Alex Marquez continued to take the 2019 Moto2 Championship by storm after snatching pole position at the British Grand Prix.
The Spaniard beating Free Practice pacesetter Jorge Navarro (Campetella Speed Up) by 0.043 as Augusto Fernandez (FlexBox HP 40) makes it an all-Spanish intermediate class front row at Silverstone.
It was Navarro – like he had done for much of the weekend – who set the early pace in Q2, his time just fractionally slower than his lap record. Fernandez took over next with a new fastest ever lap around Silverstone, with Marquez slotting himself into P2 behind his countryman.
Navarro was then improving and it looked like he could be on for pole, but so was Marquez and it was the latter who set the better time. With two minutes left on the clock, Marquez had provisional pole.
Ultimately, that’s how it would remain. Marquez held on to upset Speed Up’s hopes of a Silverstone pole as the duo had a cushion to the rest of the field, with Fernandez finishing the day 0.213 off Marquez to complete a tasty looking front row.
Remy Gardner (ONEXOX TKKR SAG Team) continued his good weekend to spearhead the second row in fourth, and EG 0,0 Marc VDS have two bikes in the top five thanks to Xavi Vierge’s 2:04.770, the Spaniard claiming his best Q2 result since Assen in P5. Luca Marini (Sky Racing Team VR46), meanwhile, will be aiming to make up for his crash in Austria as he goes racing from P6.
Tetsuta Nagashima (ONEXOX TKKR SAG Team) didn’t let an FP3 crash faze him to take P7 at the British GP on Saturday, the Japanese rider will lineup alongside Q1 graduate and Austrian GP race winner Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Ajo) again after the two sat next to each other at the Red Bull Ring, although then it was on the front row. On his last flying lap, home hero Sam Lowes (Federal Oil Gresini Moto2) ensured he’ll start from inside the top 10 in P9, with rookie Fabio Di Giannantonio (Campetella Speed Up) completing that top 10 just behind him.
Another rookie, Nicolo Bulega (Sky Racing Team VR46), was 11th, and he got the better of Championship contender Tom Lüthi (Dynavolt Intact GP), who ended up P12 after a crash in Q2. He’s just ahead of his teammate Marcel Schrötter, with Mattia Pasini (Tasca Racing Scuderia Moto2) and Iker Lecuona (American Racing KTM) completing the fastest 15.
Can anyone stop Marquez from taking a sixth win of the season? Navarro and Speed Up will certainly fancy their chances after the pace they’ve shown all weekend – and it won’t be just them either. Remember, the schedule change in the UK sees Moto2 race after MotoGP, with lights out at 14:30 local time (GMT+1) on Sunday!
Moto2 Qualifyung Top 3 results:
1 – Alex Marquez (SPA – Kalex) 2’04.374
2 – Jorge Navarro (SPA – Speed Up) +0.043
3 – Augusto Fernandez (SPA – Kalex) +0.213
