Moto2 / GP Argentina 2023: starting grid (the first 18 of Q2)
POS. | PILOT | MOTORCYCLE | TIME/GAP |
1 | Alonso López | Darkwood | 1:42,472 |
2 | Aaron Canet | Kalex | +0.041 |
3 | Somkiat Chantra | Kalex | +0.048 |
4 | Jake Dixon | Kalex | +0.114 |
5 | Pedro Acosta | Kalex | +0.202 |
6 | Celestine Vietti | Kalex | +0.220 |
7 | Manuel Gonzalez | Kalex | +0.323 |
8 | Tony Arbolino | Kalex | +0.493 |
9 | Joe Roberts | Kalex | +0.525 |
10 | Albert Arenas | Kalex | +0.549 |
11 | Darryn Binder | Kalex | +0.560 |
12 | Barry Baltus | Kalex | +0.593 |
13 | Filip Salac | Kalex | +0.658 |
14 | Sam Lowes | Kalex | +0.663 |
15 | Jeremy Alcoba | Kalex | +0.790 |
16 | Fermin Aldeguer | Darkwood | +0.865 |
17 | Bo Bendsneyder | Kalex | +0.886 |
18 | Sean Dylan Kelly | Kalex | +1.091 |
Lopez pole record
Sounded like a damn qualification for Alonso López in that of Termas de Rio Hondo, with the Spaniard setting two excellent times which were then canceled by Race Direction or canceled during Q2. And instead, just at the last available attempt, the Boscoscuro driver didn’t just make the pole position valid for the Argentine Grand Prix, but also established the new track record in 1:42.472in a fight for the first position that saw him prevail by just a few thousandths over his compatriot Aron Canet and on Somkiat Chantra, thus completing the first row. Further back the Italians, still in the top-10.
Q1, Vietti passes
Sergio Garcia and Borja Gomez immediately leave the scene, authors of a crash just 5 minutes after the start of qualifying. In this way, the two Spanish riders will therefore start from the back of the grid for tomorrow’s race. A completely different story for the South African Darryn Binderwho moves into Q2 setting the best lap of the session in 1:43,404. The Liqui Moly Husqvarna team rider progresses to the next round with Celestino Vietti, 2nd and two tenths behind the fastest lap, in addition to Jeremy Alcoba and Sean Kelly. Disappointment, however, for another Italian like Dennis Foggia excluded in eighth position behind Ai Ogura, surprisingly seventh.
Q2, Lopez’s redemption
The first twist occurs in the opening bars of the session with the fall of Filip Salac, poleman of the last Portuguese Grand Prix. In fact, the Czech rider of the Gresini team lost control of his bike at the entrance to turn 9, however managing to return to the pits and restart precisely for the last timed attempt. Following his crash, the track marshals obviously displayed the yellow flags, just as Alonso Lopez, who later set the best time, was passing by. For failing to respect the yellow flags, the Spaniard then had the lap canceled, thus losing his momentary leadership. In the final minutes of the session almost all the drivers opted to change tyres, including Lopez himself, who then returned to the pits while he was setting another fast lap. On the third and final attempt, however, the Spanish driver redeemed himself definitively by stopping the clock at 1:42.472, establishing the new track record in front of Aron Canet and Somkiat Chantra, the latter only late 48 thousandths from the leader. Further away the Italians, with Celestino Vietti and Tony Arbolino respectively in sixth and eighth position.
Next appointment
The Moto2 qualifying rounds do not conclude today’s Grand Prix Motorcycle Racing appointments, with the Italian Saturday evening still including the MotoGP Sprint race, scheduled at 20:00 and live on both Sky Sport MotoGP (channel 208) and , unencrypted, on TV8. On the contrary, Moto2 will return to the Argentine track of Termas de Rio Hondo tomorrow afternoon, with the race starting at 17:15 Italianalso in this live also on TV8.
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