Moto2 Austria: Gardner speeds to pole with record lap
Remy Gardner sped to just his second ever pole position as he topped the timesheets in qualifying for the Austrian Moto2 Grand Prix at the Red Bull Ring.
After a delay to the start of Q2 for technical difficulties, the Australian tucked in behind Jorge Navarro to gain enough slipstream advantage and claim pole with a best of 1m 28.681s – a new record at the track for the intermediate class.
The Onexox TKKR SAG Team rider had timed his run just right too, as few riders made improvements as the clock ticked down.
He is joined on the all Kalex front row by Jorge Martin, who had already dipped below the old circuit record earlier in the session on his Red Bull KTM Ajo at their home track.
The third and final slot went to Marcel Schrotter as the Liqui Moly Intact team saw big improvements at Spielberg.
Brno winner and championship leader Enea Bastianini will look to maintain his lead from fourth for Italtrans.
Aron Canet was by far the best of the rookies in an impressive fifth for the Inde Aspar team. The Spaniard was also the top Speed Up rider.
EG 0,0 Marc VDS rider Sam Lowes came into qualifying having topped every practice session regardless of the weather conditions. After looking strong for a chance at pole he could only manage a time strong enough for sixth in qualifying when it mattered most.
Navarro finished his Saturday in seventh for Beta Tools Speed Up.
Luca Marini and Marco Bezzecchi once again worked as a team in qualifying – Marini was the better of the two in eighth with Bezzecchi not far off his pace in tenth.
The pair were split by Tom Luthi, who qualified ninth on the second Liqui Moly Intact entry.
Joe Roberts could not match his pole heroics in Brno, but was fast solo on his way to eleventh.
Jake Dixon was elevated to automatic Q2 entry after several other riders saw their FP3 times cancelled – he made the most of his opportunity and will start 14th for Petronas Sprinta Racing.
Tetsuta Nagashima took pole at the Red Bull Ring last season and after seeing his championship advantage vanish at Brno his fortunes did not improve. The Japanese rider was one of three to crash during the session, leaving him 18th.
There were also falls for Somkiat Chantra and Xavi Vierge.
Several big names failed to progress from Q1 – Fabio DiGiannantonio's final run only elevated him to eighth in the session, equal to 23rd on the grid. Moto3 champion Lorenzo Dalla Porta is an even more distant 27th, just ahead of Moto2 veteran Simone Corsi.
