Moto2 qualifying at Aragon: Lopez on pole for the first time in 1,162 days!

The qualifying session for the middle category on Saturday afternoon was the final item on the programme before the MotoGP Sprint. Midsummer conditions welcomed the 15 riders taking part in Q1, which included a number of prominent names. Among them were future Honda MotoGP rider David Alonso and Filip Salac, the winner of the recent Grand Prix at Silverstone.

At 1.40 pm, the riders began Q1 in the hope of securing one of the four coveted places in Q2. Joe Roberts set the fastest time in the first session. Filip Salac and Adrian Huertas were just 0.002 and 0.010 seconds slower than Roberts and also qualified for Q2. David Alonso, on the other hand, only just scraped through to Q2 in fourth place. For last year’s winner Deniz Öncü and Moto3 World Champion Jose-Antonio Rueda, qualifying was over after the first session.

Crashes in Q2 and impending grid penalties

Gresini rider Alonso Lopez set the first 1:49 lap time of the qualifying session just a few minutes into Q2. Pramac rider Izan Guevara set the fastest time of the weekend so far with a lap of 1:49.584 minutes. At the end of the first flurry of action, Taiyo Furusato caused yellow flags in Turn 7. The Japanese rider emerged unscathed from the crash, but his Kalex was badly damaged. The fuel tank detached from the rest of the bike. Barry Baltus incurred the wrath of Alonso Lopez for riding slowly along the racing line.

At the start of the second stint, Ayumu Sasaki lost control of his Kalex between Turns 4 and 5 and went off in spectacular fashion. The yellow flags resulted in several laps being disallowed. Ivan Ortola, who had set the fastest time on Friday, was unlucky and found himself well behind after having a lap disallowed. He went on to finish Q2 in 15th position.

Alonso Lopez overtakes Izan Guevara at the top

Alonso Lopez was unaffected by the yellow flags. The Spaniard improved the fastest lap time to 1:49.405 minutes. Championship leader Manuel Gonzalez set personal best times on his final attempt but narrowly missed out on the front row.

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Startplatz 2 für den WM-Zweiten Izan Guevara

Foto: Gold and Goose

Alonso Lopez’s pole position was never under threat. The veteran broke the lap record and secured pole position for the first time in 1,162 days. Izan Guevara was the best Boscoscuro rider in second place. Aspar rider Daniel Holgado completes the front row.

Manuel Gonzalez leads the second row. David Alonso put in a strong Q2 performance and was the fastest of the drivers who progressed from Q1. Ajo rider Collin Veijer completes the second row in sixth place. Barry Baltus finished seventh but faces a penalty. Angel Piqueras, Alex Escrig and Filip Salac finished in positions 8 to 10. IntactGP rider Senna Agius finished Q2 in eleventh place.

WM-Spitzenreiter Manuel Gonzalez: Startplatz 4 in Aragon

Foto: Gold and Goose

The Moto2 race at Aragon gets underway on Sunday at 12.15 pm.