Celestino Vietti will start the race from the sixth row of the grid, while Deniz Öncü will be on Row 7.

This Saturday saw the first qualifying sessions of the season at the Qatar Grand Prix. The Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto2 duo faced a series of demanding sessions trying to occupy the top positions. Celestino Vietti will start from sixteenth position, whilst Deniz Öncü will begin the contest from 20th.

After not being able to compete in Practice 1 yesterday due to rain, the intermediate class riders had high stakes in Practice 2 to secure a direct route into Q2. Celestino Vietti seemed very comfortable and  worked to stay up near the top of the timesheets. After 12 laps, the Italian concluded the session in tenth position with a time of 1:57.863, achieved on his ninth of 12 laps. In qualifying, up to 16 riders were within a single second of each other. However, Vietti’s feeling was not as good as in the morning, although he clocked his best time of the weekend with a 1:57.777. He was sixteenth, meaning he will need to make a good start on Sunday to climb up the order.

Öncü continues to face new situations in the class. The Red Bull KTM Ajo rider remains focused on adapting as best as possible to his new bike and adjusting his riding style. In the morning session he continued to fine-tune his setup until he managed to improve his Friday time. After completing 13 laps, his 1:58.683 on his penultimate lap placed him in 22nd, forcing him to go through Q1. In qualifying, the Turkish rider took a big step forward in terms of his lap time. Öncü fought until the end to get through to Q2, falling just short after finishing in sixth position, with a time of 1:58.004. On Sunday he will start his first race in the intermediate class from 20th on the grid.

The Moto2 Qatar Grand Prix race will begin at 6:15 PM local time at the Lusail International Circuit on Sunday.

Qualifying Session Results
1. Aron Canet (Kalex) 1:56.788
2. Alonso Lopez (Boscoscuro) 1:56.890 +0.102
3. Albert Arenas (Kalex) 1:57.025 +0.237
4. Manuel Gonzalez (Kalex) 1:57.027 +0.239
5. Tony Arbolino (Kalex) 1:57.214 +0.426
16. Celestino Vietti (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 1:57.777 +0.989
20. Deniz Öncü (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 1:58.004 +0.353 *Q1 time

#13 CELESTINO VIETTI

“I think we are not so far off, as we saw in Q2. We tried some things to try to improve, although some of them didn’t work. I tried to set a good lap during qualifying. In any case, we will continue working hard, our feeling is good and I think that we can have a good race. We will analyse everything today and we will give it our best shot tomorrow.”

#53 DENIZ ÖNCÜ

“It was our first qualifying in the Moto2 class, but I’m not 100% satisfied with the result. I have to take it as a lesson learned, and keep learning. I will take away the positives. I don’t have much experience but I’m feeling good on the bike and with the team. We couldn’t get into Q2, but tomorrow we will enjoy our first race.”