champion has to resolve the issues with his motorbike that slow him down during qualifying session. Pol Espargaro (KTM) also needs to be taken into consideration this weekend, as he showed a great pace in the last weekend, only interrupted by the incredible incident between Zarco and Morbidelli.

OA Sport offers the LIVE updates of the qualifying session of the Styrian GP, the fifth round of MotoGP 2020: real-time minute by minute updates, not to miss any action at the Spielberg Red Bull Ring. Qualifying starts at 14.30. Enjoy!

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Photo Credit: LaPresse