(Motorsport-Total.com) – From last place to pole: Alonso López set a new track record from the hat on the last lap in Argentina and clinched his first pole position in Moto2. With a time of 1:42.472 minutes, the Boscoscuro driver narrowly beat Aron Canet and Somkiat Chantra, both Kalex.
For Alonso Lopez, it’s only second place in Moto2
The playoffs got off to a turbulent start. In the first quarter, two rookies, Sergio Garcia and Borja Gomez, went down after just a few minutes. Although they were unharmed, they were unable to continue their journey and interfered with the fight for Q2.
It was won by Darren Bender, Celestino Vitti, Jeremy Alcoppa and Sean Dylan Kelly, who led one lap into the top four on the session.
Last year’s vice-champion Ai Ogura still struggled with a left wrist on his return to the race and ended up stuck in seventh place. That meant a 21st-place start for the Japanese from Team Honda Asia on Sunday.
The subsequent second qualifying session also began with a crash. Portimão’s bowler Philippe Salak slid at turn nine without having to register a lap time. Meanwhile, the pace picked up quickly on the track. Jake Dixon, Kanye and Pedro Acosta broke the 2022 course record early on.
Finally it fell through Chantra, who undermined the old record by about three-hundredths of a second. But Canet and López, who was 18th and last at the time, went further and passed Chantra in the final sprint, dropping him to third.
“I am really very happy,” says pole setter Lopez. “After the race in Portimao, I was a bit disappointed because I felt I could have done better.”
“It went well here at the start of qualifying, but the feel of the rear wheel wasn’t ideal. It was about the tyres,” explains the Boscoscuro driver. “We changed it and then my grip was a lot bigger. Then my lap was really good.”
Dixon could not improve on the second heat and finished fourth, ahead of Acosta and Celestino Vitti. Manuel Gonzalez, Tony Arpolino and Joe Roberts were seventh through ninth on the third row. Albert Arenas completed the top ten.
The fallen Salak managed to get out again after repairing lightning on Calyx and pinpointing the damage to 13th on the net. Firmin Aldeguer, pole vaulter in Argentina a year ago, finished qualifying in 16th place.
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