Takaaki Nakagami has qualified on pole for the first time since he stepped up to MotoGP™ in 2018. This is the first pole position for a Japanese rider in MotoGP™ since Makoto Tamada was on pole position at the 2004 Valencia GP.
Nakagami will be aiming to become the first Japanese rider to finish on the podium in MotoGP™ since Katsuyuki Nakasuga was second in Valencia back in 2012.
With Pol Espargaro at the Austrian GP, Franco Morbidelli at the Catalan GP and Takaaki Nakagami at the Teruel GP, this is the first time there are three maiden polesitters in a single MotoGP™ season since 2013 with MarcMarquez, Stefan Bradl and Cal Crutchlow.
This is the first MotoGP™ pole for Honda since Marc Marquez in Japan last year, ending the longest sequence of successive premier class races without a pole for Honda since they returned to the premier class in 1982. It’s also Honda’s seventh pole here, along with Casey Stoner (2011) and Marc Marquez (2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2019).
Franco Morbidelli is second and the top Yamaha rider, which is his fourth front row start so far this season.
Aragon GP winner Alex Rins is third and top Suzuki. It’s his third front row in MotoGP™, along with Valencia 2018 and Assen 2019. This is the first Suzuki front row start at Aragon since 2016 when Maverick Viñales was second. This is also only the second front row start for Suzuki this season so far; Joan Mir was third on the grid in Styria (although he qualified fourth).
Maverick Viñales has qualified fourth, which is the fifth time this year he has failed to start from the front row.
After passing through Q1, Johann Zarco, who crashed at the end of Q2, is fifth and top Ducati. This is his best qualifying since he was the third in Styria earlier this year, although he started from pitlane.
On pole last week at the Aragon GP, Fabio Quartararo has qualified sixth, which is only the second time so far this season he missed the front row of the grid along with Styria when he qualified 10th (but started from ninth).
Miguel Oliveira is eighth, which is the best MotoGP™ qualifying result for KTM at MotorLand. This is his best qualifying since he was also the eighth-fastest qualifier in Styria this year (although he started from seventh) on his way to taking his maiden MotoGP™ win.
On the podium in the last two races, Alex Marquez is 10th and top rookie after his best MotoGP™ qualifying yet.
Iker Lecuona is 11th for his best qualifying result since he moved up to MotoGP™. He also made it straight through to Q2 for the first time.
Championship leader Joan Mir is 12th, equalling his second-worst qualifying so far this season from Spain, when he qualified 12th but started 10th. His worst qualifying so far in 2020 was in France, when he qualified 14th.
Andrea Dovizioso has qualified 17th. That equals his second-worst qualifying result since he stepped up to MotoGP™ in 2008, which was from Catalunya this year. His worst was also this year in Brno, when he qualified 18th.
Moto2™
Sam Lowes has qualified on pole for the 11th time in Moto2™, one less than Alex Marquez who is fifth on the list of riders with most Moto2™ poles. It’s Lowes’ third pole at Aragon along with 2016 and last week, when he won.
Lowes is the first Brit to take back-to-back poles in the intermediate class since poles began being officially recorded in 1974. He could become the first Brit to take three successive intermediate class wins since Phil Read in 1971.
Three riders didn’t win from Moto2™ pole here: Simone Corsi (2012), Miguel Oliveira (2017), Alex Marquez (2019).
Jorge Navarro, who finished second last year at MotorLand, is second, equalling his best qualifying so far this season from Spain and Catalunya. He’ll be aiming to take a podium for the first time since Valencia last year.
Remy Gardner is third for his third front row of 2020. He qualified P2 in San Marino but didn’t start due to injury.
Fabio Di Giannantonio has qualified fourth, which is the third time this year he starts from the front two rows. He will be aiming to take his second podium of the season, along with Catalunya where he was third.
Rookie Marcos Ramirez is fifth, equalling his best Moto2™ qualifying so far from last weekend at the Aragon GP.
Points leader Enea Bastianini is sixth for his best qualifying since P5 in Emilia Romagna, where he went on to win.
Moto3™
Raul Fernandez is on pole for the fifth time ever and this season, and for the second time in back-to-back GPs along with Brno and Austria. Fresh from his maiden podium, he’ll now be aiming to win for the first time.
Alex Rins (2013), Jorge Martin (2018) and Aron Canet (2019) are the riders who’ve won from pole here in Moto3™.
This is KTM’s fourth Moto3™ pole at MotorLand, along with Alex Rins in 2013 and Aron Canet last year, who both went on to win, and Fernandez’ pole last weekend when he finished third.
Tony Arbolino, who missed the Aragon GP, is second and top Honda. This is the third time so far this year he has qualified within the top three along with Emilia Romagna and Catalunya.
Celestino Vietti is third, which is the first time ever he’s qualified within the top three for back-to-back Moto3™ races. He finished ninth last Sunday at MotorLand Aragon.
After passing through Q1, Gabriel Rodrigo has qualified fourth, which is his best qualifying since he was third in Catalunya earlier this year. He will be aiming to take his second podium on his 100th Grand Prix start.
Championship leader Albert Arenas is fifth, which is the eighth time this year he has qualified in the top six. He finished seventh last Sunday at MotorLand Aragon, his worst result across the line so far this season.
Ayumu Sasaki is sixth for his best qualifying of the season and best since he was the fourth in Silverstone last year.
Second in the Championship, Ai Ogura, is 10th for his first back-to-back top tens in qualifying since Styria and SanMarino, where he took podiums.