Following two pole positions in a row, Sam Lowes was hoping to have a successful qualifying at Mugello this weekend but the best he could do was third place. Aron Canet crashed out in the second qualifying session but the time he set in the first half of the session, a 1:50.796, was too good for any rider to beat and he will line up on pole position tomorrow, dependent on the medical review he will have before the race starts tomorrow.
The top four spots in the first qualifying session were constantly changing but it seemed to be the same four riders who seemed most comfortable on the Italian asphalt.
Darryn Binder was so confident that he did not need to go out for a second time in the session with the time he set to take second place, behind Ai Ogura, at the halfway point. Even with all the other riders out on track, he was safe and finished the session in fourth place. Jeremy Alcoba and Joe Roberts both set faster times than Binder, dropping him down to fourth fastest.
The riders who made it through to Q2 from Q1 were Roberts, Ogura, Alcoba and Binder.
All riders went out at the start of Q2 to set some banker laps. After the first few tours of the circuit, Canet topped the timesheet with a 1:15.089, followed by Lowes and Manuel Gonzalez.
With nine and half minutes remaining on the clock, Pedro Acosta took the top spot away from Canet, but the Pons Wegow Los40 rider was able to take the position back almost immediately.
At the halfway point of the session, all riders except for Mattia Pasini had set a representative lap time.
With six minutes to go, provisional pole sitter Canet crashed out at the exit of turn three and he lost his visor through the crash. He was taken to the medical centre and following a review, a small bone infraction was found on the ring and little fingers of his right hand. The doctors have decided to review him tomorrow before the race before they make the decision on whether he is fit to race.
Ogura also crashed during the session at turn 12.
At the end of the session, no rider was able to put together a good lap. Alonso Lopez and Celestino Vietti both set fast sectors 1 and 2 but were not able to improve in the third and fourth sectors.
Lining up on the front row alongside Canet will be Acosta and Lowes, who continues his streak of starting on the front row. Roberts, Filip Salac and Jake Dixon fill up the second row. Vietti, Fermin Aldeguer and Lopez are the riders who will start on the third row.
Championship leader Tony Arbolino will start tomorrow’s race from tenth on the grid.
Rory Skinner was injured in the morning practice session due to a collision with Alcoba, forcing him to withdraw from the race and move his focus onto the next round in Sachsenring.
| 2023 ITALIAN MOTO2 GRAND PRIX, MUGELLO – QUALIFYING RESULTS | |||||
| POS | RIDER | NAT | TEAM | BIKE | TIME |
| 1 | Aron Canet | SPA | Pons Wegow Los40 | (Kalex) | 1m 50.796s |
| 2 | Pedro Acosta | SPA | Red Bull KTM Ajo | (Kalex) | 1m 50.955s |
| 3 | Sam Lowes | GBR | Elf Marc VDS Racing Team | (Kalex) | 1m 50.958s |
| 4 | Joe Roberts | USA | Italtrans Racing Team | (Kalex) | 1m 51.008s |
| 5 | Filip Salac | CZE | QJMOTOR Gresini Moto2 | (Kalex) | 1m 51.026s |
| 6 | Jake Dixon | GBR | Autosolar GASGAS Aspar M2 | (Kalex) | 1m 51.038s |
| 7 | Celestino Vietti | ITA | Fantic Racing | (Kalex) | 1m 51.097s |
| 8 | Fermín Aldeguer | SPA | MB Conveyors SpeedUp | (Boscoscuro) | 1m 51.129s |
| 9 | Alonso Lopez | SPA | MB Conveyors SpeedUp | (Boscoscuro) | 1m 51.145s |
| 10 | Tony Arbolino | ITA | Elf Marc VDS Racing Team | (Kalex) | 1m 51.245s |
| 11 | Manuel Gonzalez | SPA | Correos Prepago Yamaha VR46 | (Kalex) | 1m 51.325s |
| 12 | Jeremy Alcoba | SPA | QJMOTOR Gresini Moto2 | (Kalex) | 1m 51.519s |
| 13 | Darryn Binder | RSA | Liqui Moly Husqvarna Intact GP | (Kalex) | 1m 51.582s |
| 14 | Ai Ogura | JPN | IDEMITSU Honda Team Asia | (Kalex) | 1m 51.696s |
| 15 | Albert Arenas | SPA | Red Bull KTM Ajo | (Kalex) | 1m 51.737s |
| 16 | Sergio Garcia | SPA | Pons Wegow Los40 | (Kalex) | 1m 51.748s |
| 17 | Somkiat Chantra | THA | IDEMITSU Honda Team Asia | (Kalex) | 1m 51.824s |
| 18 | Mattia Pasini | ITA | Fieten Olie Racing GP | (Kalex) | 1m 52.237s |
| 19 | Barry Baltus | BEL | Fieten Olie Racing GP | (Kalex) | 1m 51.741s |
| 20 | Bo Bendsneyder | NED | Pertamina Mandalika SAG Team | (Kalex) | 1m 51.975s |
| 21 | Dennis Foggia | ITA | Italtrans Racing Team | (Kalex) | 1m 51.979s |
| 22 | Zonta Vd Goorbergh | NED | Fieten Olie Racing GP | (Kalex) | 1m 51.983s |
| 23 | Sean Dylan Kelly | USA | OnlyFans American Racing | (Kalex) | 1m 52.202s |
| 24 | Izan Guevara | SPA | Autosolar GASGAS Aspar M2 | (Kalex) | 1m 52.280s |
| 25 | Borja Gomez | SPA | Fantic Racing | (Kalex) | 1m 52.334s |
| 26 | Lukas Tulovic | GER | Liqui Moly Husqvarna Intact GP | (Kalex) | 1m 52.356s |
| 27 | Marcos Ramirez | SPA | Forward Team | (Forward) | 1m 52.722s |
| 28 | Taiga Hada | JPN | Pertamina Mandalika SAG Team | (Kalex) | 1m 53.172s |
| 29 | Lorenzo Dalla Porta | ITA | Forward Team | (Forward) | 1m 53.489s |
| 30 | Kasma Daniel | MAL | Correos Prepago Yamaha VR46 M | (Kalex) | 1m 54.277s |
Feature Image Credit: MotoGP