It’s another Red Bull KTM Ajo 1-2 as World Championship leader Remy Gardner secured his second pole position of the season in Moto2™ qualifying at the Gran Premi Monster Energy de Catalunya, the Australian’s 1:42.977 was enough to fend off teammate Raul Fernandez by 0.158s. Bo Bendsneyder (Pertamina Mandalika SAG Team) bags his second front row of the year in third.
???? @GardnerRemy takes pole!
— MotoGP™???? (@MotoGP) June 5, 2021
The Aussie fends off his teammate for his second pole position of the season ????#Moto2 | #CatalanGP ???? pic.twitter.com/O53FH8cHHV
Gardner vs Raul Fernandez rolls on
The duo are proving incredibly difficult to beat in 2021 and their superiority was on show again on Saturday afternoon in Barcelona. Gardner and Raul Fernandez exchanged P1 a couple of times in Moto2™ Q2, before Gardner cemented top spot with that 1:42s lap record as he stretched his advantage to over a tenth from 0.036s. The electric pairing seems to have an edge on everyone at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, with Bendsneyder 0.265s behind second place Fernandez.
???? @25RaulFernandez and @bobendsneyder complete the front row! #Moto2 | #CatalanGP ???? pic.twitter.com/Zm5bp30lgY
— MotoGP™???? (@MotoGP) June 5, 2021
The chasing pack
Augusto Fernandez (Elf Marc VDS Racing Team) grabbed his best qualifying finish of the season in P4 on home turf, the Spaniard has had good pace all weekend and is eying a first rostrum since the 2019 San Marino GP. Fabio Di Giannantonio (Federal Oil Gresini Moto2) bounced back from a huge Turn 4 highside in FP3 to claim P5 in Q2, Xavi Vierge’s (Petronas Sprinta Racing) last lap placed the Spaniard on the outside of Row 2 in P6.
Rookie Ai Ogura (Idemitsu Honda Team Asia) continues to impress and will lead Sam Lowes (Elf Marc VDS Racing Team) from Row 3, the British rider starts P8 – his worst qualifying of the season. Lowes is in an Idemitsu Honda Team Asia sandwich because Somkiat Chantra lines up P9, that's his best Saturday result of the campaign. Marco Bezzecchi (SKY Racing Team VR46) – like Lowes – endures his worst qualifying of the season and has work to do from P10.
Make sure you’re tuning into the Moto2™ race at a later time than usual – 14:30 local time (GMT+2).
Top 10:
1. Remy Gardner (Red Bull KTM Ajo) – 1:42.977
2. Raul Fernandez (Red Bull KTM Ajo) + 0.158
3. Bo Bendsneyder (Pertamina Mandalika SAG Team) + 0.423
4. Augusto Fernandez (Elf Marc VDS Racing Team) + 0.524
5. Fabio Di Giannantonio (Federal Oil Gresini Moto2) + 0.589
6. Xavi Vierge (Petronas Sprinta Racing) + 0.590
7. Ai Ogura (Idemitsu Honda Team Asia) + 0.632
8. Sam Lowes (Elf Marc VDS Racing Team) + 0.716
9. Somkiat Chantra (Idemitsu Honda Team Asia) + 0.739
10. Marco Bezzecchi (SKY Racing Team VR46) + 0.761