Moto2 Misano: Di Giannantonio on fire for career first pole

Fabio Di Giannantonio was in a class of his own as he worked with his Speed Up to pull out an advantage in the sectors where it worked best to take pole position in qualifying for the Moto2 San Marino Grand Prix with a best lap of 1m 37.481s.

The rookie had enough pace to hide a late error and hold off championship leader Alex Marquez, who he deposed from the top spot. The EG 0,0 Marc VDS Kalex rider had no reply with his best lap already set, and remained 0.137s shy of ‘Diggia’s’ best at a track he doesn’t favour.

They are joined on the front row by Silverstone winner Augusto Fernandez (Flexbox HP 40).

Remy Gardner (ONEXOX TKKR SAG Team) had good early pace but faded to fourth. He is joined on row two by his teammate Tetsuta Nagashima, who showed his ability at Misano when he lead the opening FP1 session. 

Xavi Vierge had a late fall which saw him slip from fourth to sixth on the second Marc VDS entry.

Tom Luthi is still in the title hunt, with Fernandez and Jorge Navarro joining him in the chase of Marquez on 146 points, he topped the timesheets briefly for Dynavolt Intact GP on his way to seventh.

Sam Lowes had a quiet session and ended up eighth for Federal Oil Gresini on his birthday. He will be the top British rider on the grid with Jake Dixon (Samar Qatar Angel Nieto Team) down in 25th.

Marco Bezzecchi (Red Bull KTM Tech 3) was the best of the Q1 graduates in ninth and also the top KTM rider in the session, he sits just ahead of fellow rookie Enea Bastianini (Italtrans Racing Team) who did enough for a top ten start.

Luca Marini had a tough time at his home track, leading the way out of Q1, he struggled to find improvements in Q2 and ended the session in 12th for Sky Racing Team VR46.

Jorge Navarro was also unusually off the pace, he will sit in 15th on the grid for Ego Speed Up.

The Red Bull KTM Ajo team also had little to cheer about with Brad Binder down in 16th and Jorge Martin 17th after both riders suffered huge crashes earlier in the day.

Iker Lecuona (American Racing KTM) came through Q1, then crashed out of contention late on, he finished 18th.

Replacement riders Adam Norrodin (in for Khairul Idham Pawi at Petronas) and Andi Izdihar (covering Dimas Ekky Pratama at Honda Team Asia) are at the rear of the grid, in 29th and 30th respectively.

Marcel Schrotter was unable to take part in qualifying after fracturing his collarbone in his FP3 fall. Similarly, Mattia Pasini was also absent after he fractured his thoracic vertebra in a crash in the same session.