Sam Lowes takes pole during Moto2 qualifying

Gresini’s Sam Lowes took pole position this afternoon for the Moto2 race tomorrow at Jerez.

Lowes smashed the class lap record at the Andalucian circuit, setting a time of 1.42.408 to end the session in first place.

The Briton was followed by the German pairing of Jonas Folger and Sandro Cortese, who set times of 1.42.436 and 1.42.439 respectively.

The second row will be occupied by Franco Morbidelli, Thomas Luthi and Lorenzo Baldassarri, with Morbidelli only being 0.072 seconds off Sam Lowes’ time, showing how competitive the Moto2 class really is.

Alex Rins will start seventh on the grid tomorrow, followed by Simone Corsi, who fell early on during the session on his Speed Up machine. Alex Marquez qualified in tenth, whilst Luis Salom ended up in tenth.

Johann Zarco, the 2015 Moto2 Champion, will be disappointed by his qualifying performance. The Frenchman only managed to qualify in sixteenth place, just behind the Leopard Racing pair of Danny Kent and Miguel Oliveria.

The Moto2 race starts tomorrow at 11:20 BST