Balaton Park, Hungary – Ducati’s Marc Marquez cemented his championship lead by twice smashing the Balaton Park Circuit lap record on Saturday, securing pole position for the Hungarian Grand Prix. Marquez’s dominant performance contrasted sharply with that of his teammate, Francesco Bagnaia, who suffered his worst qualifying session of the season.
Marquez’s Record-Breaking Run
The championship leader wasted no time setting the pace. After setting an initial lap record, Marquez went out again to establish a new benchmark time of 1 minute and 36.518 seconds—claiming his eighth pole of the season.
He will be joined on the front row by Aprilia’s Marco Bezzecchi and VR46 Racing’s Fabio Di Giannantonio, both of whom successfully battled through the earlier Q1 session to earn their spots.
Drama and Disappointment
The qualifying session was not short on drama, particularly for several of Marquez’s key rivals:
- Pedro Acosta’s Crash: KTM’s Pedro Acosta, who was fastest in Friday practice, crashed early and destroyed his bike. The young rider sprinted back and managed to commandeer a reserve bike for one final attempt, but could only manage seventh fastest.
- Bagnaia’s Shock: The biggest surprise came from two-time champion Francesco Bagnaia. Sitting third in the championship, the Italian continued his recent struggles, managing only 15th fastest. He missed out on Q2 for the first time this season and was visibly frustrated with his disappointing time.
- Alex Marquez’s Penalty: Marc’s brother, Alex Marquez, qualified 11th but will start from 14th place on the grid. The Gresini Racing rider received a three-place grid penalty for riding slowly on the racing line during practice and disrupting another rider.
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