May 16 (Reuters) - KTM's Pedro Acosta ended a 588-day wait for pole position at the Catalan Grand Prix on Saturday, while title contenders Marco Bezzecchi and Jorge Martin suffered a nightmare qualifying session as both Aprilia riders crashed out.
Acosta delighted home fans with a blistering lap of one minute and 38.068 seconds as the 21-year-old Spaniard claimed his second career MotoGP pole -- his first since the Japanese Grand Prix in 2024.
"I'm super happy. It looks like the bike is matching quite nicely with the conditions and with the track. It's true that there are still many things to check," Acosta said.
He is joined on the front row by VR46 Racing's Franco Morbidelli and Gresini Racing's Alex Marquez. The second row features Trackhouse's Raul Fernandez, LCR Honda's Johann Zarco and VR46 Racing's Fabio Di Giannantonio.
For Aprilia, what should have been a weekend to capitalise on their momentum after a podium sweep at the French Grand Prix last weekend turned into a disaster.
Martin, fresh from claiming the sprint-race double in Le Mans, was forced to go through the first qualifying session before he crashed for the third time this weekend.
Despite advancing to Q2 alongside the impressive Morbidelli, the Spaniard could not improve his time and will start ninth.
Championship leader Bezzecchi fared even worse, ending up in the gravel late in the session after his own crash.
The Italian, who holds a one-point advantage over Martin in the championship, will start from 12th on the grid.
Ducati's twice champion Francesco Bagnaia could not advance to Q2 and will start from 13th on the grid.
His teammate and reigning champion Marc Marquez is skipping the Grand Prix after undergoing surgery following his crash in Le Mans.
(Reporting by Rohith Nair in Bengaluru, Editing by Ed Osmond)
