Dominant Fernandez claims fifth pole position of the season at Misano

18/09/2021

The Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto2 rookie will head the San Marino Grand Prix grid, with Remy Gardner in fourth place.

 

Raul Fernandez dominated qualifying for the San Marino Grand Prix, taking his fifth pole of the year. The Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto2 rookie overcame discomfort in his right hand and tomorrow will start from the head of the grid for the eleventh time in his career to date. His teammate, Remy Gardner qualified in a solid fourth position and he will be on Row 2.

After a wet Friday, the Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto2 duo were able to test themselves in dry conditions in FP3. Fernandez shone in the final part of a session that he ended up topping with a 1:37.012, almost two tenths quicker than his nearest rival. The Spaniard put in 19 laps, compared to 18 for his teammate. Gardner improved his feeling from Friday and finished in third position thanks to a time of 1:37.245.

Straight into Qualifying 2, Fernandez proved to be one step ahead of the rest of the field and took the pole position with a time of 1:36.264, more than 3 tenths ahead of any other rider. Gardner qualified in fourth position courtesy of a 1:36.861, and tomorrow the Australian will start the race from the second row of the grid.

The 25-lap Moto2 San Marino Grand Prix takes place tomorrow at 12:20 PM local time.

Results (Qualifying session)
1. Raul Fernandez (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 1:36.264
2. Sam Lowes (Kalex) 1:36.615 +0.351
3. Augusto Fernandez (Kalex) 1:36.788 +0.524
4. Remy Gardner (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 1:36.861 +0.597
5. Aron Canet (Boscoscuro) 1:36.869 +0.605

 

87 REMY GARDNER

“Today we were finally able to enjoy the first dry sessions of the weekend. It was very positive to be able to ride in these conditions, and we tried to make the most of those laps. I was expecting a little more from qualifying, but we qualified on the second row of the grid, which is good. Tomorrow in the warm-up we will work on our pace for the race, and we will see what weather conditions we encounter. We will give our one hundred percent.”

25 RAUL FERNANDEZ

“Our work this week has been made more tougher because of the stress that I have on my right hand. However, I will give my all to try to fight for another podium, which is our target. I’m very happy because the team have given me a competitive bike. I feel lucky with the crew that I have, as they give me a lot of peace of mind. We are working well. We are totally focused on practice or the race, and nothing else. I want to thank the Clinica Mobile because they have done an incredible job. We will see what happens tomorrow.”

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