The intermediate class made a narrow escape from the dark clouds surrounding the circuit during Q2 and put up a show all the way to the checkered flag. Seeing Remy Gardner in top spot in parc fermé at the end of qualifying was a familiar sight but Ai Ogura looked like throwing a spanner in the works in the battle for pole in the final couple of minutes of the session. It all came down to one final lap where the timing screens flashed red all over, but it only served Gardner to extend his advantage at the front. Ogura still secured his first front row start of his rookie season, trailing the Australian by one tenth of a second, while Marco Bezzecchi completed the line-up in a solid weekend for the Italian.
Raul Fernandez couldn’t really have a proper celebration of his MotoGP announcement but will open the second row of the grid ahead of compatriots Aron Canet and Augusto Fernandez. Sam Lowes in seventh position was the last rider within half a second of pole, the British rider leading the way for Lorenzo Dalla Porta and Somkiat Chantra. Marcel Schrotter rounded out the top 10 positions and shares row four with Xavi Vierge and Q1 leader Fabio Di Giannantonio.
Tom Luthi recorded a season best qualifying in 13th, ahead of two other men who went through Q1: Hector Garzo and Albert Arenas. Q1 was a costly affair for Celestino Vietti in particular, the Italian suffering a crash while second in the session and getting pushed out in the closing stages. However, Vietti’s 19th grid position is significantly better than Jorge Navarro’s 25th, after a tough day for the Spaniard.
Results:
Pos | No. | Rider | Bike | Time | Diff | Prev |
1 | 87 | Remy Gardner | Kalex | 1'28.668 | ||
2 | 79 | Ai Ogura | Kalex | 1'28.789 | 0.121 | 0.121 |
3 | 72 | Marco Bezzecchi | Kalex | 1'28.811 | 0.143 | 0.022 |
4 | 25 | Raul Fernandez | Kalex | 1'28.978 | 0.310 | 0.167 |
5 | 44 | Aron Canet | Boscoscuro | 1'29.004 | 0.336 | 0.026 |
6 | 37 | Augusto Fernandez | Kalex | 1'29.005 | 0.337 | 0.001 |
7 | 22 | Sam Lowes | Kalex | 1'29.138 | 0.470 | 0.133 |
8 | 19 | Lorenzo Dalla Porta | Kalex | 1'29.220 | 0.552 | 0.082 |
9 | 35 | Somkiat Chantra | Kalex | 1'29.223 | 0.555 | 0.003 |
10 | 23 | Marcel Schrotter | Kalex | 1'29.238 | 0.570 | 0.015 |
11 | 97 | Xavi Vierge | Kalex | 1'29.275 | 0.607 | 0.037 |
12 | 21 | Fabio Di Giannantonio | Kalex | 1'29.334 | 0.666 | 0.059 |
13 | 12 | Thomas Luthi | Kalex | 1'29.361 | 0.693 | 0.027 |
14 | 40 | Hector Garzo | Kalex | 1'29.385 | 0.717 | 0.024 |
15 | 75 | Albert Arenas | Boscoscuro | 1'29.416 | 0.748 | 0.031 |
16 | 42 | Marcos Ramirez | Kalex | 1'29.572 | 0.904 | 0.156 |
17 | 62 | Stefano Manzi | Kalex | 1'29.778 | 1.110 | 0.206 |
18 | 14 | Tony Arbolino | Kalex | 1'29.929 | 1.261 | 0.151 |
Q1 Results: | ||||||
Q2 | 21 | Fabio Di Giannantonio | Kalex | 1'29.202 | ||
Q2 | 40 | Hector Garzo | Kalex | 1'29.214 | 0.012 | 0.012 |
Q2 | 75 | Albert Arenas | Boscoscuro | 1'29.433 | 0.231 | 0.219 |
Q2 | 62 | Stefano Manzi | Kalex | 1'29.436 | 0.234 | 0.003 |
19 | 13 | Celestino Vietti | Kalex | 1'29.494 | 0.292 | 0.058 |
20 | 16 | Joe Roberts | Kalex | 1'29.531 | 0.329 | 0.037 |
21 | 96 | Jake Dixon | Kalex | 1'29.565 | 0.363 | 0.034 |
22 | 64 | Bo Bendsneyder | Kalex | 1'29.719 | 0.517 | 0.154 |
23 | 11 | Nicolò Bulega | Kalex | 1'29.739 | 0.537 | 0.020 |
24 | 6 | Cameron Beaubier | Kalex | 1'29.747 | 0.545 | 0.008 |
25 | 9 | Jorge Navarro | Boscoscuro | 1'29.785 | 0.583 | 0.038 |
26 | 7 | Lorenzo Baldassarri | MV Agusta | 1'29.832 | 0.630 | 0.047 |
27 | 55 | Hafizh Syahrin | NTS | 1'29.911 | 0.709 | 0.079 |
28 | 24 | Simone Corsi | MV Agusta | 1'29.979 | 0.777 | 0.068 |
29 | 70 | Barry Baltus | NTS | 1'30.032 | 0.830 | 0.053 |
30 | 5 | Yari Montella | Boscoscuro | 1'30.354 | 1.152 | 0.322 |