Brad Binder has taken pole in Moto2 qualifying for the Aragon GP, making a last-minute improvement to take pole from Marcel Schrotter. Schrotter had dominated the whole session and looked to have pole secured before Binder’s lap but will now start the race in 2nd, with Jorge Navarro in 3rd.
Heading into the session it was Alex Marquez top of the combined practice times, but Marquez fell at turn 9 in the first few minutes of qualifying. The bike didn’t suffer much damage and he was able to continue, setting an identical lap time to that of Navarro. Both riders finished the session on exactly the same time but Navarro got the front row position as he set the time first.
Marquez’s team-mate Joan Mir caused some controversy, cruising on the racing line in front of Mattia Pasini. Pasini had to take avoiding action and lost time on his lap, but no penalty has been given or discussed as yet. Pasini finished 6th fastest whilst Mir is seemingly struggling this weekend, finishing 15th.
In terms of the championship, Francesco Bagnaia finished 5th fastest. This result is especially good when you consider his rival Miguel Oliveira is down in 18th on the grid. Oliveira is typically not the strongest rider in qualifying, but his team-mate on pole clearly shows the bike can do much better. Starting so far down the grid won’t help him shrink the points deficit in the championship and he will have to be careful to avoid any incidents at the start in the middle of the pack.
2018 Moto2 Gran Premio de Aragon – Qualifying Results:
[table id=3442 /]
