Qualifying
Heavy morning rain meant the 4.23km track still had damp patches by the time of FP2 on Saturday morning. After a sensational ninth place on Friday, Espargaró set the twelfth fastest time in Qualifying, and finished just over a second back of Marco Bezzecchi’s new absolute lap record. Bastianini matched his ideal time in Q1, but struggled to get temperature in his front tyre as he placed sixth.

Sprint
The damp morning conditions were a distant memory come the Sprint start at 15:00 (UTC+2) as temperatures of 27 degrees hit Italy’s Adriatic Coast.

Like the majority of the MotoGP™ grid, Bastianini and Espargaró opted for Michelin’s softer rear tyre for the 13-lap shootout. Higher temperatures and an intense track layout made overtaking particularly difficult, especially when behind other riders.

Bastianini held his position from 16th on the grid on the first lap, but moves on Fabio Quartararo and team-mate Espargaró lifted him to 14th by the third lap.

‘La Bestia’ was soon involved in a six-rider fight for eleventh place, but found his front tyre difficult to manage due to its rising pressure when behind the other bikes. He lost a place to Brad Binder on the final lap, meaning he finished 15th. Still, the Italian believes he has the rhythm to make up further positions on Sunday.

Starting eleventh due to a penalty for another rider, Espargaró lost three places on the first lap. Despite being demoted to 15th on lap two, the Spaniard spent the race just behind team-mate Bastianini and less than two seconds off eleventh. This represents a clear step forward for the rider who is making only his third substitute appearance of the season, while Maverick Viñales recovers from injury.

The main event is still to come for Red Bull KTM Tech3 with Warm Up kicking off Sunday’s action at 9:40 (UTC+2) before the 27-lap race, which kicks off at 14:00 (UTC+2).

Enea Bastianini: “I was hoping for a better result today. Yesterday when I checked the times, I saw that I had stronger pace than one lap speed. Also, in the time attack I was really close to Q2. But this morning it was really difficult for me to put temperature into the front tyre. It was quite cold for the first two laps. Then when I pushed more in the third time attack, I lost the front in Turn 4. During the Sprint, it was very complicated to overtake the other riders and it felt like I was locking the front everywhere. I was at the back of the group for the whole race. This wasn’t my target for the Sprint and we need to find something to help me tomorrow. The start will be very important.”

Pol Espargaró: “Overall it wasn’t a bad race. I was there with the same pace as the guys fighting for P11 with (Diogo) Moreira, (Pecco) Bagnaia, (Franco) Morbidelli and the two KTMs. I was just there behind them, chilling and couldn’t overtake because I’m still missing that aggression to do it in a good way. Apart from my start, my race was decent. I feel like I’m back in this ‘racing mode’, when I’m fighting with other riders. That’s nice and let’s see how tomorrow goes. It’ll be a long race as the forecast says it will be hot. It’s going to be physical as well, but I’ll try to manage it well.”

Nicolas Goyon, Team Manager: “Riding in Misano is certainly like attending a party! There is a huge number of people here and the ambience in the paddock is one of the best of the season. Yesterday we felt part of this party, as we saw Pol Espargaró going straight to Q2 with Enea just missing out on a place in the top ten. But today was a dose of reality. After a disappointing Qualifying, we paid the price in the Sprint with a disappointing 15th and 16th. I feel we have more to give. I’m sure Enea will be able to fight close to the top ten tomorrow while Pol will be fighting for points and to keep improving his position in the field. We should keep our heads held high and remain optimistic for tomorrow’s main race.”