Marc VDS rider Alex Marquez continued his dominant form at Jerez into qualifying to secure his first pole position in the intermediate class, the Spaniard blitzing the existing lap record in the process.
Lap times were pretty hot from get go in the 45-minute qualifying session, Red Bull KTM Ajo’s Miguel Oliveira shooting to top spot with a lap close to Sam Lowes’ 2016 record. Just a moment later, Marquez bettered Oliveira’s 1m42.409s with a 1m42.080s.
Team-mate Franco Morbidelli got close to going even quicker, but missed out by just 0.046s on his attempt. As the session drew to a close, no-one was able to mount a serious threat on Marquez’s pole lap, which proved fortunate as the Spaniard was forced to park up early with a puncture.
Kiefer Racing’s Dominique Aegrter enjoyed a strong Friday aboard his Suter, and this translated to third on the grid for tomorrow’s 26-lap grand prix. The Swiss rider’s effort bumped Oliveira back to fourth, with Mattia Pasini a strong fifth on his Italtrans Kalex.
Francesco Bagnaia took his best qualifying result of his fledgling Moto2 career in a superb sixth on the Sky VR46 machine, with Tech 3’s Xavi Vierge once again impressing in seventh spot ahead of Takaaki Nakagami.
Marcel Schrotter brushed off a late tumble at Turn 2 to qualify his Dynavolt Kalex ninth on the grid. Axel Pons, who also suffered a crash during the session, completed the top 10, though only by 0.054s to Forward Racing’s Luca Marini.
Tom Luthi remained largely anonymous through qualifying, the Swiss rider languishing almost a second off of the pace down in 12th. Speed Up’s Simone Corse heads the fifth row, with Fabio Quartararo and Hafizh Syahrin for company, whilst Khairul Idham Pawi put on a good show for a career-best 16th.
