Moto2 qualifying, Spielberg: Salac secured pole position, Senna Agius crashed out

Typical mountain weather: after a damp morning, which had also affected the second free practice session for the Moto2 class – in fact, only 13 riders took to the track – the Red Bull Ring was in top condition by midday. At 19 degrees, however, it was anything but hot when the battle for the best starting positions in Moto2 got underway.

In qualifying, the big names of the season had secured direct entry. With the exception of Collin Veijer, who had broken his collarbone in FP1, the top 10 in the Moto2 standings had qualified directly. They were joined by the four fastest riders from the Q1 session: Deniz Öncü (Marc VDS), Zonta van den Goorbergh (RW), Luca Lunetta (SpeedRS) and Barry Baltus (Fantic).

Izan Guevara was feeling the pressure. The Pramac rider, who trails championship leader Manuel Gonzalez (Intact GP) by almost fifty points, needs to step up his game if he is to catch Gonzalez. On the 4,348-metre-long Red Bull circuit, it was initially Filip Salac who set the pace. The Czech rider, who had already been the fastest in free practice, immediately clocked a time of 1:32.5 minutes.

It was a disastrous start for Intact youngster Senna Agius. On his second flying lap, the Aussie crashed in the first chicane. As the number 81 Kalex rolled over several times in the gravel, the session was over for him.

Meanwhile, at the top of the timesheets, Ivan Ortola had stepped up his pace. The MSi was 0.163 seconds faster than Salac, before Guevara edged ahead of Filip Salac. After the first series of attacks on pole position, Manuel Gonzalez was listed in 10th place, half a second off the pace. Senna Agius, who had at least managed to set a timed lap, appeared behind him in 11th.

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In the final four minutes, the field bunched up, with several drivers setting sector best times. Gonzalez made the first major move; the number 18 driver first moved up to fifth place and was then second with a time of 1:32.501 minutes – ahead of Escrig, Ortola and Izan Guevara, who had dropped back to fifth. The Aspar riders David Alonso and Dani Holgado also went on the attack – but remained in 6th and 10th places. Starting position: Jose-Antonio Rueda. The rookie secured a place on the grid in ninth.

At the very front, American Racing had cause for celebration. Salacs’ time of 1:32.381 was enough for pole position at the Red Bull Ring and also set a new lap record. Gonzalez won the duel against Guevara. The Intact rider will start from P2 at the Austrian GP – Guevara from 5th. Senna Agius was relegated to 15th place as a spectator.