New lap record for pacesetter Lowes, Marini in Q1

A 1:51.576 in FP3 at the Gran Premio Liqui Moly de Teruel gave Sam Lowes (EG 0,0 Marc VDS) a new MotorLand Aragon lap record and P1 heading into Moto2™ qualifying. Edgar Pons (Federal Oil Gresini Moto2) finished 0.064 off Lowes in second place, with Marcos Ramirez (Tennor American Racing) grabbing a top three place on his final flying lap.

In the early stages of FP3, Ramirez was up to sixth place as Marco Bezzecchi (SKY Racing Team VR46) also improved to go into the top three, before Augusto Fernandez made it an EG 0,0 Marc VDS 1-2 at the top of the standings. Tetsuta Nagashima (Red Bull KTM Ajo) and Joe Roberts (Tennor American Racing) fell victim of the notorious Turn 2 in FP3, both riders were ok, but not an ideal start to Saturday for the pairing with Roberts occupying a top 10 place.

On track, six of the top 10 hadn’t improved their Friday times. That included pacesetter Lowes but with 11 minutes to go, that changed. The British was flying at MotorLand Aragon and went nearly four tenths clear of the field, doing so by setting that aforementioned Moto2™ lap record. Championship leader Enea Bastianini (Italtrans Racing Team) jumped into the top 10 before Pons produced a stunning time to get within a tenth of Lowes, the reigning Moto2™ European Champion understandably pleased with his effort.

Remy Gardner (Onexox TKKR SAG Team) and Jake Dixon (Petronas Sprinta Racing) both shot into the top 10 from outside the Q2 places in the final 10 minutes of FP3 action, with Garzo jumping up to P4 to continue his good form at MotorLand. Then, on his final flyer, Ramirez went P3 – a great effort from the rookie.

Behind the leading trio sits Gardner, with Garzo completing the top five heading into qualifying. Fernandez takes P6 ahead of Jorge Navarro (Lightech Speed Up) who slips from P2 to P7 after failing to improve his time in FP3. Jorge Martin (Red Bull KTM Ajo), Bezzecchi and Dixon complete the Free Practice top 10 before qualifying, as Luca Marini (SKY Racing Team VR46) struggles to P17. The Italian isn’t having an enjoyable time of it in Teruel, but can the former Championship leader pull something out the bag for qualifying?

Find out what happens in Moto2™ qualifying at 15:50 local time (GMT+2)!

Top 10:
1. Sam Lowes (EG 0,0 Marc VDS) – 1:51.576
2. Edgar Pons (Federal Oil Gresini Moto2) + 0.064
3. Marcos Ramirez (Tennor American Racing) + 0.287
4. Remy Gardner (Onexox TKKR SAG Team) + 0.338
5. Hector Garzo (Flexbox HP 40) + 0.350
6. Augusto Fernandez (EG 0,0 Marc VDS) + 0.391
7. Jorge Navarro (Lightech Speed Up) + 0.402
8. Jorge Martin (Red Bull KTM Ajo) + 0.459
9. Marco Bezzecchi (SKY Racing Team VR46) + 0.502
10. Jake Dixon (Petronas Sprinta Racing) + 0.510

CLICK HERE FOR THE FULL RESULTS!