It’s not often we see a dominant performance in the tightly contested Moto2™ category, but this time it was Sam Lowes (Elf MarcVDS Racing Team) who blew away the field with an incredible 1:40.750 taking pole position by 0.578s.
2nd and 3rd place were decided in typical Moto2™ fashion, however, with just 0.002s between Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM Ajo) in 2nd place and Jake Dixon (Autosolar GASGAS Aspar Team) completing the front row.
As always it was a hard-fought battle in Q1 as the Moto2™ riders toughed it for a chance at Q2 promotion. It was Ai Ogura (Idemitsu Honda Team Asia) who took top spot, dominating the session to take the first Q2 place. Fast laps came flying in at the end of the session and it was Joe Roberts (Italtrans Racing Team), Zonta Van Den Goorbergh (Fieten Olie Racing GP), and Manuel Gonzalez (Correos Prepago Yamaha VR46 MasterCamp) who joined the Japanese rider in securing Q2 promotion.
As the green flag dropped and Q2 got underway and it was Dixon who set the benchmark, leading the way from Alonso Lopez (Beta Tools SpeedUp) and Lowes. It wasn’t long before Ogura put himself in the mix, slotting into 3rd place and demoting Lowes just before the final runs.
With four minutes to go the red sectors were coming in from Acosta, who then took over the top spot. The Spaniard’s time at the top didn’t last long however, as straight after Sam Lowes made some magic happen, pulling out a scintillating lap time to move the goalposts by over half a second. Despite efforts from the competition, Lowes’ lap stood and he will start the Spanish Grand Prix from pole!
Lopez bagged the first spot on the 2nd row in 4th, as he’ll line up ahead of Ogura. Barry Baltus (Fieten Olie Racing GP) who bagged the final spot on the 2nd row in 6th.
The Moto2™ riders’ attention now turns to the race on Sunday, make sure not to miss any of the action as it commences at 13:15 local time (GMT +2)!
Moto2 Top 4 – Combined Qualifying – Spanish GP
1. Sam LOWES – GBR – Elf Marc VDS Racing – 1’40.750
2. Pedro ACOSTA – SPA – Red Bull KTM Ajo – +0.578
3. Jake DIXON – GBR – Inde GASGAS Aspar M2 – +0.580
4. Alonso LOPEZ – SPA – CAG SpeedUp – +0.709
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