Valencia MotoGP, Ricardo Tormo – Qualifying Results

* Rookie.

Official Ricardo Tormo MotoGP records
Best lap: Jorge Lorenzo 1m 29.401s (2016)
Fastest race lap: Francesco Bagnaia 1m 31.042s (2021)

Maverick Vinales storms to pole position with a new lap record at the Valencia MotoGP season finale, while Francesco Bagnaia turned the tables on Jorge Martin and will start ahead of his title rival.

Just 15th on Friday, Bagnaia soaked up the pressure to lead Qualifying 1 and continued the momentum by putting his red machine on pole with 5 minutes to go in Qualifying 2.

Friday leader Vinales then broke into the 1m 28s for Aprilia, but Bagnaia and the factory Ducati team were visibly delighted with second place.

There will be a Pramac Ducati on the front row. However it is Martin’s team-mate Johann Zarco, riding in his final event before joining LCR Honda.

Martin, who pulled a tear-off discarded by Marc Marquez out of his, engine intake as he rode down pit lane at the start of the session, threw caution to the wind by later swapping to his spare bike fitted with a hard (rather than soft) front tyre despite the cool conditions.

There was a near miss when Martin ran wide and Marc Marquez – following in his wheeltracks – tried to cut underneath. The Repsol Honda rider, like brother Alex and KTM’s Brad Binder, later ed.

Martin’s hard tyre gamble backfired, leaving him sixth.

A strong qualifying for Jack Miller and team-mate Binder, despite the late fall, means the RC16 duo will start ahead of Martin on row two.

Joan Mir, who underwent checks in hospital after a Friday morning fall, has withdrawn from the remainder of the weekend.

Bagnaia can be crowned 2023 champion this afternoon if he scores 4 more points than Martin in the Sprint.

*Rookie.

• Valencia Moto2: Latest Results
• Valencia Moto3: Latest Results

Francesco Bagnaia takes a 21-point lead into the Valencia title decider after a runner-up finish to Fabio di Giannantonio in Qatar was combined with tenth place after tyre woes for Jorge Martin.

Reigning champion Bagnaia thus has two chances to secure another title this weekend, starting with the Saturday Sprint, where he will be crowned if he can extend his lead to 25 points.

But with Martin winning 6 of the last 7 Sprints (and 2nd to Alex Marquez in the other) that looks like a tall order and the world championship is unlikely to be decided until the final lap of the season on Sunday.

…Or perhaps even several hours afterwards, depending on the effect of any post-race penalties for low tyre pressure.

Bagnaia and Martin are among 15 full-time riders to have now received an Official Warning for low tyre pressure. A further breach would result in a 3-second time penalty, or 6-seconds for Aleix Espargaro, who has offended twice.

The only riders yet to use their low-pressure warning ‘joker’ are Fabio Quartararo, Takaaki Nakagami, Brad Binder, Joan Mir and Fabio di Giannantonio, plus the returning Alex Rins and absent (through injury) Miguel Oliveira.

The Valencia circuit, which will host a post-season test next Tuesday, has been resurfaced ahead of the 2023 event.

Among the riders saying farewell to their current teams this weekend are Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda), Franco Morbidelli (Monster Yamaha), Johann Zarco (Pramac Ducati), Fabio di Giannantonio (Gresini Ducati) and Pol Espargaro (GASGAS Tech3). Luca Marini is also expected to leave VR46 to replace Marquez but no announcement has yet been made.

Reigning Moto2 champion Pedro Acosta will make his MotoGP debut, with GASGAS Tech3, at next week’s Valencia test.