Moto2 Buriram: Stunning lap lifts Marquez to pole

Alex Marquez saw his early fast lap stand all the way to the chequered flag as he looks to extend his championship lead from pole in the Moto2 Thailand Grand Prix.

The EG 0,0 Marc VDS Kalex rider recovered from his FP3 fall to bounce back and set a new record lap of 1m 35.297s and claim the top spot on the grid with his best time set on just his fifth qualifying lap of the Buriram track. It is his sixth pole of the season.

The Spaniard is joined on the front row by Tetsuta Nagashima (ONEXOX TKKR SAG Team) who finished just 0.095s behind Marquez for second and the best rookie in qualifying; Jorge Martin; who prevented an all Kalex front row by pushing his Red Bull KTM Ajo bike hard, claiming his first front row start in Moto2 in the process.

Fourth went to Sky Racing Team VR46 rider Luca Marini, with Remy Gardner on the second SAG Team entry moving up into fifth after using Marcel Schrotter as a target to complete a strong qualifying for the team.

They are joined on row two by Augusto Fernandez for Flexbox HP40, in a close session where all of the top seventeen were within a second of the best lap.

Xavi Vierge (EG 0,0 Marc VDS) found enough to hold on to seventh as the late hot laps came in, with Tom Luthi (Dynavolt Intact GP) improving to sixth before dropping to eighth as the session drew to a frantic close. 

Nicolo Bulega (Sky Racing Team VR46) had topped FP3 but could only manage a time good enough for ninth in qualifying. Iker Lecuona found late pace to claim a top ten start for American Racing KTM.

Thai rider Somikat Chantra had given the home fans something to cheer after finishing Friday second overall, but never matched his FP1 pace, he starts from 13th for Idemitsu Honda Team Asia. 

Andrea Locatelli (Italtrans) set a new lap record in Q1 (later bettered by Marquez) to have a shot at pole but could only manage a time good enough for 15th on the grid in Q2. 

Sam Lowes also progressed but was the last rider to set a Q2 time and never really got in the mix, leaving him down in 16th for Federal Oil Gresini.

The rain returning briefly at the end of Q1 saw Mattia Pasini, Joe Roberts and Jorge Navarro all slide into the gravel at turn three in quick succession. 

Navarro, currently sitting in second in the championship standings, was left in seventh in the session after performing a very skilful save at the start of Q1 to stay in contention, but his late fall left him down in 21st on the grid.

British rider Jake Dixon pushed his Gaviota Angel Nieto machine as hard as he dare in the changeable conditions but finished his day 27th .