Zarco Takes Pole With Record Breaking Lap
- Jun 13, 2015
- 2 min read
Johann Zarco obliterated the competition in qualifying for the 2015 Catalan Moto2 Grand Prix after claiming pole position. The Ajo Motorsport rider took over at the top of the time sheets with 14-minutes left on the clock with a record lap of 1:46.007. The Frenchman then went and bettered that time with the first ever 1:45 lap at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya – 1:45.895. That time remained unchallenged for the remainder of the session.
Jonas Folger gave Zarco's time a damn good go, but the closest he could get was 1:46.060. Tito Rabat completed the top three.
Dominique Aegerter, renewed by his podium finish at the Italian Grand Prix, held onto a provisional front row start for a large chunk of the 45-minute session, but dropped to 4th by the chequered flag. Having looked strong all weekend expect the Swiss rider to be up at the sharp end tomorrow.
Sam Lowes recovered from a disappointing FP3, in which he was 11th quickest, to qualify a decent 5th. His season has hit a snag since the Argentine Grand Prix, so he needs to get his head down tomorrow and put his Speed Up machine back on the podium.
Both Paginas Amarillas HP 40 riders enjoyed a good afternoon. Luis Salom has looked on-form throughout practice and carried that pace forward to qualify 6th. Team-mate Alex Rins has been contending with some fitness issues following arm pump surgery last week, but he gritted his teeth to go 7th.
One rider who disappointed was Alex Marquez. The Spaniard was looking good for a top five grid slot this weekend, but could only manage 12th. Maybe caught out on his best laps by traffic, but he definitely had more in him.
The higher track temperatures meant attrition was high. Both Tech 3 riders took trips into the turn three and four gravel traps, whilst Randy Krummenacher also crashed at turn four. Xavier Simoen dropped his Gresini at turn five and Hafizh Syahrin was lucky to walk away unscathed after a big crashed at turn nine in the closing seconds of the session.
Qualifying Top 10:
1st Johann Zarco, Ajo Motorsport Kalex, 1:45.895
2nd Jonas Folger, AGR Team Kalex, 1:46.060
3rd Tito Rabat, EG 0,0 Marc VDS Kalex, 1:46.123
4th Dominique Aegerter, Technomag Racing Interwetten Kalex, 1:46.191
5th Sam Lowes, Speed Up Racing, 1:46.333
6th Luis Salom, Paginas Amarillas HP 40 Kalex, 1:46.478
7th Alex Rins, Paginas Amarillas HP 40 Kalex, 1:46.490
8th Simone Corsi, Athina Forward Racing Team, 1:46.526
9th Sandro Cortese, Dynavolt Intact GP Kalex, 1:46.537
10th Tom Luthi, Derendinger Racing Interwetten Kalex, 1:46.591
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