Spanish GP polesitter Jorge Martin (Red Bull KTM Ajo) will lead the Moto2™ riders into qualifying at the Gran Premio Red Bull de Andalucia thanks to his 1:41.175 in FP3. Sam Lowes (EG 0,0 Marc VDS) was second place, just 0.013 off top spot, with Lorenzo Baldassarri (Flexbox HP 40) three tenths off in third.
Free practice complete! ✅@88jorgemartin leads them through! Big shout to reigning European #Moto2 Champion @edgarpons1 who ends the session P4! ????#AndaluciaGP ???? | #Moto2 pic.twitter.com/SBPztaUwrQ
— MotoGP™???? (@MotoGP) July 25, 2020
As we’ve become accustomed to, the Moto2™ riders were straight down to business in the early stages of the session and the top five on the combined times all set their fastest laps on their third flying lap on Saturday morning. The biggest mover in that top five was reigning European Moto2™ Champion Edgar Pons (Federal Oil Gresini Moto2), the Spaniard finished P19 on Day 1 but he was immediately up the sharp end with a 1:41.485.
Championship leader Tetsuta Nagashima (Red Bull KTM Ajo) was also an early improver, but the Japanese rider’s session ended early after taking a heavy tumble at Turn 6. Nagashima headed to the medical centre for a check-up, with teammate Martin sitting top of the tree in FP3 and the Spaniard and Lowes sat 0.3 of the chasing pack.
Friday pacesetter Marco Bezzecchi (SKY Racing Team VR46) was unable to improve his FP1 time, but it didn’t matter too much for the Italian as that 1:41.525 from 24 hours previous made sure Bezzecchi sits sixth heading into qualifying. Andalucian Marcos Ramirez (American Racing) found over half a second from Friday to place himself as the leading rookie in P7, just ahead of fellow Moto2™ rookie Aron Canet (Openbank Aspar Team Moto2). Luca Marini (SKY Racing Team VR46) topped the FP2 times but could only manage P9, with Jorge Navarro (Beta Tools Speed Up) completing the top 10 – but it’s incredibly close.
Third down to eighth are all within a tenth of each other, with nine-tenths splitting the top 24 riders. The fight to get into Q1 will be intense, and the battle for pole position will be even better. Can anyone take it to Martin and Lowes? We’ll find out at 15:10 local time (GMT+2) in Jerez.
Top 14 combined:
1. Jorge Martin (Red Bull KTM Ajo) – 1:41.175
2. Sam Lowes (EG 0,0 Marc VDS) + 0.013
3. Lorenzo Baldassarri (Flexbox HP 40) + 0.310
4. Edgar Pons (Federal Oil Gresini Moto2) + 0.312
5. Tetsuta Nagashima (Red Bull KTM Ajo) + 0.327
6. Marco Bezzecchi (SKY Racing Team VR46) + 0.350
7. Marcos Ramirez (American Racing) + 0.354
8. Aron Canet (Openbank Aspar Team Moto2) + 0.387
9. Luca Marini (SKY Racing Team VR46) + 0.392
10. Jorge Navarro (Beta Tools Speed Up) + 0.415
11. Tom Lüthi (Liqui Moly Intact GP) + 0.447
12. Nicolo Bulega (Federal Oil Gresini Moto2) + 0.462
13. Fabio Di Giannantonio (Beta Tools Speed Up) + 0.485
14. Remy Gardner (Onexox TKKR SAG Team) + 0.490
Click here for the full results!