Argentina Moto2: Record last lap leaps Lopez to pole position
Alonso Lopez pulled a late pole position out against the clock after a final run on a fresh tyre paid off in qualifying for the Moto2 Grand Prix of Argentina.
The Beta Tools Speed Up rider had earlier shone in the wet session, topping that with ease.
The Boscoscuro rider was on a lap with red sectors, but still peelied off into the pits.
Frantically pointing at the back of his bike for a new rear tyre with just three minutes to go, his team gave a quick turnaround, but fast laps were being set while he made the change.
Returning to the track in 18th the #21 reaped the benefits and made up masses of time in the final sector to return to pole after last appearing there in Valencia 2022 with a new lap record of the Termas de Rio Hondo track - 1m 42.472s.
Aron Canet was the rider displaced by that run, the Pons Wegow Los40 rider was top of the timesheets and held a big wobble at turn nine to finish just 0.041s behind his fellow countryman.
Third went to Somikat Chantra. The Idemutsu Honda Team Asia rider was the first to show there was more time to be found in the final sector, but he could not hold on to provisional pole after topping the timesheets briefly.
Dixon disappointed with fourth
Jake Dixon was the innovator when in came to dipping in for a new tyre in Q2. The British rider had been one of the early session leaders when he made his move for fresh rubber. The Solunion GasGas Aspar rider did not enjoy the same success with new boots that Lopez enjoyed -the bike felt different and not as easy to push for the fractions needed, leaving Dixon fourth but up for the fight for the win on Sunday.
Pedro Acosta will be looking to build on his first race win of the season from fifth after he found traffic and trouble and a clean lap eluded him, too many grey sectors saw him join Dixon on the second row for Red Bull KTM Ajo.
2022 winner Celestino Vietti set the sixth best time for Fantic Racing.
- MotoGP Argentina, Termas - Full Qualifying Results
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Manuel Gonzalez (Correos prepago Yamaha VR46 Master Camp) was one of many riders to put in an early fast lap before being shuffled back to seventh.
Dry practice saw Tony Arbolino arrive with the best time after practice, but could not edge ahead when it mattered most, leaving qualifying with eighth on the grid for Elf Marc VDS Racing.
Joe Roberts was ninth fastest for Italtrans, with the top ten completed by Albert Arenas on the Red Bull KTM Ajo.
Portimao polesitter Filip Salac had a disaster with a crash right at the start of the session in Q2. After the front end folded on him at turn nine he rushed back to the pits, where his Gresini mechanics went all out to get him back on track. That allowed the Czech rider to pick up a few places and claim a thirteenth place start, just behind Darryn Binder who came through Q1 top for eleventh to be top rookie, and Barry Baltus.
Sam Lowes qualified in 14th for Marc VDS, while Fermin Aldeguer, last year’s pole man was down in 16th on the Beta Tools Speed Up.
Sean Dylan Kelly went into Q1 with the 15th best time , just missing out on a Q2 slot. The American, motivated by his self-proclaimed ‘home round’ - Kelly is sporting a special Argentinian flag helmet to celebrate his family links to the country - progressed to Q2 in fourth , it is his first time moving up and will see him start 18th on the grid on Sunday.
What else happened in Q1?
Ai Ogura ( Idemitsu Honda Team Asia) returned from injury for an initially tentative run leading to him finishing the first qualifying session seventh after a big effort from the still delicate Japanese rider, translating to 21st on the gridafter being pushed back by late laps from Marcos Ramirez and Zonta Van Dan Goorbergh.
Dennis Foggia was the best of the rookies arriving in Moto2 in 22nd on the grid for Italtrans.
Rory Skinner had his first long haul qualfying session where he got to grips with the new track in Argentina rapidly for a solid 24th for American Racing.
Early falls for Sergio Garcia and Borja Gomez took them out of contention for the progression places.
Injuries and replacements
Moto3 champion Izan Guevara continues his rehabilitation and recovery from arm pump and ligament injury. He is again replaced by Jordi Torres at Solunion GasGas Aspar, who will fill 23rd.
Alex Escrig is also still absent, with David Sanchis (26th) back in the seat at Forward.
Kohta Nozane (Correos Prepago Yamaha VR46 Master Camp Team) is out after his practice crash in Portimao. His team have chosen Soichiro Minamimoto (27th) as his replacement at this round.
Lukas Tulovic withdrew from the last round after hand pain returned, from a previous accident. He is not at Termas de Rio Hondo and is not replaced by the Liqui Moly Husqvarna IntactGP Team.
