Alex Marquez takes pole in the desert: Moto2
The Spaniard was unbeatable in the first qualifying session of 2018; looking strong for Sunday
It’s been a faultless weekend so far for Alex Marquez (EG 0,0 Marc VDS) at the Qatar GP and that continued in qualifying, with the Spaniard setting an unbeatable time that took him to the top of the order midway through the session to stake an early claim on the first win of the year. He will be joined on the front row by a resurgent Lorenzo Baldassarri (Pons HP40), with his countryman Francesco Bagnaia (SKY Racing Team VR46) completing the front row – just over half-a-second adrift of pole.
Qualifying for the intermediate class was a drama-filled affair as ever, as the floodlights came on and the temperature dropped, creating perfect conditions in the battle for the top spot on the grid.
Red Bull KTM Ajo’s Miguel Oliveira is in good shape at a circuit where he battled for the podium last year and lines up heading the second row. He’s joined by rookie sensation Romano Fenati (Marinelli Snipers Team) who has shown incredible form on his first weekend, with returning 2015 lightweight class Champion Danny Kent (Beta Tools – Speed Up Racing) taking sixth and equally impressing.
Jorge Navarro (Federal Oil Gresini Moto2), Mattia Pasini (Italtrans Racing Team) and Sam Lowes (Swiss Innovative Investors) complete the top ten, despite a crash for the Brit during qualifying – rider ok.
We’re ready to go racing on Sunday in Moto2™ and with 12 riders within a second of each other, it’s set to be very close. Watch the title contenders and key players kick off their campaigns on Sunday from 17:20 local time (GMT +3).
Moto2™ Qualifying Results
1 – Álex Márquez (SPA) KALEX 2’00.299
2 – Lorenzo Baldassarri (ITA) KALEX +0.308
3 – Francesco Bagnaia (ITA) KALEX + 0.236
Source: MotoGP™
, Moto2™
