Ducati is sailing high, and we see it from Francesco Bagnaia, who made sure to stay at the top in the full qualifying results at Austin.
He also ended Marquez’s pole position and Frenchman Fabio Quartararo on the second position, giving Marquez third in the table but first in the front row for this season.
Following Marquez, Pramac Ducati’s rookie Jorge Martin stood fourth with +0.497s, and Takaaki Nakagami stood fifth with +0.511s.
Zarco returned after his arm pump surgery while we saw Joan Mir and Luca Marini wearing Kevin Schwantz design helmets.
Both made sure they were in Qualifying 1. Much work is carried on the COTA track to reduce the bumps.
Due to the sad loss of cousin Dean Berta Vinales last weekend in the WorldSSP300, Vinales won’t race at COTA.
Full qualifying results COTA GP
| Sr.No | Rider | Manufacturer | Country | Lap | Time |
| 1 | Francesco Bagnaia | Ducati Team (GP21) | ITA | 06-Jul | 2’2.781s |
| 2 | Fabio Quartararo | Monster Yamaha (YZR-M1) | FRA | 06-Jul | +0.348s |
| 3 | Marc Marquez | Repsol Honda (RC213V) | SPA | 03-Jun | +0.428s |
| 4 | Jorge Martin | Pramac Ducati (GP21)* | SPA | 02-Jun | +0.497s |
| 5 | Takaaki Nakagami | LCR Honda (RC213V) | JPN | 06-Jun | +0.511s |
| 6 | Johann Zarco | Pramac Ducati (GP21) | FRA | 03-Jul | +0.598s |
| 7 | Alex Rins | Suzuki Ecstar (GSX-RR) | SPA | 06-Jul | +0.672s |
| 8 | Joan Mir | Suzuki Ecstar (GSX-RR) | SPA | 03-Jun | +0.747s |
| 9 | Luca Marini | Sky VR46 Avintia Ducati (GP19)* | ITA | 02-Mar | +0.765s |
| 10 | Jack Miller | Ducati Team (GP21) | AUS | 02-Jun | +0.939s |
| 11 | Brad Binder | Red Bull KTM (RC16) | RSA | 06-Jun | +1.000s |
| 12 | Pol Espargaro | Repsol Honda (RC213V) | SPA | 03-Jun | +1.094s |
| Qualifying 1: | |||||
| 13 | Franco Morbidelli | Monster Yamaha (YZR-M1) | ITA | 05-Jun | 2’3.872s |
| 14 | Andrea Dovizioso | Petronas Yamaha (YZR-M1) | ITA | 07-Jul | 2’4.044s |
| 15 | Alex Marquez | LCR Honda (RC213V) | SPA | 07-Jul | 2’4.1s |
| 16 | Enea Bastianini | Avintia Ducati (GP19)* | ITA | 06-Jun | 2’4.118s |
| 17 | Iker Lecuona | KTM Tech3 (RC16) | SPA | 06-Jul | 2’4.324s |
| 18 | Miguel Oliveira | Red Bull KTM (RC16) | POR | 06-Jun | 2’4.392s |
| 19 | Aleix Espargaro | Aprilia Gresini (RS-GP) | SPA | 05-May | 2’4.419s |
| 20 | Valentino Rossi | Petronas Yamaha (YZR-M1) | ITA | 03-Jun | 2’4.699s |
| 21 | Danilo Petrucci | KTM Tech3 (RC16) | ITA | 06-Jul | 2’4.829s |
