The home hero will head the grid ahead of Arbolino and Ogura, with Fernandez on the third row.
The home crowd expected, and he delivered! Somkiat Chantra (Idemitsu Honda Team Asia) will start from pole for his home OR Thailand Grand Prix, achieving the feat for the first time in his career and in doing so becoming the first Thai rider to take pole in Grand Prix history. Tony Arbolino (Elf Marc VDS Racing Team) was the rider denied, by less than a tenth, with Ai Ogura (Idemitsu Honda Team Asia) completing the front row.
Championship leader Augusto Fernandez (Red Bull KTM Ajo) starts eighth and has a little work to do on race day, although the number 37 has made short work of a comeback several times already this season.
Two rookies line up on Row 2: Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM Ajo) takes fourth, with fellow rookie race winner Alonso Lopez (Beta Tools Speed Up) in sixth. The two are split by Celestino Vietti (Mooney VR46 Racing Team). Jake Dixon (Inde GASGAS Aspar Team) heads up Row 3 ahead of Fernandez.
One key incident in Q2 saw Albert Arenas (Inde GASGAS Aspar Team) and Joe Roberts (Italtrans Racing Team) come together. The latter went to the Medical Centre and no fractures were found but he’ll be reviewed before Warm Up. Arenas is left P15 on the grid and Roberts P17.
There’s just two points between Fernandez and Ogura heading into race day in Thailand, but the two have to share the spotlight this weekend as Chantra races on home turf. Can the number 35 complete the fairytale weekend? The lights go out at 13:20 (GMT +7) so tune in to find out!
Moto2™ FRONT ROW
1 Somkiat Chantra (Idemitsu Honda Team Asia) – Kalex – 1’35.625
2 Tony Arbolino (Elf Marc VDS Racing Team) – Kalex – +0.085
3 Ai Ogura (Idemitsu Honda Team Asia) – Kalex – +0.264
Somkiat Chantra: “I really didn’t expect it because I did the best lap on the second lap and also in Moto2™, nobody did a lap at the end. When I finished the qualifying session, I said, ‘Oh, I’m still in P1,’ and I was super happy. I’m really happy and I’m so excited!
“In FP1 and FP2 I tried to do long runs, and also select what tyre I will use in the race. Finally, we have super good pace and tomorrow I will try to adjust for the rear tyre. For me, I’m happy to see the fans and the support, and when I see this, I feel like I have more power than before.”
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