Francesco Bagnaia snatched pole from Maverick Vinales in a thrilling qualifying for the MotoGP Austrian Grand Prix.
was the sole Japanese manufacturer representative in the top 10, qualifying ninth on his factory Yamaha.
With a new circuit lap record set on Friday in practice, the battle for pole was expected to be a frantic affair, and proved so in the opening salvo.set the initial pace at 1m29.916s, before Binder – who has signed a new contract with KTM through to the end of 2026 – edged ahead with a 1m29.610s. But Binder’s lap was scrubbed for exceeding track limits, reinstating Espargaro to the top of the order before RNF Aprilia’sVinales then set the pace with a 1m29.249s with just under 11 minutes to go, before Binder edged ahead with a 1m29.206s.
With nine minutes remaining, Vinales set a new reference with a 1m28.907s as nine minutes remained, after team-mate Espargaro crashed at Turn 3 seconds earlier.But a first pole for Aprilia was denied by Bagnaia, who edged ahead by 0.037 seconds with his final flying effort of 1m28.539s – albeit missing out on a new lap record by just 0.006s.
Vinales held onto second, while Binder completed the front row for the first time since last year’s Japanese GP.
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