Moto2 Jerez : Martin holds off late challenge for first Moto2 pole
Jorge Martin set the standard and saw his early pace good enough to hold firm at the top of the timesheets and take pole for the Jerez Moto2 Grand Prix.
The Red Bull KTM Ajo rider was fast from the off on his Kalex, putting in his session best of 1m 41.384s lap on just his second lap. Despite some strong late challenges it remained good enough to claim his first Moto2 pole position.
By comparison Jorge Navarro left in late to put in his front row challenge. His penultimate effort saw him finish just 0.181s off the top spot for HDR Heidrun Speed Up.
The final slot on the front row goes to British rider Sam Lowes after some determined, confident laps. The EG 0,0 Marc VDS rider overcame some early bike issues to claim third.
There was more teamwork on display from the Sky Racing Team VR46 riders. This time it was Luca Marini and Marco Bezzecchi taking it in turns to lead each other around. Marini placed the highest of the Italian pair in fourth, with Bezzecchi just behind in fifth.
They will be joined on the second row by Aron Canet. Easily the best of the rookies moving up from Moto3, The Inde Aspar rider looked to have lost none of his form after the break in the season, lapping consistently on his way to sixth.
Marcel Schrotter may have broken the lap record in practice but couldn’t quite match that pace when it came to qualifying leaving the Liqui Moly Intact GP rider down in seventh.
Championship leader Tetusta Nagashima will be next to the German on the grid after claiming the eighth best time in the session on the second Red Bull KTM.
Xavi Vierge was an early frontrunner but faded to ninth for Petronas Sprinta Racing. He was well ahead of his teammate Jake Dixon who was a disappointing 17th. The Spaniard was also the best of the riders to come through Q1.
Lorenzo Baldassarri, who won the race in 2019, completes the top ten best times for Flexbox HP40.
Fabio Di Giannantonio came through Q1 after topping the session, but a crash limited his progress and left him 18th and last in Q2.
The biggest surprise was seeing title hopeful Tom Luthi not make it out of Q1. The Swiss rider could only manage a best of fifth in the session. This left him visibly frustrated at just missing out on progressing.
Another big name to miss the cut was reigning Moto3 champion Lorenzo Dalla Porta. He continued to try to get to grips with his move up to Moto2 but could only manage a time good enough for 13th - which translates to 27th on the grid.
