Thomas Luthi made the best of changeable conditions to secure pole position for the Moto2 class in Assen. As the track dried after a rain-affected MotoGP qualifying session, riders set about putting laps in as track conditions improved and lap times tumbled.
Luthi’s best time of 1m37.954 was half a second slower than Johan Zarco’s previous weekend-best but was enough to secure pole position tomorrow. Johann Zarco will start from second on the grid, with Dominique Aegerter in third.
Sam Lowes heads the second row of the grid. He is followed by Franco Morbidelli in fifth Takaaki Nakagami in sixth and Sandro Cortese in seventh. Reigning world champion Johan Zarco will have work to do from seventh, as will championship leader Alex Rins in eighth. Jonas Folger starts from ninth on the grid, with Lorenzo Baldassarri rounding out the top 10.
Elsewhere on the grid, Danny Kent could manage no better than 18th while Remy Gardner starting in 26th has been confirmed as a permanent replacement for Alessandro Tonucci on the Tasca Racing Scuderia Kalex.
The qualifying session remained drama-free, although Alex Marquez narrowly avoided yet another crash when he touched the slippery painted lines which almost spat him off his Estrella Galicia Kalex. The rain arrived again with 22 minutes of the session remaining, and as the track grew increasingly wet there was no chance of anyone further improving their times. The wet weather running may prove valuable, however, as rain is expected on race day, although no one can predict precisely when.
The Moto2 race is due to start tomorrow at 1120 BST.
