Pasini edges Schrotter to Moto2 pole in Australia
Mattia Pasini stormed to a fifth pole of the 2017 Moto2 season after edging Marcel Schrotter in qualifying at Phillip Island.
A brief light shower at the start of qualifying saw pitlane empty, but no times were set as conditions deteriorated quicker than thought.
Mercifully, the rain fall abated soon after and the track soon became a hive of activity as everyone pushed to make up for lost time.
Championship leader Franco Morbidelli set the early benchmark pace with a 1m34.158s, but compatriot Pasini soon deposed him with a 1m34.096s, bettering that to a 1m33.865s.
Pasini was knocked back by Marcel Schrotter on the Dynavolt Intact GP Suter, but immediately responded with a 1m33.300s.
Schrotter was able to put Pasini‘s time under threat with a 1m33.306s, but neither could make any advancements on their best efforts and Pasini would not be denied.
KTM’s Miguel Oliveira completes the front row, while team–mate Brad Binder secured his best Saturday result of his rookie Moto2 campaign in fourth ahead Morbidelli, who gave up his pole charge when he pulled into pitlane in the final minute.
The Italian’s Marc VDS team–mate Alex Marquez completed row two, while Takaaki Nakagami brushed off a collision with Edgar Pons in third practice to qualify his Team Asia Honda seventh from Dominique Aegerter and Jesko Raffin.
Tom Luthi has struggled for pace for much of this weekend and failed to make any real impression on the battle for the front row. The Swiss rider will begin his bid to reduce his 19–point championship deficit to Morbidelli from 10th.
Andrea Locatelli just missed on a top 10 grid slot in 11th ahead of Xavi Vierge and Sandro Cortese, while Axel Pons and Simone Corsi rounded out the top 15 ahead of home favourite Remy Gardner.
The Forward Racing duo of Lorenzo Baldassarri and Luca Marini have been involved in several nasty incidents this weekend, with the former suffering a dislocated shoulder this morning.
Battered and bruised, the pair gritted their teeth in qualifying to put their Forward machines 19th and 30th respectively.
Xavier Simeon did not set a time after a heavy fall at Turn 11 10 minutes into the session. The Belgian was taken to the medical centre for checks.