Moto2 qualifying: Alonso dashed the Czech fans’ dreams!

The Moto2 World Championship qualifying session in Brno got underway at 1.40 pm sharp. In the height of summer, the hopes of the numerous Czech fans were pinned on local hero Filip Salac. The home rider had set the clear fastest time in FP2 with a lap of 1:57.978 minutes – never before had a Moto2 rider been so fast at the Automotodrom Brno.

In the first qualifying session, Sergio Garcia, Daniel Muñoz, Ayumu Sasaki and Luca Lunetta qualified for Q2. Garcia clocked a time of 1:58.559 minutes for the fastest time in Q1, which was significantly slower than Salac’s time in FP2 that morning. In Q2, however, the FP2 time was set to be beaten.

Aspar riders ended up in the gravel trap early on

Things took a dramatic turn right at the start of Q2. David Alonso broke the lap record on his very first attempt. But shortly afterwards, the former Moto3 World Champion ended up in the gravel trap at Turn 1. Alonso had strayed slightly from the ideal line and lost grip on the less grippy section of the track. Alonso did not appear to have been injured in the crash. He sprinted back to his bike to get it back to the Aspar pit as quickly as possible.

With his lap time of 1:57.718, however, Alonso had set a strong time. Things continued at a frenetic pace for Jorge Martinez’s Aspar team. Dani Holgado also went down during the first flurry of action. The Spaniard was in third place when he crashed in Turn 8. Holgado brought his battered Kalex back to the pits. In the Aspar pits, mechanics were busily working on both bikes.

The first stint was considerably less eventful for local hero Filip Salac, who clocked the second-fastest time without incident. However, Salac was more than two-tenths of a second off Alonso’s time. The conditions for the second attempt, however, were significantly better than for the Aspar riders. The IntactGP riders, Senna Agius and Manuel Gonzalez, also had a promising first attempt: Senna was fourth, Gonzalez fifth.

Brünn im Jubel: Startreihe 1 für Filip Salac

Foto: Gold and Goose

Local hero Filip Salac on the front row

The second round of laps saw hardly any improvements. The top five remained virtually unchanged. No other rider came close to Alonso’s time. The young Colombian secured the Moto2 pole position in Brno. Salac qualified second to secure a place on the front row, giving his fans a real sense of achievement. Holgado rounded off the top three in Q2.

The two IntactGP riders swapped positions in the closing stages: Gonzalez moved up to fourth place, whilst Senna slipped down to fifth. Ivan Ortola will complete the second row of the grid.

Souverän: Moto2-Spitzenreiter Manuel Gonzalez (4.)

Foto: Gold and Goose

Izan Guevara finished qualifying in seventh place and will share the third row with Celestino Vietti and Alex Escrig. Last year’s winner, Joe Roberts, finished in tenth place.