Aragon Moto2: Fernandez fires out fastest lap for pole position

Augusto Fernandez found track space and an almost perfect line of the MotorLand circuit to claim pole position before tyres lost performance in qualfying for the Moto2 Aragon Grand Prix, round fifteen of the championship.

Sitting in tenth, he pulled out a near faultless lap while out on track after the class exited pit lane for their second runs to finish Saturday topping the timesheets with a best of 1m 51.888s.

The Red Bull KTM Ajo rider remain calm and focussed to claim just his third career pole - his last one came at Silverstone where he went on to win the race.

An added bonus came from his title rivals under-performing in qualifying. The #37 enjoys a gap back on the grid to Ai Ogura on row six, with Celestino Vietti sitting on a distant row six.

• Aragon Moto3: Relaxed Guevara runs solo for impressive pole position
• Fuel limit, penalties, schedule - MotoGP Sprint race updates
• 2022 Aragon MotoGP, MotorLand - Free Practice (4) Results

Albert Arenas was flying around the track at the same time but fell just 0.124s short of the best tome for Shimoko GasGas Aspar.

Dixon back on form and back on the front row

After his rostrum run, Jake Dixon saw his hopes of making it four visits come to an end after a crash in qualifying in San Marino left him swamped on the grid and taken out early in the race.

Undeterred, he arrived in Spain knowing his pace hadn’t changed and was supported by his Apsar team to reset and not the same error again. 

The confidence paid off with Dixon on the front row, alongside team-mate Arenas, completing a strong showing for the GasGas bikes in Q2.

Alonso Lopez continued his good form with the best time after free practice, but couldn’t quite translate that into qualifying pace. The rookie finished Saturday a solid fourth for at CAG Speed Up, the best of the non-Kalex riders in the intermediate class for Boscoscuro.

Aron Canet (Flexbox HP40) was the closest of the title contenders to Fernandez as he saw his provisional pole time slip back to fifth.

Pedro Acosta made moves forward from eleventh to sixth for Red Bull KTM Ajo, to complete row two.

Tony Arbolino also found late gains to rise from tenth to seventh for Elf Marc VDS.

Ai Ogura (Idemitsu Honda Team Asia) was the early pace-setter in the session, but his chase for the win will be harder from his eighth place grid slot, with both Canet and Fernandez, who he is only four points behind in the title hunt, ahead on the grid.

The Japanese rider was the best of the Q1 graduates, with American Racing’s Cameron Beaubier, who moved on with the top time, next in 16th.

His team-mate Somkiat Chantra will line up next to him in ninth after being the final rider to set a time in Q2.

With five minutes left to run, it appeared Joe Roberts might have done enough for a fourth place start, but a flurry of late improvements shuffled the Italtrans rider back to tenth.

Fermin Aldeguer was again beaten by his team-mate Lopez since his arrival to replace Romano Fenati, and had to settle for eleventh, with Filip Salac twelfth for Gresini.

Jorge Navarro was the second crasher in the session but still managed to qualify ahead of many riders who stayed upright in 13th for Flexbox HP40.

A qualifying to forget for Vietti

Since his pole to win in Barcelona, qualifying has not seemed quite such an issue for Mooney VR46 Team rider Celestino Vietti.

After also qualifying in the top slot of the grid last time out in San MArino, and needing a strong showing to keep his fading title chances alive, hopes had been high for a repeat for team and rider.

Vietti was immediately on the back foot when he had his last lap cancelled in FP3, which saw him go from 14th to 26th and back into Q1 for exceeding track limits.

After just making it through Q1 with the fourth best time, the Italian immediately had a further setback - falling as the front of his bike locked at turn one, sending him sliding into the gravel in the opening minutes.

Without a lap to his name for most of the session as his machinery underwent repairs and a tyre change, back on track his first effort lifted him from 18th to 16th. He was then dropped back to 17th with only fellow Q1 rider Alessandro Zaccone setting a slower time.

What happened in Q1?

With a one run situation, there were no real improvements to be had as the session went on - Vietti’s session progression time was set on his first flyer, while Beaubier remained in the garage as his time was going to remain safe.

Barry Baltus just missed out on the cut so will be best of the rest in 19th on the grid for RW Racing GP.

Loranzo Dalla Porta also came close and will be one place further back for Italtrans.

Marcel Schrotter was another veteran of the class not to progress, he lines up 21st for Liqui Moly Intact GP

Injuries, replacements and penalties

Senna Algius is once again in for Sam Lowe at Elf Marc VDS and was looking to break into the Q1 top four on his final run. His time didn’t improve after meeting Sean Dylan Kelly and a host of other riders on track, leaving him seventh in the session - 21st on the grid.