Miguel Oliveira takes a career first MotoGP pole position at his home race in Portugal, while world champion Mir is 20th.
Q1
MotoGP went out for its final qualifying of 2020, and already we had problems. In FP4, Johann Zarco’s Ducati went pop This meant the session was delayed so the track could be cleaned. World Champion Juan Mir needed to advance to Q2, with heavy hitters Franco Morbidelli and Valentino Rossi stuck in Q1 as well.
After a 15 minute delay, qualifying got underway. The early leaders were Aleix Espargaro and Brad Binder, with Mir sixth. Nobody expected that top two halfway through, but then, it was crunch time. Five riders set session best sectors sectors. Best of them all was Cal Crutchlow, who, with Morbirelli advanced into Q2 in his swansong race. World champion Mir has to settle with the back row of the grid. The Spaniard qualifying a lowly 20th, and not helping the Suzuki constructors title charge. Another disappointment was Brad Binder, missing out on Q2 by the narrowest of margins.
Q2
Then came Q2. For the final time in 2020, the top 12 riders battled out for pole position. It was impossible to predict anything, which was seemingly symbolic of this season as a whole.
After the first runs, it was Q1 graduate Morbidelli on top. Jack Miller was second and Zarco, on his backup bike, third. Unfortunately for the Frenchman, he crashed early in his second run and his charge ended there. Riders like Fabio Quartararo and There was plenty of time to run though, and the track was only getting quicker.
The last few minutes of the session were terrific to watch, as Morbidelli, Fabio Quartararo, Cal Crutchlow and many others all held the top spot. Then came the twist of all twists. Home hero Miguel Oliveira put a blistering time in to take the top spot. He and Morbidelli traded punches but the Italian just couldn’t match his pace. It was an incredible career first pole for Oliveira, in the season where he emerged as a star of the future. This pole was also Tech3 KTM’s first since France 2018, and the third for the KTM chassis this year. It was also a top 4 lockout for non-works teams, if this qualifying needs to be any more unique.
Now we wait impatiently for the race tomorrow, the finale of what has been a grand MotoGP season.
