2021 Valencia Moto2 Qualifying Result: Well That Came Out Of Nowhere

It was quite a surprise to look at the Moto2 parc fermé on a Saturday afternoon and not see overwhelming orange shades, but a rather dramatic ending to the final qualifying day of the season wrote some surprising headlines. First and foremost, class veteran Simone Corsi cruised through Q1 and then attacked for pole in the final handful of minutes of Q2. Although the Italian saw his name briefly drop to second, cancelled lap times for Fabio Di Giannantonio allowed Corsi to secure his first pole position since 2012 and return to an ecstatic MV Agusta crew in pitlane. Behind the grinning poleman, Celestino Vietti got his first front row start for his final race as a rookie and Augusto Fernandez starts his last race for Marc VDS from third on the grid.

Although Di Giannantonio put in a couple of pole-worthy laps, he couldn’t keep between the white lines and had to settle for fourth, only seven hundredths of a second off the pole time. Raul Fernandez made a promising start to qualifying by leading the way for much of Q2, but things quickly went downhill and the rookie crashed out at turn 2, dropping to fifth on the grid by the chequered flag. After admirably escaping Q1, Tom Luthi will start his final race before retirement from the back of row two.

Aron Canet opens the third row from championship leader Remy Gardner, who struggled to progress on the timesheets and only joined the top 10 in the final minute of the session, when he jumped to 8th. Jorge Navarro closes row three, while Sam Lowes completes the top 10, his best time only two tenths of a second off pole. The Englishman will be in familiar company on row four with Marco Bezzecchi and Xavi Vierge. A notable absence throughout the weekend has been Ai Ogura, the fast rookie suffering a fracture in his leg last time out in Portimão and is forced to miss the final race of the season.

Results: