The Spaniard beats the American by just 0.034s in Moto2™ qualifying; Vietti and Dixon on the second row after crashing
For the first time since the 2019 Catalan GP, Augusto Fernandez (Red Bull KTM Ajo) starts on pole for a Moto2™ race thanks to 2:04.103 in qualifying at the Monster Energy British Grand Prix. Second place in Q2 went the way of Joe Roberts (Italtrans Racing Team) as the American finishes just 0.034s off Fernandez, with Ai Ogura (Idemitsu Honda Team Asia) rounding out the front row.
Fernandez continues fine form; Vietti and FP3 pacesetter Dixon crash
Roberts set the pace in the early exchanges after setting a 2:04.752, with Bo Bendsneyder (Pertamina Mandalika SAG Team) slotting into P2 just 0.020s adrift. Jake Dixon’s (GASGAS Aspar Team) first time attack attempt placed the British rider in P4 before Fernandez, then Albert Arenas (GASGAS Aspar Team), went P1. Celestino Vietti (Mooney VR46 Racing Team) soared to second before we then saw the Italian and Dixon crash in separate incidents. Vietti wasn’t able to get back on the bike, but luckily for Dixon, he was able to get going again.
Fernandez returned to the summit by a couple of tenths over Arenas as we then saw Roberts pounce to pinch P2 from Arenas, as the American followed Dixon over the line – the Briton recovering to P6 with one flying lap to go. Dixon improved again on his final lap but could only manage P6, with Roberts also going quicker to cement P2. Fernandez didn’t need to but he too found time on his last lap to make sure he would be starting from pole position, his first since 2019.
Arenas spearheads the second row of the grid ahead of the disappointed Vietti and Dixon, as Bendsneyder claims a solid P7 starting slot at Silverstone. Alonso Lopez (CAG Speed Up), Marcel Schrötter (Liqui Moly Intact GP) and Aron Canet (Flexbox HP40) round out the top 10.
Vietti, Fernandez and Ogura – your three main title contenders – all start inside the top five for the British GP, setting us up nicely for a spectacular showdown on Sunday. Remember, the Moto2™ race gets going after the MotoGP™ race this weekend, with lights out at 14:30 local time (GMT+1).
Top 10:
1. Augusto Fernandez (Red Bull KTM Ajo) – 2:04.103
2. Joe Roberts (Italtrans Racing Team) + 0.034
3. Ai Ogura (Idemitsu Honda Team Asia) + 0.177
4. Albert Arenas (GASGAS Aspar Team) + 0.283
5. Celestino Vietti (Mooney VR46 Racing Team) + 0.395
6. Jake Dixon (GASGAS Aspar Team) + 0.402
7. Bo Bendsneyder (Pertamina Mandalika SAG Team) + 0.457
8. Alonso Lopez (CAG Speed Up) + 0.594
9. Marcel Schrotter (Liqui Moly Intact GP) + 0.784
10. Aron Canet (Flexbox HP40) + 0.788
