Moto2 Jerez: Early record pace sees Gardner grab pole position
Remy Gardner laid down the lap to beat and remained unchallenged to claim pole at the end of qualifying for the Moto2 Spanish Grand Prix at Jerez, round four of the championship.
Championship leader Gardner leapt out of the pits determined to make the most of the best of the Moto2 track time and on his first flying lap set an unbeaten 1m 40.667s, lowering his own record which was set in FP3 yesterday.
It is the Red Bull KTM Ajo riders first pole since the last round of 2020 in Portimao - which the Australian went on to win.
Fabio Di Giannantonio came closest to Gardner’s best - just 0.071s slower on his second lap, also making the best of the early part of the session on his Gresini machine but unable to find the final tenths to take over at the top as the session progressed.
Marco Bezzecchi also wisely got going early on- his third lap saw him to third on the grid for Sky Racing Team VR46 - completing an all Kalex front row.
Rookie Raul Fernandez proved that time could be found late on - his final run saw him climb to fourth, the top Spanish rider on home soil despite losing a little ground when Albert Arenas was a late faller in front of his Red Bull bike.
That lap pushed Sam Lowes down to fifth as Lowes pushed himself to the limit on track.
The Elf Marc VDS rider found that limit when a warning wobble while late on the brakes was not heeded. Still managing to set a personal best while almost sideways, that run saw him move into fourth only to crash out at the start of the next lap as the number 22 continued to push, leaving him unable to reply to Raul Fernandez’s late effort.
Xavi Vierge was pushed back to sixth for Petronas Sprinta Raing, while Lowes’ team-mate Augusto Fernandez was seventh fastest.
Joe Roberts recovered from his early tumble to come back for eighth with Italtrans, as Ai Ogura also made improvements to move into ninth for Idemitsu Honda Team Asia.
Jake Dixon (Petronas Sprinta Racing) fell out of contention following his turn six fall while chasing Gardner around to try and improve his line and catch a tow.
Aron Canet’s early exit into the gravel saw him have enough time to return to track, but he didn’t make any huge gains, leaving him to slot into eleventh on the grid for Inde Aspar. Canet was also the best qualifying of the non Kalex riders, on board a Boscoscuro.
Although Cameron Beaubier (American Racing) came through Q1 quickest it was Nicolo Bulega (Federal OIl Gresini) who made the best of his extended track time in 13th. Marcos Ramirez also moved up to take 14th for American Racing, while Bo Bendsneyder took 15th for SAG Team with the American 16th.
Stefano Manzi and his Flexbox HP40 team opted to sit out the final moments of Q1, confident their time was good enough for the top four. The session was close and although just 0.175s off Beaubier he slipped to fifth as Bulega secured the final progression slot. That leaves the Italian in 19th on the grid.
Taiga Hada replaces Barry Baltus on the NTS, his first world championship qualifying session saw him finish 16th in Q1 - 30th on the grid.
After acting as a replacement rider,Tommaso Marcon returns as a wildcard in Jerez with MV Agusta, he will start the Spaninsh GP in 31st.
