Diogo Moreira is once again at the front of the grid to start in tomorrow’s Moto2 race, qualifying fastest with an all-time lap record of 1:34.777. He’s joined on the front row by Iván Ortolá and Manuel González. It began calmly, but ultimately, the session was filled with intense action. We’ve unpacked the key points in the Moto2 Qualifying at the TT Circuit Assen.
Hopes for the Home Rider
Due to the numerous yellow flag conditions that occurred in the late stages of yesterday’s Practice session, many previous winners and podium finishers found themselves in today’s Q1 battle. They were joined by home heroes Collin Veijer and Zonta van den Goorbergh, each looking to be the first Dutch rider to claim pole position in the modern era of the Moto2 class.
It looked promising as van den Goorbergh found himself in the Top 4, along with Barry Baltus, Daniel Holgado, and Dennis Öncü. Unfortunately, David Alonso flirted with the track limits at the halfway mark, hurting his chances to advance to Q2.
In a similar fashion to what we say in Moto3, all riders left it to the final minutes to undergo their second run at setting a lap time. Thankfully, they left themselves plenty of time to do so. Disaster struck at Turn 5 when van den Goorbergh lost grip on his bike. However, luck was on his side, as the Dutchman’s time was enough to progress to the next qualifying session. This was also in part due to Ayumu Sasaki’s lap time being cancelled due to track limits.
Scrappy Session Results in Huge Incident
A cloud of orange smoke hung at the end of the Q1 session, with the home crowd getting behind van den Goorbergh as the Q2 session began. It was a scrappy start as many of the riders tried to set early fast lap times. This created a messy domino effect, with riders pushing their bikes too much and struggling to pull up before they overshot the turns.
One such rider, Alonso López, found himself all out of sorts, losing his rear tyre and colliding with Filip Salač, the Czech rider coming off in a horrific crash. The incident was noted and investigated after the session. López didn’t come away unscathed, making his way back to the pit with pain in his right wrist. Arón Canet, who was just behind the two when the crash occurred, had a more arduous struggle to return to the pit and then rejoin the track to set another lap time.
With two minutes to go and all able riders back out on track. Everything was on the line to set their final flying lap times and their positions on the grid. In seconds, the pole position changed several times, shifting from Canet to Moreira and from González to Ortolá. It all came down to the checkered flag, with Moreira coming out on top.
Top 12 On the Grid
Despite qualifying on the second row, Baltus will have to serve a double long-lap penalty tomorrow due to crashing during yellow flag conditions in the Friday Practice session. There will be repercussions for the López-Salač incident, part of which could result in one or both riders being medically unfit for Sunday. The real question is whether or not González can extend his championship lead. It will all play out in the feature Moto2 race.