NAKAGAMI CLAIMS FIRST MOTOGP POLE

Takaaki Nakagami claims first MotoGP pole position – Photo: LAT

Takaaki Nakagami has continued his strong form at Aragon to claim his maiden MotoGP pole position.

By RHYS VANDERSYDE

The Japanese Honda rider, who recently re-signed with the manufacturer, had set the early benchmark time in Q2 but went on to better it with a 1m46.882 at the end of the session.

Franco Morbidelli (Petronas Yamaha) looked like he might steal pole position on his final run but fell just 0.063 seconds short at the chequered flag.

Suzuki’s Alex Rins put himself in a good position to back up last weekends win, taking the final spot on the front row.

Jack Miller narrowly missed out on a place in Q2 having led the majority of Q1. Last-ditch efforts from Johann Zarco (Avintia Ducati) and Pol Espargaro (KTM) relegated the Australian Ducati rider down to 14th.

Championship leader Joan Mir (Suzuki) could only muster 12th fastest, while his main rival Fabio Quartararo (Petronas Yamaha) will start from sixth.

Yamaha’s Maverick Vinales set the fourth-fastest time ahead of Zarco who was the best of the Ducati riders in fifth.

The third row of the grid belongs to Cal Crutchlow (LCR Honda), Miguel Oliveira (KTM Tech3) and Pol Espargaro (KTM).

Nakagami’s result marks the first time in 16 years that a Japanese rider has recorded a MotoGP pole, with the last being Makoto Tamada back in 2004.

The Teruel MotoGP is due to commence at 11pm AEDT tonight and can be viewed on Fox Sports 507.

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