Moto2 comb qualification
More from a press release from Dorna:
Gardner sets a lap record when Diggia and Bezzecchi come home
The World Championship leader takes pole in Jerez, with the first row only divided by 0.086 and Lowes being out
Remy Gardner (87). Photo courtesy of Dorna.
Remy Gardner (Red Bull KTM Ajo) only described his pole position lap at the Gran Premio Red Bull de España as “decent”, but the 1: 40.667 is actually a new lap record on the Circuito de Jerez-Angel Nieto and secures it the Australian took his first pole of the season. It was close, however, with Fabio Di Giannantonio (Federal Oil Gresini Moto2) just .071 and Marco Bezzecchi (Sky Racing Team VR46) within .086 as they complete the front row. Polesitter in the first three races, Sam Lowes (Elf Marc VDS Racing Team) crashed out, but goes from fifth in the fourth showdown of the season.
In Q1, rookie Cameron Beaubier (American Racing) took the lead and the American sat down as Italian compatriot Stefano Manzi (Flexbox) together with teammates Marcos Ramirez, Bo Bendsneyder (Pertamina Mandalika SAG Team) and Nicolo Bulega (Federal Oil Gresini Moto2) through HP 40) on his final push to the top.
That set the stage for Q2 and the pace was hot from the start as Gardner stormed to take the lead in a 1: 40.667. Di Giannantonio and Bezzecchi came up to a tenth, but the Australian stayed in front when the clock ran out. A dramatic drama then ensued for Aron Canet (Inde Aspar Team) when he slipped, although he came out before Joe Roberts (Italtrans Racing Team) also hit the deck but was also able to get back on.
Meanwhile, red sectors were starting to appear for Lowes. The Brit marched up two tenths behind in the third split – but a bobble in the last corner did justice to that. He improved but stayed fourth and not long afterwards suffered more drama when he crashed at Turn 2. And that was all she wrote, with the front row unchallenged, and Raul Fernandez (Red Bull KTM Ajo) then pushed Lowes one place up to fifth.
This means that championship leaders Gardner will take his first pole of the season and will be the first driver alongside Lowes to start over this year. ‘Diggia’ takes second place while Bezzecchi is back in the mix in a big way on Saturday, taking a first row in third place and just 0.086 from the top. Raul Fernandez is fourth, ahead of Lowes, who has at least some of his greatest rivals in sight. Xavi Vierge (Petronas Sprinta Racing) completes the second row.
Augusto Fernandez (Eleven Marc VDS Racing Team) finished P7 ahead of Roberts and rookie Ai Ogura (Idemitsu Honda Team Asia), while Jake Dixon (Petronas Sprinta Racing) completed the top ten despite an earlier crash. Canet, another Crasher, finished P11 ahead of Jorge Navarro (Lightech Speed Up).
Remy Gardener: “I think I could say that I know this track really well! I’ve done a few laps here. Everyone is fast here so it’s always tough at Jerez, but I feel good, the bike worked pretty well from FP1, there wasn’t much to play on the bike side. The lap was decent, not perfect, but enough to get me on pole, so I’m happy. “
More from a press release from Italtrans Racing:
Italtrans Racing Team starts from rows 3 and 8 at the Spanish Grand Prix.
Fourth round of the MotoGP World Championship in Jerez de la Frontera with the Spanish Grand Prix.
Italtrans Racing Team is preparing for a new challenge, aware of being among the rulers of this season after the positive experience in Portugal, with Joe Roberts near the podium and Lorenzo Dalla Porta, author of a great comeback race, that ended on the edge of the top ten.
Among the best drivers of the weekend, Roberts drove straight into Q2 thanks to the excellent times in the free practice sessions: Unfortunately, on the lap in which he signed pole position, he crashed at Turn 6 just five minutes before the end of the session. Thanks to the excellent work of the team, he returned to the pit lane and qualifying, but could not improve his best lap of 1’41’235 and was 8th.
Lorenzo Dalla Porta did not make it into Q1 and will start the Spanish GP tomorrow from 23rd place with a best time of 1’41 ”636.
Lorenzo Dalla Porta (19). Photo courtesy of Italtrans Racing Team.
Lorenzo Dalla Porta
23 ° | 1’41 ”636
“Unfortunately I made a few mistakes and will start from the end of the grid tomorrow. The bike has a good set-up and I took a step forward from yesterday to today. The pace is good and I can fight for points. Let’s look forward to the race. “
Joe Roberts, 16. Photo courtesy of Italtrans Racing Team.
Joe Roberts
8 ° | 1’41 ”35
“The first part of the day was really good and the pace was really good. Unfortunately, I lose the lead in qualifying and made a small mistake on the lap in which I got faster. From this position we had a good race last weekend and I’m looking forward to tomorrow’s race. “
Giovanni Sandi, Technical Director
“We are confident because we are showing a good performance and have a good race pace that is definitely one of the best. Unfortunately, the crash affected Joe’s qualifying and we didn’t have enough time to get back to our best. Lorenzo always makes a few mistakes too many in practice, but he can have a good race tomorrow. “
More from a press release from the American Racing Team:
Ramirez and Beaubier start in midfield at the Spanish Grand Prix
American Racing teammates have Moto2 qualifying 1 in Jerez. cited
CADIZ, Spain (May 1, 2021) – Marcos Ramirez and Cameron Beaubier will start the Spanish Grand Prix on Sunday, Round 4 of the FIM Moto2 World Championship, from the fifth and sixth row of the grid after qualifying 14 and 16.
Cameron Beaubier (6). Photo courtesy of the American Racing Team.
American Racing teammates have steadily improved at the Circuito de Jerez – Angel Nieto in the southernmost region of Spain known as Andalusia. The track is 2.75 miles long, with 13 turns, eight of which are right-hand turns.
Ramirez comes from the nearby coastal town of Conil de la Frontera. After the opening training on Friday, he and Beaubier were in 24th and 23rd place overall. The 23-year-old Spaniard was faster in the second 40-minute session, while Beaubier fell unharmed. They finished day 23rd and 27th.
Marcos Ramirez (42). Photo courtesy of the American Racing Team.
Ramirez was also the leader in FP3 and finished 19th; Beaubier finished 25. The five-time MotoAmerica Superbike champion turned the tables in qualifying 1 and led the 15-minute session with a lap of 1: 41.308. Ramirez finished second, with an almost identical time, 1: 41.351.
“It started to click this morning, especially for Cameron,” said American Racing Race Director John Hopkins. “He and his new crew chief Stuart Shenton got the bike going well and Cameron went out and did what he can.”
In qualifying 2, neither Beaubier nor Ramirez could keep up with their Q1 times. Both sessions were conducted in warm, dry conditions. Dunlop introduced a softer rear tire at Jerez, which was only allowed to be used in practice and qualifying.
KTM Ajo rider Remy Gardner took pole position with a new lap record of 1: 40.667.
Shenton replaces Luca Capocchiano. The very experienced Grand Prix engineer has worked with the Americans Freddie Spencer, Kevin Schwantz and Hopkins, among others. Shenton spent 19 years with Suzuki and retired at the end of the 2010 season.
“Stuart has been my crew chief throughout my Suzuki MotoGP career,” said Hopkins. “It’s really cool to have him back. It is a good feeling.”
Beaubier and Ramirez delivered their best race results of the season two weeks ago in Portugal, finishing ninth and 15th. The couple intend to improve on those performances for Los Angeles-based American Racing in Sunday’s 23-lap Moto2 race.
About the American Racing Team
The American Racing Team is owned by Avner Kass and Eitan Butbul and takes part in the FIM MotoGP World Championship. The California-based team uses two drivers in the Moto2 class: the American Cameron Beaubier (No. 6) and the Spaniard Marcos Ramirez (No. 42). American Racing has grown under Butbul’s leadership and is a well-respected member of the MotoGP paddock.