Spanish rider Marc Marquez overcame an early qualifying crash to secure pole position at Saturday’s Hungarian Grand Prix, edging out countryman Pedro Acosta at Balaton Park.
The Ducati rider’s earlier tumble during qualifying initially appeared to give Acosta the advantage for pole position, but the KTM rider’s slow finish in the final sector allowed Marquez to recover and claim the top starting spot with authority.
Fermin Aldeguer from Gresini Racing rounded out the front row, while Marquez enhanced his pole-winning effort with a blistering lap time of one minute and 36.785 seconds, delivering a strong statement to his competition.
“It’s true that this morning I tried to be aggressive on the bike, I tried to use a lot of energy. Yesterday I was riding in ‘eco mode’ and just trying to flow, trying to save energy,” Marquez said.
“Today I give everything … Starting in pole position will help but our target, at the moment, fighting for the victory will be difficult for all the laps. But let’s see if we can fight for the podium, it depends a lot on the start.”
The pole position represents a stunning comeback for Marquez, who had dual surgeries on his shoulder and foot just one month ago. The Spanish racer had also dominated both practice sessions.
“We know that one lap is not a problem, the race is another story. His body needed time to recover,” said Ducati’s team manager Davide Tardozzi.
Fabio Di Giannantonio from VR46 Racing, who also went down at turn one in the same location where Marquez lost control, finished fourth in qualifying.
He will start alongside an entirely Italian second row featuring Ducati’s Francesco Bagnaia and Aprilia’s championship leader Marco Bezzecchi.
Jorge Martin, Bezzecchi’s teammate who sits second in the championship standings, managed only eighth place in qualifying.
