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Stefano Manzi and MV Agusta achieved the first pole position in the Moto2 category. In qualifying for the Valencia GP on Saturday, he beat Héctor Garzo and Marco Bezzecchi. Marcel Schrötter was 7 years old.
With Jorge Martín and Remy Gardner, two Moto2 riders who had been on the podium at the European GP the previous week had to take the detour through Q1. Tom Lüthi, Augusto Fernandez and Lorenzo Baldassarri also failed to qualify directly for Q2 through free practice.
In the dry and at a track temperature of almost 19 degrees, Baldassarri prevailed in a thriller by one thousandth, with a lap time of 1: 34.804 minutes. Jorge Martin, Simone Corsi and Liqui Moly Intact GP rider Tom Lüthi also made it to Q2, Remy Gardner missed the top 4 and has to face the Valencia GP on Sunday from 19th.
EG 0.0 Marc VDS rider Sam Lowes, who suffered a heavy crash in FP3, entered qualifying on Saturday afternoon with a bandage on his right wrist and pain. NTS driver Bo Bendsneyder set the fastest time at the beginning, but Hector Garzo immediately surpassed him at the top. The accelerator Fabio Di Giannantonio went ahead and took the lead with a lap time of 1: 34.707 minutes.
For comparison, the lap record at the Ricardo Tormo Circuit is 1: 34.461 minutes and was done by Jorge Navarro last year.
Marcel Schrötter started the session well and was in the top 10. Six minutes before the end, MV Agusta driver Stefano Manzi took the lead, second Di Giannantonio, third place was occupied by Schrötter. Tom Lüthi couldn’t take advantage of the Q1 momentum with him and at this point he was in 17th place. Sam Lowes, who was ill, was in last place.
When the clock was still at three minutes, the times dropped. Spanish Kalex rider Héctor Garzo took the lead, Marco Bezzecchi and Jorge Martín finished in 2nd and 3rd place, while World Championship leader Enea Bastianini fell back in 10th place.
In the last second, Manzi set his best lap of the 4,005km course. With a time of 1: 34.418 minutes, the Italian set a new lap record and the first pole position for MV Agusta in the Moto2 category. Since 1961, no MV Agusta has started from pole position in the motorcycle world championship. Garzo and Bezzecchi complete the first row. Marcel Schrötter was seventh, 0.3 seconds behind the leader.
Enea Bastianini did not make the top 10. The Moto2 leader has to start from 12th on Sunday. Luca Marini landed in 10th place, Tom Lüthi finished Q2 in 17th place, just ahead of the sore Sam Lowes, who has a tough job ahead of him on Sunday.
Moto2, Valencia GP, starting grid
1. Manzi, MV August, 1: 34,418 min
2. Garzo, Kalex, + 0.013 sec
3. Bezzecchi, Kalex, + 0.076
4. Di Giannantonio, Acceleration, + 0.106
5. Martin, Kalex, + 0.229
6. Ramirez, Kalex, + 0.287
7. Schrötter, Kalex, + 0.312
8. Baldassarri, Kalex, + 0.339
9. Bendsneyder, NTS, + 0.351
10. Marini, Kalex, + 0.380
11. Courses, MV Agusta, + 0.384
12. Bastianini, Kalex, + 0.408
13. Virgo, Kalex, + 0.446
14. Bulega, Kalex, + 0.481
15. Navarro, Acceleration, + 0.531
16. Roberts, Kalex, + 0.548
17. Lüthi, Kalex, + 0.722
18. Lowes, Kalex, + 0.995
