Moto2: Manzi takes first career pole position as injured Lowes struggles to 18th

Qualifying for the penultimate round of the 2020 Moto2 World Championship, the Valencian Grand Prix, took place at the Ricardo Tormo circuit. Marco Bezzechi, last weekend’s winner, was the fastest rider coming into qualifying, while a crash for Sam Lowes in free practice caused some problems with his wrist, although nothing was broken. 

In Q1, Remy Gardner looked safe for a large portion of the session and pitted early to end his participation. This proved to be a mistake as he was bumped out of the top four late on by Tom Luthi. 

Joining Luthi in moving through to Q2 were Lorenzo Baldassarri, who topped the session, as well as Jorge Martin and Simone Corsi. 

In Q2, it was MV Agusta on pole position for the first time in Moto2, and the same for Stefano Manzi, who finished fourth in Valencia last year having challenged for the podium for the whole race. Joining the Italian on the front row will be Hector Garzo – his best World Championship qualifying – and Marco Bezzecchi who tomorrow will be looking to take a second consecutive win as his efforts to keep his title hopes alive continue.

Fabio Di Giannantonio might be heading to Aprilia in MotoGP next year, following the announcement of Andrea Dovizioso that he will be taking a sabbatical in 2021, and of Cal Crutchlow that he will be test riding for Yamaha. The #21 still has his 2020 Moto2 duties to complete for Speed up, though, and he will start his penultimate race for the team in fourth place, alongside Jorge Martin and Marcos Ramirez on the second row, the #42 back on form after a difficult weekend in the first Valencian round. 

Marcel Schrotter will head up row three from Lorenzo Baldassarri and Bo Bendsneyder, a season best qualifying for the Dutchman in his penultimate weekend for NTS; while the fourth row will see two of the championship contenders depart from it with Luca Marini – 19 points down in the championship – starting 10th, ahead of Simone Corsi and Enea Bastianini, who holds a six-point lead going into tomorrow’s race.

Xavi Vierge will start 13th, alongside Nicolo Bulega and Jorge Navarro on the fifth row; while Joe Roberts will head up row six from Tom Luthi and Sam Lowes, who was clearly in pain during the session and will have his work cut out to keep his championship hopes alive tomorrow from 18th on the grid.

For Remy Gardner, the weekend has been a disaster, with a Q1 exit adding to his problems with gastroenteritis he is experiencing this weekend. The Australian will start 19th tomorrow, ahead of Aron Canet and Augusto Fernandez on the seventh row. 

Behind, Edgar Pons will head up row eight from Tetsuta Nagashima and Lorenzo Dalla Porta; while Somkiat Chantra will start from the front of the ninth row in 25th, ahead of Hafizh Syahrin and Andi Izdihar. The 10th and final row will see Kasma Daniel start 28th, ahead of Piotr Biesiekirski in 29th.