Moto2: Back-to-back poles for championship leader Lowes

Qualifying got underway on Saturday for the second round of the 2021 Moto2 World Championship, the Grand Prix of Doha. Raul Fernandez entered qualifying as the fastest rider in the intermediate class, although it was Sam Lowes who was fastest in the relatively unrepresentative FP3 on Saturday afternoon in the middle of something resembling a sand storm.

The Q1 session was topped by Jorge Navarro, who went faster than he had all weekend before qualifying to advance to Q2. He was joined in progressing by Bo Bendsneyder, who started last week’s Grand Prix of Qatar from the front row, Albert Arenas and Jake Dixon. 

The pole position shootout of Q2 was once again something in which Sam Lowes excelled, as he took his second pole position of the season ahead of Remy Gardner and Marco Bezzecchi. Lowes tried a different setting on Friday, a luxury afforded to those as dominant as Lowes was last week. The change Lowes tried did not work, though, which required the #22 and his team to revert to last week’s setting for Saturday, and that change clearly worked. 

Heading up row two tomorrow will be Raul Fernandez, who will be hopeful of his first intermediate class podium, if he can find some more pace towards the end of the race. Joining the Spaniard on the second row will be Jake Dixon and Ai Ogura – an impressive performance from the rookie to take sixth. 

Last week’s third placed finisher, Fabio Di Giannantonio, qualified seventh, ahead of Joe Roberts and Aron Canet, the best Boscoscuro rider; while Augusto Fernandez rounded out the top 10, representing a step forward for the #37 after he changed back to a chassis he is more comfortable with for this weekend. Alongside Fernandez on the fourth row will be Stefano Manzi, much improved compared to last week, and Albert Arenas, the rookie having also taken a major step forward compared to one week ago.

Nicolo Bulega will head up the fifth row tomorrow, ahead of the impressive Cameron Beaubier and Bo Bendsneyder, while Marcel Schrotter will start from 16th ahead of Jorge Navarro and Celestino Vietti.

Xavi Vierge was the victim of a late lap from Arenas in Q1 which knocked the #97 out of a transfer spot to Q2. As such, Vierge will start tomorrow’s race from 19th, alongside Tony Arbolino and Tom Luthi on row seven; while Yari Montella will head up row eight on his second World Championship start, ahead of Somkiat Chantra and Lorenzo Dalla Porta. 

Lorenzo Baldassarri’s difficult transition to MV Agusta continued in qualifying in Doha, as he took 25th. The Italian will line up alongside Hector Garzo and Hafizh Syahrin on row nine; while Simone Corsi’s replacement at MV, Tomasso Marcon, will line up 28th and last, alone on the final row of the grid.