MotoGP in Spielberg

MotoGP in Spielberg: Qualifying LIVE from 10.50am

There was already an intense duel between Jorge Martin (left) and Francesco Bagnaia in qualifying at Spielberg.

(Bild: APA/AFP/JULIEN DE ROSA)

Jorge Martin has secured pole position in MotoGP qualifying in Spielberg. He set the fastest lap on Saturday morning, ahead of his biggest rival Francesco Bagnaia. The track record was broken twice. Top talent Pedro Acosta, on the other hand, retired in the first part of qualifying and only started from 14th place. The worst starting position so far for the rookie. 

World championship leader Jorge Martin is on pole position at the Austrian MotoGP Grand Prix. In a high-class duel against world champion Francesco Bagnaia in Spielberg, the Ducati rider secured first place on the grid for Sunday's race (14:00) and the sprint on Saturday afternoon (15:00).

With a time of 1:27.748 minutes, the Spaniard set the fastest lap ever on a motorcycle at the Red Bull Ring.

New fabulous record
Martin beat the previous record set by Bagnaia (+0.141 seconds), the Spielberg winner of the past two years, by almost eight tenths of a second. This is the sixth time in a row that a Ducati has taken the top spot in Styria.

Superstar Marc Marquez finished third with a respectable gap (+0.544). The best KTM rider was Jack Miller in fifth place; the Australian had previously qualified for the pole decision of the top twelve in "Q2" as the fastest rider in "Q1". Brad Binder had to settle for twelfth place, while KTM wildcard rider Pol Espargaro finished tenth.

Here is the championship standings:

KTM super talent Pedro Acosta, on the other hand, experienced a disappointment. The 20-year-old Spaniard, who crashed three times on Friday, was unable to finish higher than 14th on the grid. Italian Ducati rider Fabio Di Giannantonio did not start after dislocating his left shoulder in a practice crash the day before.