Submitted by Zara Daniela on
Despite not leading any of the practice sessions, Johann Zarco gave us an early reminder of why he is the reigning world champion, beating Pol Espargaro’s fastest lap record around the Ricardo Tormo circuit, standing from 2013.
Once the impressive benchmark was set, it was up to the rivals to reach the bar that was raised. Thomas Luthi also managed to drop under the record time but it was still not enough to get ahead of the Frenchman, so he will start from second position on the grid. Franco Morbidelli also put up a fight to get as close as five hundredths of a second off Zarco but eventually had to settle for third.
Mattia Pasini is enjoying a great weekend, starting at the front of the second row, while Alex Rins seems to have finally caught up with the crowd he usually hangs with. He will start fifth, in front of fellow Spaniard Julian Simon, the QMMF rider making the best of what appears to be his last race in Moto2.
Brits Sam Lowes and Danny Kent will share third row with Takaaki Nakagami, Alex Marquez and Jonas Folger just behind, less than a tenth of a second off Kent, the top twenty covered by less than one second.
Results:
| Pos. | Num. | Rider | Bike | Time | Gap 1st | Prev. |
| 1 | 5 | Johann ZARCO | Kalex | 1'34.879 | ||
| 2 | 12 | Thomas LUTHI | Kalex | 1'34.885 | 0.006 | 0.006 |
| 3 | 21 | Franco MORBIDELLI | Kalex | 1'34.933 | 0.054 | 0.048 |
| 4 | 54 | Mattia PASINI | Kalex | 1'35.152 | 0.273 | 0.219 |
| 5 | 40 | Alex RINS | Kalex | 1'35.184 | 0.305 | 0.032 |
| 6 | 60 | Julian SIMON | Speed Up | 1'35.222 | 0.343 | 0.038 |
| 7 | 22 | Sam LOWES | Kalex | 1'35.237 | 0.358 | 0.015 |
| 8 | 52 | Danny KENT | Kalex | 1'35.345 | 0.466 | 0.108 |
| 9 | 30 | Takaaki NAKAGAMI | Kalex | 1'35.365 | 0.486 | 0.020 |
| 10 | 73 | Alex MARQUEZ | Kalex | 1'35.368 | 0.489 | 0.003 |
| 11 | 94 | Jonas FOLGER | Kalex | 1'35.403 | 0.524 | 0.035 |
| 12 | 23 | Marcel SCHROTTER | Kalex | 1'35.495 | 0.616 | 0.092 |
| 13 | 19 | Xavier SIMEON | Speed Up | 1'35.517 | 0.638 | 0.022 |
| 14 | 11 | Sandro CORTESE | Kalex | 1'35.607 | 0.728 | 0.090 |
| 15 | 44 | Miguel OLIVEIRA | Kalex | 1'35.650 | 0.771 | 0.043 |
| 16 | 49 | Axel PONS | Kalex | 1'35.682 | 0.803 | 0.032 |
| 17 | 87 | Remy GARDNER | Kalex | 1'35.747 | 0.868 | 0.065 |
| 18 | 10 | Luca MARINI | Kalex | 1'35.756 | 0.877 | 0.009 |
| 19 | 97 | Xavi VIERGE | Tech 3 | 1'35.797 | 0.918 | 0.041 |
| 20 | 57 | Edgar PONS | Kalex | 1'35.863 | 0.984 | 0.066 |
| 21 | 2 | Jesko RAFFIN | Kalex | 1'35.923 | 1.044 | 0.060 |
| 22 | 24 | Simone CORSI | Speed Up | 1'35.993 | 1.114 | 0.070 |
| 23 | 7 | Lorenzo BALDASSARRI | Kalex | 1'35.995 | 1.116 | 0.002 |
| 24 | 55 | Hafizh SYAHRIN | Kalex | 1'36.012 | 1.133 | 0.017 |
| 25 | 14 | Ratthapark WILAIROT | Kalex | 1'36.045 | 1.166 | 0.033 |
| 26 | 27 | Iker LECUONA | Kalex | 1'36.278 | 1.399 | 0.233 |
| 27 | 70 | Robin MULHAUSER | Kalex | 1'36.309 | 1.430 | 0.031 |
| 28 | 42 | Federico FULIGNI | Kalex | 1'36.728 | 1.849 | 0.419 |
| 29 | 32 | Isaac VIÑALES | Tech 3 | 1'36.787 | 1.908 | 0.059 |
| 30 | 16 | Hugo CLERE | Transfiormers | 1'40.531 | 5.652 | 3.744 |
