Fernandez takes rewarding second row of the grid at the Portuguese GP
23/04/2022The Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto2 rider qualifies fifth in the first dry session of the weekend. Acosta goes through Q1 and will start from the seventh row.
The Moto2 starting grid for the Portuguese Grand Prix was established today in qualifying, held in mixed conditions of rain in the morning and sun in the afternoon. Augusto Fernandez, who went through to Q2 directly with his time from Friday, qualified in fifth position and will start from the second row of the grid. On the seventh row will be his teammate Pedro Acosta who, after competing in Q1, ended the day in 20th place.
Minutes before the start of FP3, the rain in Portimao intensified and a strong wind picked up. This meant that, a short time into the session, a red flag was shown due to the amount of water that had accumulated on the track. The Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto2 riders preferred not to take unnecessary risks and approached the practice very calmly. Acosta finished in 15th place after stopping the clock at 2:02.042, on his last attempt out of a total of 12. Fernandez was 28th with a time of 2:04.677, from a total of 7 laps in the runout.
In the afternoon, Fernandez went straight into Q2, a session in which the intermediate class riders were able to enjoy dry conditions for the first time this weekend. The Spaniard gave his all for a final fast lap of 1:44.788, which earned him a positive fifth position. Acosta needed to go into Q1, in which he finished sixth with a – 1:46.160. He will take off from 20th tomorrow.
The Moto2 Portuguese Grand Prix is scheduled for 23 laps and will start on Sunday at 2:30 PM local time. Exceptionally, it will be the last race of the day.
Results (Qualifying session)
1. Aron Canet (Kalex) 1:44.151
2. Cameron Beaubier (Kalex) 1:44.479 +0.328
3. Jake Dixon (Kalex) 1:44.501 +0.350
4. Tony Arbolino (Kalex) 1:44.560 +0.409
5. Augusto Fernandez (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 1:44.788 (+0.637)
20. Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 1:46.160 (Q1 time)
#37 AUGUSTO FERNANDEZ
“I’m happy, despite the fact that it was a rather strange day again. This morning we had to overcome some rather difficult conditions, since we were unable to do many laps. In qualifying it was the first time that we had ridden in the dry, and I took it easy after the mistake in Austin due to similar conditions. On the last lap I saw that I was low down the order and I decided to push a little more, but I was always respecting the limit so as not to make mistakes. The second row is a very good spot and I hope tomorrow’s race will be dry. We are ready for the race, in which I will give everything to get a good result.”
#51 PEDRO ACOSTA
“It’s been a really productive day. In the wet we improved a lot compared to yesterday, although not enough. In Q1 we had a bit of bad luck, because we could have qualified inside the Top 4 and at least gone into Q2. Nevertheless, we have a good pace, which is important for tomorrow’s race. We will give it one hundred percent to try to close the weekend with a good performance.”