MotoGP Styrian Grand Prix qualifying - Start time, how to watch & more

After a dramatic Austrian GP that was overshadowed by a horrific crash involving Johann Zarco and Franco Morbidelli which red flagged the initial race, Andrea Dovizioso claimed his first victory of the season the day after confirming he would leave Ducati at the end of 2020.

MotoGP remains in Austria for the latest double-header of the reshuffled 2020 calendar, giving riders a second shot at glory at the Red Bull Ring.

Marc Marquez remains out of action as he recovers from surgery on a broken arm, while Pramac Ducati's Francesco Bagnaia is also absent having suffered a knee fracture at Brno.

Zarco also missed out on the action during Friday practice having undergone wrist surgery on Wednesday, after picking up the injury in the huge shunt in last weekend's race. The Avintia Ducati rider has been declared fit to race this weekend and will be able to return in Saturday's FP3.

But assuming the French rider makes the start of the second Red Bull Ring race, he will start from the pitlane due to a penalty picked up for his part in last week's crash, having been sanctioned for irresponsible riding.

Having been denied a shot at victory in the Austrian GP after leading the initial race, only to take the restart without a fresh tyre, Pol Espargaro enjoyed a strong start to his Styrian GP by topping Friday practice at KTM's home track with Takaaki Nakagami in second on the year-old LCR Honda.

Fresh from his maiden MotoGP podium last weekend, Suzuki's Joan Mir is also fancied to be a contender once again as he ended Friday's FP2 third quickest and fractionally ahead of team-mate Alex Rins.

Championship leader Fabio Quartararo endured a tough start to his Styrian GP weekend down in 14th place on the timesheet at the end of FP2 for Petronas SRT Yamaha.

Elsewhere last week's winner Dovizioso provisionally holds a Q2 spot thanks to his FP1 times along with fellow Ducati rider Jack Miller.

What time does qualifying for the Styrian MotoGP start?

Qualifying for the Styrian MotoGP is set to start at 2:10pm local time (1:10pm BST), using the regular Q1 and Q2 sessions format. Qualifying takes place directly after the 30-minute FP4 session which is set to start at 1:30pm local time (12:30pm BST).

The fastest 10 MotoGP riders on the FP1-2-3 combined timesheet automatically head into Q2, with the rest of the riders entering Q1 of qualifying. The two riders who are fastest in the 15-minute Q1 session will progress into Q2 to compete with the top 10 from practice. Q2, which also lasts 15 minutes, decides who gets pole position and the qualifying order for the front four rows of the grid.

Date: Saturday 22 August 2020
Start time: 2:10pm local time - 1:10pm BST

How can I watch qualifying?

In the United Kingdom every MotoGP practice, qualifying and race is broadcast live on BT Sport. MotoGP also offers its own live online video streaming service.

What's the weather forecast for qualifying at the Red Bull Ring?

With the unpredictable Styrian mountain weather set to hit all weekend, the current weather forecast remains unsettled for qualifying, with a high chance of rain and thunderstorms on Saturday afternoon at the Red Bull Ring.

A high of 28 degrees Celsius for qualifying will mean temperatures will be fractionally cooler than Friday's FP2, but if it does rain the wet conditions will be a much bigger factor.

What is the Styrian Grand Prix?

With the same race name not allowed to be used twice during one MotoGP season, organisers have opted for new race titles to differentiate the two events at this season's double-headers.

After the traditional Austrian GP last weekend, the Styrian GP hosts round two - named after the region the Red Bull Ring is based in.

The same naming process will be used for the future double-headers at Misano and Aragon, while the Valencia double-header will use the European GP title for its first event.

Styrian GP FP2 results