Dominant Fernandez claims fourth pole position of the season at Assen
26/06/2021The Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto2 rookie will head the Dutch Grand Prix grid, with Remy Gardner alongside him in second position.
Raul Fernandez was outstanding in qualifying for the Dutch Grand Prix, taking pole position and continuing the form that had put him top of the combined Free Practice timesheets. The Red Bull KTM Ajo rider is enjoying a brilliant rookie season in Moto2 and will start from the front of the grid for the fourth time this year. Right alongside him will be teammate Remy Gardner, who had a solid Q2 and finished second.
The Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto2 duo enjoyed optimal weather conditions for FP3. Fernandez would go quickest in the session, despite suffering a crash midway through at Turn 3. In addition, the Spaniard lowered his personal best from Friday, clocking his 1:36.511 on his eighth lap of 16. Gardner was sixth with a time of 1:36.909, just three tenths behind his teammate, and completed 18 laps.
The two Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto2 riders went straight into Q2, thanks to their good work in Free Practice. Fernandez was unstoppable and, after laying down an exceptional 1:36.356 lap, claimed his fourth pole position of the season – the 10th of his career. Just 1 tenth slower, Gardner took second place with a 1:36.542.
The 24-lap Moto2 Dutch GP takes place on Sunday at 12:20 PM local time.
Results (Qualifying session)
1. Raul Fernandez (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 1:36.356
2. Remy Gardner (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 1:36.542 +0.186
3. Sam Lowes (Kalex) 1:36.686 +0.330
4. Aron Canet (Boscoscuro) 1:36.765 +0.409
5. Hector Garzo (Kalex) 1:36.802 +0.446
87 REMY GARDNER
“It was a good day overall. I didn’t expect to be on the front row, as we struggled a bit trying to get a strong lap time. However, we managed to take a step forward by applying a couple of changes to the setup for qualifying. I’m happy with how things turned out in the end. We will see what we are capable of doing tomorrow. It will be a tough race for us but, as always, we will give one hundred percent.”
25 RAUL FERNANDEZ
“I’m very happy; I didn’t expect to be able to get pole position. Not in my wildest dreams could I have imagined that we would achieve these great results. This is down to the good work we are doing together with the team. I am satisfied. Tomorrow will be a tight race, and I hope to enjoy it and will try to get a great position. I want to go into the summer holidays feeling good.”