Canet beats Roberts to a magnificent Misano pole

Moto2™ brought further drama on Saturday at Gran Premio Pramac dell’Emilia-Romagna, with Aron Canet (Fantic Racing) setting an incredible pace – storming to pole position. The #44 had a rock-solid morning, finishing Practice 2 in P1 before clocking an incredible 1:34.935 in Q2 – destroying the lap record. Meanwhile, Joe Roberts (OnlyFans American Racing Team) pulled off an unbelievable time, grabbing an unexpected second position – missing out on P1 by 0.004s. The #16 will start from second, alongside Tony Arbolino (Elf Marc VDS Racing Team), who after sitting on the top spot for the majority of the session, was demoted to P3 – unable to make it back-to-back poles.

Under the record at the start of Q2

It was a hot pace on Saturday morning, with Canet charging to the top of the timesheets in Practice 2 – setting a 1:35.154. The #44 went under the previous lap record, and with a hot pace, it left some key names outside the top 14, including Alonso Lopez (MB Conveyors SpeedUp) and Diogo Moreira (Italtrans Racing Team). This resulted in a crucial afternoon Q1, with Zonta Van den Goorbergh (RW-Idrofoglia Racing GP), Dennis Foggia (Italtrans Racing Team), Senna Agius (Liqui Moly Husqvarna Intact GP) and Lopez all securing a spot in Q2.

As Q2 got underway, the lap record was broken on the opening lap after a mind-blowing lap from Arbolino. The Italian soon bettered his time and became the first Moto2™ rider to enter the 1:34 bracket rider in Misano. Canet and Jake Dixon (CFMOTO Inde Aspar Team) would claim provisional front-row starts as the attention turned to the final five minutes. As always, the action came thick and fast, with Somkiat Chantra (IDEMITSU Honda Team Asia) crashing at Turn 9 as Celestino Vietti (Red Bull KTM Ajo), Roberts and then Canet all improving on their final flying lap.

Ogura heads the third row

Vietti starts from the second row of the grid, being demoted to fourth as the Italian prepares to start ahead of Dixon, with the #96 rounding out the top five positions. It was a strong session for Dixon, who heads into Sunday ahead of Fermin Aldeguer (MB Conveyors SpeedUp), with the #54 qualifying in sixth for Sunday - starting as the top Boscoscuro rider.

Championship leader Ai Ogura (MT Helmets – MSI) ends the day 0.372s adrift from Canet’s benchmark - qualifying in seventh. The #79 improved on his eighth and final flying lap, starting alongside Van Den Goorbergh, who, after battling from Q1, will place eighth in the middle of the third row, placing alongside Foggia after a great qualifying from the Italian. Further back, Sergio Garcia (MT Helmets – MSI) will head from 13^th on the grid with work to do on race day.

Don’t miss any of the action on Sunday, with lights out for the intermediate class at 11:15 local time (UTC +2), where further drama is expected to unfold!

Top 10:

FULL RESULTS!