Sam Lowes (EG 0,0 Marc VDS) remains the man to beat at MotorLand Aragon after yet another lap record-breaking session at the Gran Premio Liqui Moly de Teruel. In Q2, the British rider was untouchable as he set a 1:51.296 to eventually beat Jorge Navarro (Lightech Speed Up) by over two tenths. Remy Gardner (Onexox TKKR SAG Team) completes the front row as Championship leader Enea Bastianini (Italtrans Racing Team) claims P6.
Back-to-back pole positions! ????
— MotoGP™???? (@MotoGP) October 24, 2020
That's four front rows on the bounce for @SamLowes_22! ????#Moto2 | #AlcanizGP ???? pic.twitter.com/Cvep00iaFR
Marcos Ramirez (Tennor American Racing) was the early pacesetter but Lowes didn’t allow the rookie to spend long at the summit. The Briton went 0.4 quicker and just a tenth off the lap record to lead the way and set his competition an almighty challenge. Navarro then cut Lowes’ gap down to less than a tenth before Gardner and Ramirez slotted themselves onto the provisional front row, but a certain number 22 was absolutely flying.
With eight minutes to go, Lowes slammed in a new Moto2™ MotorLand Aragon lap record to cruise further away into the distance. Navarro kept pushing and grabbed P2 back to sit a couple of tenths off Lowes, with Q1 graduate Luca Marini (SKY Racing Team VR46) getting himself into the top 10 after a difficult weekend, as Jake Dixon (Petronas Sprinta Racing) then claimed P7 on his first flying lap in Q2 to push Marini down a place.
Second place Navarro was going in search of a time that would see him leap ahead of Lowes, but his pole position dreams ended at Turn 7 as the Spaniard slipped out of contention. It wouldn’t matter too much though as no one was able to penetrate the front row in the latter stages, Lowes’ second consecutive MotorLand Aragon pole remained intact. The in form intermediate class rider will launch from his fourth consecutive front row start, Navarro picks up his third Q2 P2 of 2020 despite the late tumble.
Despite a late crash, @Jorge_Navarro9 lands himself on the front row! ????
— MotoGP™???? (@MotoGP) October 24, 2020
P2 and a long jog down to parc fermé! ????#Moto2 | #AlcanizGP ???? pic.twitter.com/zEc5vBWDED
By just 0.009, Gardner keeps a front row start and holds off Fabio Di Giannantonio (Lightech Speed Up). Talking of tight gaps, Ramirez is just 0.001 seconds behind Diggia as the rookie continues his impressive run of MotorLand form, P5 is the Spaniard’s equal-best Moto2™ qualifying result. Championship leader Enea Bastianini (Italtrans Racing Team) picks up the final Row 2 spot in P6, much better than his P12 starting slot last weekend and all the Italian will be focused on is trying to stop Lowes from winning – or limiting the damage.
Dixon spearheads the third row, Hector Garzo (Flexbox HP 40) and Augusto Fernandez (EG 0,0 Marc VDS) join the British rider on Row 3. Q1 graduate Bo Bendsneyder (NTS RW Racing GP) picks up an impressive P10, his best Q2 result since the Dutchman qualified P5 in Qatar. Marini salvages P11 in the end as the Italian beats Aragon GP podium finisher Jorge Martin (Red Bull KTM Ajo) by less than a tenth. At the end of the session, Martin and Marini’s teammate Marco Bezzecchi vented their frustration at each other after an incident in the closing moments of Q2. Title challenger Bezzecchi has to settle for P14 in Q2, his first non-top 10 qualifying result of the season.
Frustrations overflowing at the end of qualifying! ????@Marco12_B and @88jorgemartin are fuming at each other! ????#Moto2 | #AlcanizGP ???? pic.twitter.com/LRlM8EC2tu
— MotoGP™???? (@MotoGP) October 24, 2020
So, Lowes reigns once again at MotorLand. Can anyone stop the man second in the Championship from taking his third win in a row? A victory would see Lowes take the title lead heading into the final three races, Bastianini is the only rider in the title race looking likely to challenge Lowes on Sunday afternoon.
Tune in to the Moto2™ race at 14:30 local time (GMT+1)!
Top 10:
1. Sam Lowes (EG 0,0 Marc VDS) – 1:51.296
2. Jorge Navarro (Lightech Speed Up) + 0.216
3. Remy Gardner (ONEXOX TKKR SAG Team) + 0.415
4. Fabio Di Giannantonio (Lightech Speed Up) + 0.424
5. Marcos Ramirez (Tennor American Racing) + 0.425
6. Enea Bastianini (Italtrans Racing Team) + 0.480
7. Jake Dixon (Petronas Sprinta Racing) + 0.484
8. Hector Garzo (Flexbox HP 40) + 0.535
9. Augusto Fernandez (EG 0,0 Marc VDS) + 0.543
10. Bo Bendsneyder (NTS RW Racing GP) + 0.650
CLICK HERE FOR THE FULL RESULTS!