Marquez pips Morbidelli to Valencia Moto2 pole
Alex Marquez claimed the final Moto2 pole position of the 2017 season after setting the best lap of the session in the early stages of qualifying.
The pace was hot from the off in qualifying, with Italtrans rider Mattia Pasini shooting to the top of the pile with the fastest lap of the weekend of 1m35.367s on his opening gambit.
Marc VDS rider Marquez deposed Pasini a few minutes later with a 1m35.050s, with world champion team-mate Franco Morbidelli just missing out on top spot in second.
Marquez’s time remained intact as the session wore on, and he came under no threat as the chequered flag came out – the Spaniard securing his third pole of the year, all of which coming on home soil.
Morbidelli remained second, 0.065 seconds adrift of his team-mate, while Pasini completed the front row.
Miguel Oliveira heads KTM team-mate Brad Binder, who had a light tip off at the end of the session, in fourth spot, while Dominique Aegerter will line up on the back of the second row for Kiefer Racing’s first race since the tragic death of team owner Stefan Kiefer.
Takaaki Nakagami found a bit of form in qualifying and dragged his Honda Team Asia bike to seventh for his final race in the intermediate class, while Francesco Bagnaia, Xavi Vierge and Marcel Schrotter completed the top 10.
Hafizh Syahrin was just 0.079s outside of a top 10 start in 11th, the Malaysian edging ahead of Axel Pons and Sandro Cortese in the closing stages of the session. Tom Luthi’s stand-in Riccard Cardus will start from 14th, with Isaac Vinales alongside in 15th.
Wildcard Eric Granado was an early crasher at the first corner, but was able to rejoin the action and managed 18th on his Promorace machine. British wildcard Jake Dixon sat out qualifying after injuring himself in a crash in third practice, and is in doubt to start Sunday’s 27-lap finale.