Fabio shot into a surprise last-second pole position in a breath-taking qualifying. The Frenchman came on top after a fiercely-fought practice, in which results remained unpredictable until the very end. The HDR – Speed Up Racing rider p Quartararo osted a blistering 1m43.474s final lap and edged home rider Álex Márquez (EG 0,0 Marc VDS) by 116 thousands. Germany’s Marcel Schrotter (Dynavolt Intact GP) will complete the front row.
Current championship leader Francesco Bagnaia (SKY Racing Team VR46) did not adapt well to the scorching asphalt temperature and had to settle for 4th, despite showing good pace over the weekend. He will be one of the contenders challenging for the top of the podium. Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Ajo) and Mattia Pasini (Italtrans Racing Team) secured P5 and P6.
Spanish riders Xavi Vierge (Dynavolt Intact GP) and Joan Mir (EG 0,0 Marc VDS) will start from third row after claiming 7th and 8th places, less than 7 tenths off the pace. In fact, the series is so closely matched that 17 riders finished within one second.
Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM Ajo), currently second in the overall standings and winner of the previous Grand Prix, dropped down the ranks and will start from P17. Lorenzo Baldassarri (Pons HP40), third in the Championship, will also have to work his way up the pack, as he finished only 10th today after a crash in Turn 12.
It took 25 Moto2™ Grand Prix for the Spain-trained French raising talent to clinch his first pole position, and he did it in a racetrack he adores: Quartararo claimed a double win here in the Moto3 FIM CEV Repsol Championship in 2014, before being crowned series winner for the second consecutive time. He will surely try to emulate that feat tomorrow, in an undoubtedly gripping race.