The home hero hits back to try and close the gap, with Arenas second and Lopez on the front row once again.
Mooney VR46 Racing Team’s Celestino Vietti held on to Moto2™ pole at the Gran Premio Gryfyn di San Marino e della Riviera di Rimini, despite a late crash. The Italian was sitting on a 1:35.996 with the chequered flag out on Q2 at Misano when he lost the front at Turn 8, but no one was able to steal pole off him.
Vietti will share the front row with Albert Arenas (Inde GASGAS Aspar Team) and Alonso Lopez (+Ego Speed Up) in a top three covered by just under two tenths of a second. Importantly, he is two rows ahead of the two riders ahead of him in the World Championship, namely Ai Ogura (Idemitsu Honda Team Asia) and Augusto Fernandez (Red Bull KTM Ajo).
After the drama of MotoGP™ qualifying, a dry track greeted the intermediate class field for their Q1 session and remained that way for Q2. Vietti completed just one flying lap before returning to the pits, while Arenas moved almost three tenths clear of the field when he set a 1:36.189 halfway into the session.
Vietti closed the gap when he came back out and clocked a 1:36.330, then moved to the very top with a 1:35.996 next time through. Arenas was also setting red sectors and followed the VR46 pilot across the line in a time of 1:36.097 to at least tighten his grip on a front row berth, before Free Practice pace-setter Lopez jumped from 17th to third on a 1:36.186. Vietti threatened to go even faster when he achieved what would be the second-fastest lap of the session with a 1:36.025, before the spill on his final flyer, but it would not prove costly – rider okay.
Aron Canet (Flexbox HP40) grabbed fourth spot, ahead of Tony Arbolino (Elf Marc VDS Racing Team) and Lorenzo Dalla Porta (Italtrans Racing Team), the latter of whom topped Q1 on his way to claiming a berth on Row 2. There will be plenty of attention on Row 3, and while seventh is another solid qualifying result for 17-year-old Spaniard Fermin Aldeguer (+Ego Speed Up) – even if he too crashed at Turn 8 – the greater interest is about the two men who will line up alongside him. Championship leader Ogura qualified eighth on a 1:36.489 and the rider who now trails him by a single point, Fernandez, earned ninth on a 1:36.527.
Wildcard Mattia Pasini (Inde GASGAS Aspar Team) rounds out the top 10, ahead of Somkiat Chantra (Idemtsu Honda Team Asia), Marcel Schrötter (Liqui Moly Intact GP), Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM Ajo), and Bo Bendsneyder (Pertamina Mandalika SAG Team), who has incurred a Long Lap Penalty for slow riding on the line in FP3. Behind them will be Joe Roberts (Italtrans Racing Team), Jorge Navarro (Flexbox HP40), and Filip Salac (Gresini Racing Moto2™).
Jake Dixon (Inde GASGAS Aspar Team) is set to start from 18th after failing to set a time in Q2. He crashed on his first flyer at Turn 15 and while rider was okay, bike was not.
After a tough run for Vietti, the former Championship leader has the chance to give his title hopes a big boost on home soil. Can he convert pole position into a much-needed victory? First up, it’s the Sunday morning Warm Up, then lights at 12:20 (GMT +2) for the intermediate class!
Moto2™ FRONT ROW
1 Celestino Vietti (Mooney VR46 Racing Team) – Kalex – 1’35.996
2 Albert Arenas (Inde GASGAS Aspar Team) – Kalex – +0.101
3 Alonso Lopez (+Ego Speed Up) – Boscoscuro – +0.190
Celestino Vietti: “We started the weekend with a good feeling with the bike, and we worked well. This morning, we made a little step to make a good lap time, because I think the pace was good. But, we missed something to be able to do a fast lap, and then we did it in qualifying. But, as always, I do things in my style, so I have to try to learn about these things and to grow up. But I’m happy, and I hope tomorrow to be in the front group.
“The first thing is to finish the race because, like yesterday and today, I cannot make a mistake like this. Because, when we are fast, we have to try to recover as much as possible, but if we see that we cannot win, we have to stay calm and focused, because we have a lot of races. So, tomorrow we have to finish.”
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