Moto2 Thailand: Unbeatable Baldassarri bags Buriram pole

The first intermediate pole in Thailand went to Lorenzo Baldassarri after his early pace remained unmatched ahead of the Moto2 Thailand Grand Prix.

The Pons HP40 Kalex rider set the best lap of the track - a 1m 36.374s effort - on just his third lap of the Chang International Circuit.

It is the Italian’s second pole, his first having come in Jerez earlier this year.

Alex Marquez was able to cut his time throughout the session, but struggled to get his EG 0,0 Marc VDS machine exactly where he wanted, which lead to him having his then best lap cancelled for exceeding track limits. He finally got the better of the final sector to claim second, just a slim 0.026s behind Baldassarri’s best.

Luca Marini found some late pace to complete the front row for Sky Racing Team VR46. The Italian has not been present at the front of the grid since he took pole back in Brno.

Mattia Pasini was circulating on pole pace but slid out of contention after finding the limit at turn nine, leaving the Italtrans rider fourth.

The 2018 title contenders will be next to each other on the grid - Miguel Oliveira had a much improved qualifying session to claim fifth for Red Bull KTM Ajo, with Francesco Bagnaia taking sixth after having his best lap cancelled on the second Sky Racing VR46 entry.

Aragon pole sitter and race winner Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Ajo) could not quite match the success he had in Spain and starts from seventh on the grid tomorrow.

Fabio Quartararo had the best time after the practice sessions had been run, the Speed Up rider topped FP3 but could only manage a time good enough for eighth when in mattered in qualifying.

Augusto Fernandez spent much of his time shadowing his team-mate Baldassarri and it paid off - earning his best qualifying result to date in ninth.

Marcel Schrotter rallied to complete the top ten after a quiet start for Dynavolt Intact GP.

Joan Mir was again the top rookie, one place further back in eleventh on the second Marc VDS entry.

Sam Lowes (Swiss Innovative Investors) had a tough session. With improvements hard to come by he drifted to 15th by the time the chequered flag was waving in a close session where all of the top 21 riders were within a second of the best lap.

Danny Kent has been replaced by Edgar Pons at Speed Up, he claimed 25th and was just faster than local rider Thitipong Warokorn who replaces Alejandro Medina for SAG Team and will sit in 26th on the grid.