The Italian rider will start the race from eighth position, while Deniz Öncü will do so from 20th.

Saturday’s qualifying in Barcelona featured an intense fight for the top positions in the intermediate class. Celestino Vietti fought for pole position in the final minutes, although he finally took eighth position. Deniz Öncü was unable to make the cut in Q1 and will be 20th on the grid.

Practice 2 in the morning was once again carried out amidst low temperatures at the Circuit de Barcelona – Catalunya. Vietti continued to feel very comfortable with his riding and his bike, trying to improve as much as possible for his last race with the team. The Italian rider, despite not improving his time from Friday, remained in the Q2 positions until the end. His 1:43.336 placed him eighteenth (sixth on the combined timesheets) after his best time was cancelled. Öncü was able to improve his Friday times by a few tenths, although he continued to struggle with his feeling. The Turkish rider sought to up his pace and avoid going through Q1, but in the end he missed out by just one tenth and his 1:43.201 -from his ninth lap of 13- placed him thirteenth, in fifteenth overall.

In Qualifying 1, Öncü pushed until the final laps, setting his best time on the penultimate attempt. He was again unable to make the cut, as his 1:43.070 put him in sixth place. He will occupy 20th on the grid. Vietti managed a good qualifying session and, after a pit stop, was even in contention for pole position in the final moments. The qualifying run was very close between the top riders, almost all of them within the same second. Vietti was finally eighth with a time of 1:42.619, his best of the weekend.

The Moto2 Solidarity Grand Prix of Barcelona will take place on Sunday at 12:15pm local time.

Results Qualifying
1. Aron Canet (Kalex) 1:42.003
2. Manuel Gonzalez (Kalex) 1:42.149 +0.146
3. Zonta vd Goorberg (Kalex) 1:42.215 +0.212
4. Jake Dixon (Kalex) 1:42.235 +0.232
5. Ai Oigura (Boscoscuro) 1:42.370 +0.367
8. Celestino Vietti (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 1:42.619 +0.616
20. Deniz Öncü (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 1:43.070 +0.256 *Q1 Time

#13 CELESTINO VIETTI

“It hasn’t been too bad today. For sure we have improved in some parts, but maybe it wasn’t enough to get onto the front row. But we are all very close together. We need to analyse the data very well to see if we can improve more for tomorrow. It will be a very important race, especially in terms of tyre management. So we need to analyse everything and be prepared for a fight. As it will be my last race, I will fight to get the best result possible.”

#53 DENIZ ÖNCÜ

“We have finished the last qualifying session of the year. Honestly, this weekend has been very hard for me and I am struggling to find good speed on track. Tomorrow we will start the race from 20th, so I will give it my best and see if it’s possible to get into the points and maybe the Top 10. Let’s be positive and enjoy the last race of the year.”