Jorge Martin will start from 6th for tomorrow’s race with teammate Tetsuta Nagashima 15th despite suffering a hard crash in FP3.

High temperatures had a big impact on qualifying for the Andalucia Grand Prix on Saturday. Today the Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto2 riders made it directly into Q2 for the third consecutive round. In the grid-deciding session, Jorge Martin – who led the way in the morning’s Free Practice – will start the race from the second row, in 6th position. Tetsuta Nagashima, who suffered a hard crash in FP3, will take off from the fifth row, in 15th place.

Martin led the way from start to finish in FP3. The Spaniard put in 16 laps and set his personal best of the weekend – a 1:41.175 – improving on his top Friday lap by more than half a second. Nagashima suffered a crash at Turn 6 in the 7th minute of the session. Although the Japanese was unable to resume the practice, visiting the medical center, he clocked the fifth fastest time of 1:41.502.

The Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto2 duo went directly into Q2, where track temperatures rose to 57ºC. Jorge Martin was just two tenths behind the poleman, setting a 1:41.957 and finishing sixth. Tetsuta Nagashima earned a creditable 15th place with a time of 1:42.383, and is ready to race tomorrow.

The 23-lap Moto2 Andalucia Grand Prix takes place tomorrow at 12:20 pm local time.

Results (Qualifying sessions)
1. Marco Bezzecchi (Kalex) 1:41:728
2. Sam Lowes (Kalex) 1:41.765 +0.037
3. Enea Bastianini (Kalex) 1:41.845 +0.117
4. Jorge Navarro (Speed Up) 1:41.860 +0.132
5. Luca Marini (Kalex) 1:41.882 +0.154
6. Jorge Martin (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 1:41.957 +0.229
15. Tetsuta Nagashima (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 1:42.383 +0.655

88 JORGE MARTIN

“It was a difficult qualifying session. However, in the morning we showed that we have a good pace, and I am happy about that. I hope to be a little more comfortable tomorrow, as race time is set to have lower temperatures. We are doing a good job and we will try to keep fighting for the leading positions throughout the contest.”

45 TETSUTA NAGASHIMA

“Today was a pretty tough day for me. I suffered a crash in FP3 and then, in the afternoon, the qualifying session did not go quite as we had expected. However, the important thing is that I feel good and I am ready for tomorrow’s race. We will try to remain as strong as we were last week to try to achieve a strong result.”