Daily Times

SPIELBERG: Italian Enea Bastianini will start from pole on his Ducati-Gresini bike in Sunday’s Austrian MotoGP whilst his in form compatriot Francesco Bagnaia kept the pressure on series leader Fabio Quartararo in posting a faster time in qualifying. Bagnaia is bidding to reduce the 49 point gap between himself and defending world champion Quartararo having already made inroads with victory in the last two MotoGP’s. Bagnaia will start on the front row of the grid on his Ducati along with Australian team-mate Jack Miller whilst Yamaha rider Quartararo will set off in the row behind. Boosting Bagnaia’s spirits further is Ducati have dominated at the Austrian MotoGP since it returned in 2016 winning five in a row before Brad Binder stopped their run on a KTM last year. For Bastianini his first ever pole position is a welcome return to form having hit a dry patch after winning three races earlier in the campaign — the last the French MotoGP in May. “We had a good start to the weekend,” said the 24-year-old. “But today we took a further step forward, having arrived well prepared for the qualifying session.”