MotoGP Barcelona: Augusto Fernandez dominates to claim his first pole of 2024

Pole, front row, front row – Augusto Fernandez, Tony Arbolino and Aron Canet made it a fantastic day for the Spanish riders

The Brazilian stormed to pole position ahead of Casadei and Zaccone with Ferrari down in P9 after a dramatic qualifying 24 May 2024

Augusto Fernandez claimed a stunning pole position in style at the Gran Premi Monster Energy de Catalunya, as he denied the KTM duo of Pedro Acosta and Deniz Oncu on what was a memorable day for Spanish riders.

Fernandez, who led the way in FP3 earlier on Saturday morning, was back on top in qualifying to claim his first pole since the opening race weekend of the season at Portimao.

The Red Bull KTM Ajo rider's best time of 1:42.119 was enough to beat Acosta by just 0.017s, with Oncu completing the front row just 0.044s off the pace.

Xavi Vierge claimed an impressive fourth place for Petronas Sprinta Racing, ahead of Aspar Team's Jake Dixon, who will start from the front of the second row.

After battling for the top spot at the start of Q2, Tony Arbolino will start from seventh, with Aron Canet and Albert Arenas completing the top nine.

Ai Ogura's hopes of a strong qualifying result were ended when he crashed just moments into the session, while championship leader Celestino Vietti was unable to advance past Q1 and will start from P15.

The MotoGP riders will be back out on track for the Saturday Sprint Race at 15:00 CEST, before the main Grand Prix takes place at 13:00 CEST on Sunday.