Moto2 Qatar: Lowes gets season off to a fast start with pole

Sam Lowes made himself the man to beat after a supreme performance in the first qualifying session of the season saw him secure pole position.

The Elf Marc VDS rider was fast and metronomic in his lapping aboard the Kalex, and stayed out on track to make sure that pace would translate to the race. His run resulted in a best of 1m 58.726s.

His closest competition for the top spot came from rookie Raul Fernandez, who proved his qualifying prowess in Moto3 translates well to the intermediate class.

The Red Bull KTM Ajo rider was able to keep in touch on the timesheets as he worked closely on track with team-mate Remy Gardner before his final run in the closing minutes pulled him to just 0.140s behind the top time.

Bo Bendsneyder looked back to his Red Bull Rookie winning, assertive best. Now on a Kalex after a tough two years on the NTS chassis, the SAG Team rider looked to have his confidence back as he left it late to snatch the final front row slot.

That shuffled one of the title favourites after his performace last year, Marco Bezzecchi, back to fourth for Sky Racing Team VR46.

Joe Roberts started from pole last year but lacked the final tenths difference required to repeat the feat this time around in a tight session - the top 15 were all within a second of the pole time. The Italtrans rider starts fifth.

Gardner did enough for sixth on the grid after having his best lap cancelled (track limits) and having to abort his last, fast run to yellow flags.

The Australian is just ahead of Jake Dixon, who fought hard for seventh as he manages his recovery from injury with the Petronas Sprinta Racing team in an eventful session for the Brit, which saw him survive contact from his team-mate Xavi Vierge and lead the standings briefly early on.

Fabio Di Giannantonio was the best of the Q1 graduates as he went on to eighth for Federal Oil Gresini after topping the first qualifying session.

Jorge Navarro (MB Conveyors Speed Up) was the best of the non-Kalex riders in ninth aboard the Boscoscuro, formerly known as Speed Up.

Celestino Vietti (Sky Racing Team VR46) finished his first Moto2 qualifying session inside the top ten.

A late Q1 crash saw Marcos Ramirez shuffled out of the progression places and down to fifth, translating to 20th overall.

There were also falls for Simone Corsi in Q1 which left him last and Vierge in Q2. Ramirez and Corsi were later declared unfit to race after picking up fractures.

Barry Baltus was absent from qualifying. The sixteen year old was declared unfit to race following a trip to the medical centre after being launched from his bike in FP3, resulting in a fractured wrist.