Moto2 Assen: Gardner grabs maiden pole
Remy Gardner claimed his first Moto2 pole ahead of the Assen Grand Prix as his lap held off his rivals to lead the timesheets until the end of qualifying.
The Onexox TKKRSAG Team rider had shown his pace by topping FP3 by over half a second in the morning, and his pace had not deserted him by the time Q2 arrived as he dropped his own best to a final pole time of 1m 36.572s after a fully committed lap.
Brad Binder will be joining the Kalex rider on the front row after being the early pacesetter. The Red Bull KTM Ajo rider survived a massive moment at turn five and came back to set his fastest lap, which remained good enough for second and just 0.110s slower than the Australian.
Xavi Vierge remained a constant threat to the pair, claiming third after a determined session for EG 0,0 Marc VDS.
His team-mate, Championship leader Alex Marquez will be leading row two off the grid after he could only manage a best of fourth.
Sam Lowes did qualifying the hard way - coming through Q1 he used that track time to his advantage and stayed upright when it counted to sit in fifth for Federal Oil Gresini.
Fabio Di Giannantonio was the best of the rookies in sixth, just ahead of his team-mate Jorge Navarro who came through Q1 for seventh.
Tom Luthi had a wobble on his way to eighth, but was the best of the Dynavolt Intact GP riders.
Enea Bastianini climbed to ninth by the close of the session, while fellow Italtrans rider Andrea Locatelli also had enough pace for a top ten start.
Both Sky Racing VR46 bikes struggled for pace - Luca Marini gave everything for eleventh, while Nicolo Bulega came from Q1 for 18th.
Lorenzo Baldassarri undid all his hard work after topping Q1 when he crashed right at the start of Q2. After some quick repairs he returned for a damage limitation run - he had not registered a time before his spill - and took 12th.
Dominique Aegerter (MV Agusta Idealavoro Forward) missed out on progressing to Q1 for the first time this season after providing the tow for Bulega, who took his top four place. He starts 19th.
Home hero Bo Bendsneyder (NTS RW Racing) will be aiming for the best result possible from 24th.
Jake Dixon (Sama Qatar Angel Nieto Team) picked himself up after missing much of Q1 when his handlebar fell off at the start of the session. He rallied after his scare to finish the Q1 11th, which equates to 25th on the grid.
Jonas Folger replaces the injured Khairul Idham Pawi again at Petronas, he will fill 23rd on the grid.
Stefano Manzi qualified 21st, but will go to the back of the grid after being handed a penalty for causing the FP1 crash which hospitalised Dimas Ekky Pratama.
Pratama misses the race, along with Philipp Oettl, who is still experiencing sickness and vision issues following his practice crash at the last round after trying to participate in FP1.
