Mika Kallio claimed just the second Moto2 pole position of his career after dominating qualifying for the Spanish Moto2 Grand Prix. The Finn upstaged his championship leading teammate Esteve Rabat on home soil with the Argentine GP winner ending the afternoon in a disappointing sixth.
Pole position virtually had Kallio’s name on it throughout with a 1:43.166 putting him straight at the top of the leaderboard at the beginning of the session. Only for a brief period was Kallio playing catch-up when Sandro Cortese edged ahead just after the halfway mark but the Marc VDS rider didn’t take long to respond, regaining pole position within four minutes before extending his lead to an unassailable margin on his next lap.
Kallio’s 1:42.766 gave him a three tenth cushion in the end over the impressive Cortese with Luis Salom backing up his sensational podium in Argentina with a front row spot in Jerez. Thomas Luthi had the mother of all nightmares at Termas de Rio Hondo but bounced back impressively to qualify fourth ahead of compatriot Dominique Aegerter and the off-colour Rabat.
Jonas Folger heads up row three ahead of last year’s Jerez Moto3 winner Maverick Vinales and Tech 3’s Marcel Schrotter while Johann Zarco salvaged tenth for Caterham after languishing down the order for much of the afternoon. Sam Lowes also had to rely on a late charge to secure a respectable grid position but the Briton delivered in the end, climbing to fifteenth.
