The Japanese rider makes a statement on Saturday as his sole rival for the crown qualifies on Row 2.
Ai Ogura (Idemitsu Honda Team Asia) laid down the gauntlet on Saturday at Sepang, taking pole position ahead of his first match point in the fight for the Championship. Title rival Augusto Fernandez (Red Bull KTM Ajo), after topping the timesheets on Friday by eight tenths, could only manage sixth in qualifying and will be looking to move forward ASAP.
It’s Tony Arbolino (Elf Marc VDS Racing Team) and Aron Canet (Flexbox HP 40) who complete the front row, with Jake Dixon (Inde GASGAS Aspar Team) just missing out. The Brit heads up Row 2 with even closer company from impressive rookie Manuel Gonzalez (Yamaha VR46 Master Camp Team), just 0.004 back, with Fernandez next up a further 0.033 in arrears.
Somkiat Chantra (Idemitsu Honda Team Asia), Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM Ajo) and Cameron Beaubier (American Racing) lock out Row 3, with Phillip Island winner Alonso Lopez (Beta Tools SpeedUp) rounding out the top ten and looking for more on Sunday as he fights Acosta for Rookie of the Year.
Will pole make all the difference for Ogura? He’ll take the title if he wins and Fernandez doesn’t finish better than 13th, with everything on the line on Sunday. Tune in at 13:20 (GMT +8) local time to see another stunning intermediate class showdown!
Moto2™ FRONT ROW
1 Ai Ogura (Idemitsu Honda Team Asia) – Kalex – 2’06.405
2 Tony Arbolino (Elf Marc VDS Racing Team) – Kalex – +0.083
3 Aron Canet (Flexbox HP 40) – Kalex – +0.247
Ai Ogura: “Firstly, I’m really happy for the lap time today. Yesterday, we were struggling to put one good lap together but this morning we made a step, we improved the bike and on my side, and in qualifying we could ride well today. So, I’m really happy about today’s session and the race tomorrow.”
How do you feel about Match Point tomorrow? Relaxed?
“I feel confident and I am starting from pole position. I will push to the maximum and we’ll see what happens.”
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