Submitted by Mike Lewis on
Johann Zarco appears more than ready to seize a second Moto2 championship with a blistering qualifying session Saturday that put him two full seconds clear of the runner-up. Zarco's 2'18.621 -- set after he already had a qualifying gap of one second over the number two grid position -- came on a drying track and on rain tires at the Sepang Circuit.
If Zarco wins the race Sunday, the championship is his. Franco Morbidelli -- who has excelled in the second half of the season with six podiums in nice races -- traded the top time with Zarco for much of qualifying. Then Zarco left the field behind and relegated Morbidelli to a distant second spot on the grid, matching the Italian's best qualifying of 2016. Axel Pons took third, the second time in his grand prix career he has qualified on the front row.
Jonas Folger leads the second row, just in front of Thomas Luthi (4th). Luthi, winner of two races in a row and four on the year, sits second in the championship to Zarco, 22 points adrift. Lorenzo Baldassari, at three seconds from the pole sitter, completed the third row. Xavier Simeon (7th) just clipped Mattia Pasini (8th) while Remy Gardner -- who has never started a Grand Prix inside the top 20 -- managed his best-ever qualifying in ninth. Simone Corsi completed the top 10.
Weather for tomorrow race is expected to be varied but the teams are planning for rain.
Result:
Pos. | No. | Rider | Bike | Time | Diff. / Prev. | |
1 | 5 | Johann ZARCO | Kalex | 2'18.621 | ||
2 | 21 | Franco MORBIDELLI | Kalex | 2'20.755 | 2.134 / 2.134 | |
3 | 49 | Axel PONS | Kalex | 2'21.383 | 2.762 / 0.628 | |
4 | 94 | Jonas FOLGER | Kalex | 2'21.559 | 2.938 / 0.176 | |
5 | 12 | Thomas LUTHI | Kalex | 2'21.775 | 3.154 / 0.216 | |
6 | 7 | Lorenzo BALDASSARRI | Kalex | 2'21.836 | 3.215 / 0.061 | |
7 | 19 | Xavier SIMEON | Speed Up | 2'21.941 | 3.320 / 0.105 | |
8 | 54 | Mattia PASINI | Kalex | 2'22.029 | 3.408 / 0.088 | |
9 | 87 | Remy GARDNER | Kalex | 2'22.070 | 3.449 / 0.041 | |
10 | 24 | Simone CORSI | Speed Up | 2'22.107 | 3.486 / 0.037 | |
11 | 10 | Luca MARINI | Kalex | 2'22.556 | 3.935 / 0.449 | |
12 | 93 | Ramdan ROSLI | Kalex | 2'22.697 | 4.076 / 0.141 | |
13 | 22 | Sam LOWES | Kalex | 2'23.187 | 4.566 / 0.490 | |
14 | 55 | Hafizh SYAHRIN | Kalex | 2'23.213 | 4.592 / 0.026 | |
15 | 11 | Sandro CORTESE | Kalex | 2'23.387 | 4.766 / 0.174 | |
16 | 20 | Alessandro NOCCO | Kalex | 2'23.629 | 5.008 / 0.242 | |
17 | 27 | Iker LECUONA | Kalex | 2'23.677 | 5.056 / 0.048 | |
18 | 57 | Edgar PONS | Kalex | 2'23.785 | 5.164 / 0.108 | |
19 | 32 | Isaac VIÑALES | Tech 3 | 2'23.913 | 5.292 / 0.128 | |
20 | 30 | Takaaki NAKAGAMI | Kalex | 2'23.935 | 5.314 / 0.022 | |
21 | 73 | Alex MARQUEZ | Kalex | 2'24.145 | 5.524 / 0.210 | |
22 | 23 | Marcel SCHROTTER | Kalex | 2'24.274 | 5.653 / 0.129 | |
23 | 40 | Alex RINS | Kalex | 2'24.370 | 5.749 / 0.096 | |
24 | 52 | Danny KENT | Kalex | 2'24.542 | 5.921 / 0.172 | |
25 | 97 | Xavi VIERGE | Tech 3 | 2'24.639 | 6.018 / 0.097 | |
26 | 14 | Ratthapark WILAIROT | Kalex | 2'24.793 | 6.172 / 0.154 | |
27 | 2 | Jesko RAFFIN | Kalex | 2'25.030 | 6.409 / 0.237 | |
28 | 70 | Robin MULHAUSER | Kalex | 2'25.611 | 6.990 / 0.581 | |