Emilia Romagna Moto2: Pole for Lowes as Fernandez falls
Sam Lowes took his time to work up to the best lap possible in the conditions and take pole at the end of the Moto2 Emilia Romagna qualifying session, ahead of round sixteen of the championship.
Lowes took his time and showed caution in the most treacherous corners to come out on top in qualifying for the Emilia Romagna Moto2 Grand Prix as the title challengers faltered behind.
The Elf Marc VDS rider stayed out while the Ajo team-mates opted for a tyre change and in a crash filled session his patience paid off. After several fast laps didn’t stick due to yellow flag conditions, his penultimate lap topped the timesheets but was at risk of being scratched off.
That lead to the British rider pushing hard one last time at the track nearest to his adopted home, to come out on top with a best of 1m 36.510s for his sixth pole of the season.
Jorge Navarro had been leading the way after using the opposite tactic of getting out and fast early, using what he had learned after topping Q1. His risk paid off and his second place for +Ego Speed Up and Boscoscuro was cemented by his final run on new tyres which saw him pull up to just 0.045s behind Lowes.
Augusto Fernandez also excelled in the difficult weather, claiming third on the second Marc VDS entry to complete the front row and a great day for the team.
Aron Canet took risks late on, which paid off as he climbed to fourth on the timesheets for Aspar.
Celestino Vietti kept up his good form this weekend despite a crash to claim fifth for Sky Racing Team VR46.
Marcos Ramirez secured his best result since the Assen round in sixth for American Racing, passing Stefano Manzi, who held on to seventh despite being one of many fallers in the session for Flexbox HP40.
Tom Luthi used all his experience to stay on board for a solid eighth place start on Sunday for Pertamina Mandalika SAG Team, pushing Q1 graduate Albert Arenas back to ninth for Aspar in the process.
Raul Fernandez equalled his worst qualifying performance in his rookie season as a late fall saw him drop to tenth as the final flying laps came in. The title contender had enjoyed a run of two poles in a row and was looking for a third.
With only nine points between them, Remy Gardner could not capitalise on his Red Bull team-mate’s misfortune. Lacking confidence in the damp, he could only climb to 14th on his final run.
Between the duo on the grid are Somkiat Chantra ( Idemitsu Honda Team Asia) in eleventh, Bo Bendsneyder (Pertamina Mandalika SAG Team) in twelfth and Fermin Aldeguer (+Ego Speed Up) in thirteenth.
There were also falls in Q2 for the riders at the bottom of the timesheets in the session - Ai Ogura, Xavi Vierge and Jake Dixon - who is under investigation for crashing while marshals were running to his team-mate.
The tricky cold and damp conditions coupled with a drying track and spots of rain also saw a flurry of Q1 falls. Niccolo Bulega fell first, leaving him last on the grid.
He was swiftly followed by Marco Bezzecchi, leaving him 27th tomorrow. Tony Arbolino saw his bike fly to the wall. He was soon followed into the gravel by Tommaso Marcon, Marcel Schrotter, Barry Baltus and Simone Corsi, before Mattia Casadei had the first of his two crashes. Lorenzo Baldassarri slipped off as the chequered flag waved. Only the top six riders in Q1 remained upright for the whole session.
Joe Roberts misses the race weekend after fracturing his left collarbone in his FP2 crash.
Lorenzo Dalla Porta is with the Italtrans team in the paddock but has his arm in a sling, he is replaced by Casadei, who finished seventh in the 2021 MotoE championship. He lines up in 26th on the grid.
Hafizh Syahrin is back in Malaysia following an illness in the family. While on compassionate leave he is replaced by Marcon (28th).
