Marquez beats Fernandez to Aragon GP pole

Having played second fiddle to his main title rival throughout the weekend, Alex Marquez (EG 0,0 Marc VDS) got the job done in Moto2™ Q2 at the Gran Premio Michelin® de Aragon to claim a home Grand Prix pole position. A new lap record saw the Spaniard edge out Augusto Fernandez (FlexBox HP 40) by 0.125, with Red Bull KTM Ajo’s Brad Binder completing the intermediate class front row.

It was Marquez’ teammate Xavi Vierge who set the first benchmark time of the session, a 1:52.589 was laid down by the Spaniard but Marquez’ third lap would be fierce. The Championship leaper hadn’t been in the top three all weekend but a 1:52.225 would be a new MotorLand Aragon lap record. So then, work to do for Fernandez after the first set of flying laps, the Free Practice pacesetter lingered down in P10.

In the shadows of teammate Lorenzo Baldassarri, Fernandez was improving. His lap time wouldn’t be able to better Marquez, but the number 40 was in touching distance as he leapfrogged to P2. Luca Marini (SKY Racing Team VR46), second after Free Practice, then shot himself up from P11 to third behind Fernandez, the latter again improving. A red sector two and a red sector three was Fernandez’, but he couldn’t hold his advantage down the straight and through the sweeping left-hander. Powering over the crest, the Misano winner went 0.125 off Marquez’ time.

Not far down the road from Fernandez, KTM’s Binder grabbed the final front row slot in third and with a minute remaining, that was that. The leading contenders rolled out of their laps and despite not being able to improve on his second run, pole position was Marquez'. And epic encounter surely awaits between the top two in the Championship on Sunday afternoon, with Binder well in the hunt from P3.

After looking strong all weekend Marini will be happy with a P4 start, his best since qualifying P2 at the German GP, with Dynavolt Intact GP’s Tom Lüthi claiming P5 in Aragon as the Swiss rider aims to keep his chances of a title ongoing on Sunday. Jorge Navarro (HDR Heidrun Speed Up) brings up the rears on the second row as early Q2 pacesetter Vierge has to settle for P7 on the grid. Rookie Nicolo Bulega (SKY Racing Team VR46) sits in the middle of Row 3 ahead of Federal Oil Gresini Moto2’s Sam Lowes, with Iker Lecuona (American Racing KTM) sitting as the second fastest KTM qualifier in P10.

Tensions are building in the Moto2™ Championship fight as Fernandez aims to continue his hunt on Marquez in the standings. The Aragon GP looks set to be an intermediate class thriller, so tune in at the later than usual time of 14:30 (GMT+2) to watch the drama unfold.

Q2 top 10:
1. Alex Marquez (EG 0,0 Marc VDS) 1:52.225
2. Augusto Fernandez (FlexBox HP 40) + 0.125
3. Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Ajo) + 0.201
4. Luca Marini (SKY Racing Team VR46) + 0.210
5. Tom Lüthi (Dynavolt Intact GP) + 0.341
6. Jorge Navarro (HDR Heidrun Speed Up) + 0.355
7. Xavi Vierge (EG 0,0 Marc VDS) + 0.364
8. Nicolo Bulega (SKY Racing Team VR46) + 0.381
9. Sam Lowes (Federal Oil Gresini Moto2) + 0.385
10. Iker Lecuona (American Racing KTM) + 0.402

Click here for the full results!