Moto2: Lowes secures Qatar pole

The Moto2 World Championship entered its first real competitive action of 2021 with the first qualifying session of the season in Qatar. 

Before the session started, though, there was already a casualty of the season. Barry Baltus suffered a strange-looking high side in FP3 on Saturday afternoon, and broke his wrist as a result. The Belgian rookie is hoping to be back by round four in Jerez.

In Q1, there were two more big crashes, one for Simone Corsi and another, later on, for Marcos Ramirez, which ended up costing both of them a chance at Q2, particularly Ramirez. 

In the end, it was Fabio Di Giannantonio who topped the session, and moved through to Q2 along with Celestino Vietti, Somkiat Chantra and Lorenzo Dalla Porta. 

Q2 belonged to Sam Lowes, the Briton’s supremacy in Qatar confirmed by a dominant pole position. The #22 has looked strong all weekend as well as in the test, and is picking up where he left off last year in terms of the feeling with the bike and his potential. Alongside Lowes on the front row will be qualifying master and Moto2 rookie, Raul Fernandez, and Bo Bendsneyder, who is finally able to show his potential now he has the Kalex frame underneath him. 

Bendsneyder’s late lap to take the final spot on the front row demoted Marco Bezzecchi to fourth, and the Italian will start from the front of row two, alongside last year’s pole sitter, Joe Roberts, and Remy Gardner, who might have made the front row were it not fro a yellow flag on his final lap. 

The yellow flag was for Xavi Vierge, who crashed on the exit of turn 10, while in contrast his teammate, Jake Dixon, was able to qualify seventh. The #96 will start ahead of Fabio Di Giannantonio and Jorge Navarro on row three; while behind, Nicolo Bulega heads up row four in 10th ahead of Aron Canet and Marcel Schrotter. 

Lorenzo Dalla Porta will start from 13th, ahead of Celestino Vietti, on his Moto2 debut, and Xavi Vierge; while Somkiat Chantra, Tom Luthi and Tony Arbolino will make up row six tomorrow.

Ai Ogura was unfortunate to be bumped out of Q2 on his Moto2 debut, as he was displaced by Dalla Porta at the death of Q1. The Japanese will start from the head of the seventh row in 19th, alongside the aforementioned Ramirez, providing Ramirez is fit to race, and Augusto Fernandez who is having another difficult start to the season. 

Cameron Beaubier will start his debut World Championship race from 22nd ahead of reigning Moto3 World Champion, Albert Arenas, and Stefano Manzi on the Italian’s Flexbox HP 40 debut. Behind, the second Flexbox HP 40 rider, Hector Garzo will start from the front of the ninth row in 25th, ahead of Lorenzo Baldassarri, on the #7’s return to Forward Racing, and Yari Montella, who will start his first Moto2 World Championship race from 27th. 

With Baltus missing, there will only be one NTS on the grid tomorrow, and that will be Hafizh Syahrin, starting from second-last in 28th, ahead of the aforementioned Corsi who was consigned to last place in Q1 thanks to his crash early on.