Pedro Acosta will start in seventh position, while Albert Arenas will start in twenty-second place.

Qualifying in Qatar was demanding for the Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto2 riders, as Pedro Acosta and Albert Arenas worked hard on Saturday to get the best position possible on the starting grid at Lusail. Acosta clocked the seventh best time and will start from the third row, while Albert Arenas could not make it out of Q1 and was 22nd.

The morning session featured slightly better grip than the previous day, and the Red Bull KTM Ajo riders were able to take another step forward in the third and final run before qualifying. Acosta continued to focus on Sunday’s race and looking for the best strategy. The Red Bull KTM Ajo rider, who went straight through to Q2, finished in eighth position with a time of 1:58.544. Arenas also made progress in the session, had a productive Practice and improved his times from Friday. Unfortunately, his last lap was cancelled, leaving him in nineteenth position with a time of 1:58.907, and forced to go through Q1.

In that session, Arenas continued to lower his times lap after lap, quickly moving into the Top 4.The Red Bull KTM Ajo rider fought hard to make it through to Q2 but, unfortunately, Arenas was unable to improve his time from the session on the final lap, despite setting the fastest time of the day, 1:58.298, and finished in eighth position. As a result, he will start from 22nd position on the grid tomorrow and will have to make up positions in the race. Pedro Acosta was in Q2 at the Lusail International Circuit looking for a good result for Sunday. The Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto2 rider had some difficulties in setting a good fast lap and fighting for the front row, as he was not feeling 100% fit. Nevertheless, he gave his all over 8 laps, and took tenths off his times, going on to earn seventh place with a 1:57.846.

The 18-lap Moto2 Qatar Grand Prix race will take place on Sunday at 6:15pm local time.
 

Results (Qualifying)
1. Joe Roberts (Kalex) 1:57.305
2. Celestino Vietti (KTM) 1:57.312 +0.007
3. Aron Canet (Kalex) 1:57.333 +0.028
4. Fermin Aldeguer (Boscoscuro) 1:57.432 +0.127
5. Sam Lowes (Kalex) 1:57.741 +0.436
7. Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 1:57.846 +0.541
22. Albert Arenas (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 1:58.298 +0.730 *Q1 time

#37 PEDRO ACOSTA
“Today was a bit of a tough day because I’m not feeling at my best, but we were able to salvage something from the day. Seventh position is a good result considering the situation so we have to be happy with the result. With the schedule this weekend I can make the most of resting a little more today and try to recover as much as possible, so that tomorrow I can try to have a good race.”

#75 ALBERT ARENAS
“It was a tough day in terms of the result. The lap that would have taken us straight through to Q2 was cancelled due to a yellow flag, and then in Q1 I managed to be consistent but it was not enough -even with my speed. In the race it will be a hindrance to start so far back, but we have the speed to try to make a comeback. This situation makes me angry, but we have to face it in the best way and be focused on tomorrow.”