Moto 2: Sam Lowes Takes Pole Position In The Opening Round of Qatar
By Jack Hammersley
It’s a near perfect start for Marc VDS’s Sam Lowes who takes his first pole position of the season and looks set to fight for the victory
Joining the Brit on the front-row is rookie Red Bull KTM Ajo’s Raul Fernandez who did a very impressive lap time, finishing +0.140 seconds from the poleman. Bo Bendseydar put in a sensational performance achieving his first front-row position in his Moto 2 career and will be looking to make it a maiden podium tomorrow in the race.
The second row is headed by SKY Racing VR46’s Marco Bezzecchi who will be disappointed to not be starting from the front-row with the pace he’s shown during testing and throughout the weekend. Joining the VR46 Academy rider will be American Joe Roberts and Australia’s Remy Gardner; these two will be looking to fight for the podium positions tomorrow.
Petronas Sprinta Racing’s Jake Dixon will head the third-row compared to his team-mate Xavi Vierge who will start down in 15th after suffering a crash at turn six at the end of the session. The team-mates also had a scary coming together at turn three with Jake just saving the front from a big crash.
Federal Oil Gresini’s Fabio Di Giannantonio went through Q1 and used the track time well, managing to qualify in the middle of the third-row in eighth place, with his team-mate Nicolo Bulega being a row behind him in eleventh. The Italian duo could be darkhorses for the race tomorrow.
The other rookies have had quite varied results; SKY Racing VR46’s Celestino Vietti managed to secure a top ten spot on the grid, which is a great result for the Italian, also managing to make use of the extra track time in Q1. Tony Arbolino ended the Q2 session in 18th place so not the position he would have wanted, but this will be a good learning curve for the Italian for the future qualifying sessions. Ai Ogura, Cameron Beaubier, Albert Arenas and Yari Monetlla finished in 19th, 22nd, 23rd and 27th.
Can Sam Lowes be the first Brit to win the opening round of a Grand Prix since Barry Sheene in 1979? The race takes place at 18:20 (GMT+3)
Featured Image: MotoGP.com