Italian MotoGP Qualifying Results | di Giannantonio storms to shock Mugello pole

Fabio di Giannatonio has taken a sensational maiden pole position on home soil for the Italian MotoGP at Mugello after taking full advantage of sketchy weather conditions for a landmark result.

In a season that has seen the rookie overshadowed by his three-time race winning Gresini Ducati team-mate Enea Bastianini, qualifying for his first home soil MotoGP race flipped the script for di Giannantonio.

He leads an entirely unexpected front row that includes countrymen Marco Bezzecchi and Luca Marini on the VR46 Ducatis as Ducati locked out the top five positions.

Key to di Giannantonio’s efforts was coming through a dicey Q1 session immediately before, held in damp but drying conditions, Mugello having been struck by a lightning storm amid humid temperatures in the run up to qualifying.

While all riders were on slicks by the time Q1 came to an end, it was di Gianantonio that timed his fast lap to perfection to top the order, before using the benefit of that track time to emerge as the shock pace setter in Q2.

Even so, it still took his final effort to power to the top, denying fellow rookie Bezzecchi what would have been an equally historic pole position for both himself and the team.

Nevertheless, in the first Italian MotoGP since Valentino Rossi hung up his helmet, Bezzecchi and Marini ensured his legacy remains large in second and third.

Their efforts pushed down better fancied Ducati counterparts Johann Zarco and Pecco Bagnaia on the Pramac and factory GP22s respectively, while championship leader Fabio Quartararo made the most of the more technical conditions to haul his Yamaha up to sixth position, ahead of his championship rivals Aleix Espargaro and Bastianini, coming in seventh and tenth respectively.

Takaaki Nakagami led a three-strong Honda challenge in Q2 in eighth, with Pol Espargaro behind him in ninth. They fared better than Marc Marquez who, having joined di Giannantonio in progressing via Q1, suffered a huge high-side just seconds into Q2, causing a red flag period.

He returned to track when action resumed, but could only manage 12th, just behind Jorge Martin in 11th.

With Q1 being as much about having steely nerves as well as timing, Marquez once more didn’t make himself popular as he used a close tow from Jack Miller ahead to snatch the second of the Q2 spots, leaving the furious Australian 13th.

He starts ahead of wild-card Michele PIrro in 14th, with Miguel Oliveira the best of the KTMs from team-mate Brad Binder.

On a dismal day for Suzuki, Joan Mir could only manage 17th on the grid, while Alex Rins faces an uphill task from 21st.

Yamaha didn’t fare much better outside of Quartararo, with Darryn Binder on the RNF machine next up down in 20th, ahead of Franco Morbidelli in 23rd and Andrea Dovizioso in 26th.

2022 Italian MotoGP | Mugello | Qualifying Results