MISANO, Italy — Maverick Vinales set a track record in winning the pole for Sunday’s San Marino Grand Prix during Saturday’s qualifying session at Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli.
Vinales turned a lap of 1:31.411, which was .218 seconds better than the previous MotoGP track record.
The Monster Energy Yamaha rider led a Yamaha lockout of the top four qualifying positions, marking the first such accomplishment for the Japanese manufacturer.
“I’m really happy because that lap was amazing,” Vinales said. “Not just because it gave me pole position, but more so because of the time itself. When I saw 1‘31.4s I thought, ‘This is a good lap time.’ We knew our potential and took everything we had, and we made a really good lap.
“Honestly, I’m quite happy and impressed that at the end of the day we were so fast. Breaking the lap record was really hard for me.”
Petronas Yamaha teammates Franco Morbidelli and Fabio Quartararo completed the front row, while Vinales’ teammate, Valentino Rossi, qualified fourth.
Jack Miller was fifth for Pramac Racing.