The Termas de Rio Hondo track had barely delivered its MotoGP qualifying verdict when it opened the ban for the Moto2 protagonists. Since the start of this Argentine Grand Prix, two men have taken over the free practice sessions: Franco Morbidelli et Lorenzo Baldassari. The latter having shone during the last outing in the rain.
And precisely, it was still wet bitumen which was offered at a temperature of 17°, the track requiring only one degree more. This is what the situation was like before the debates began.
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#ArgentinaGP Moto2 |
2016 |
2017 |
| FP1 | 1'45.037 Johann Zarco | 1'44.943 Lorenzo Baldassari |
| FP2 | 1'44.533 Johann Zarco | 1'44.188 Franco Morbidelli |
| FP3 | 1'43.594 Jonas Folger | 1'46.100 Lorenzo Baldassari |
| QP | 1'43.347 Sam Lowes | |
| Warm Up | 1'54.847 Johann Zarco | |
| Course | Zarco Lowes Folger | |
| All time lap record | 1'42.809 Zarco 2015 |
The question asked from the outset was whether the track was already worth the slick tires or whether we would still have to wait with rain. Suffice to say that you had to believe in your lucky star and in the sky to get started. The coup could turn into a masterstroke. Or a hard blow.
It is Alex Marquez who played from the start, showing that damn it cannot lie. In 1'54.952 on slick and while the rain decided to do it again, the Marc VDS Racing driver took an option to win this competition. Cortese followed in 1'55.994 with his Suter equipped with the same equipment.
# Moto2: @ alexmarquez73 may have played an absolute blinder here… provisional pole laps early on, before the weather worsens! #ArgentinaGP pic.twitter.com/AVAdkFg99A
- MotoGP @ 🏁 (@MotoGP) April 8, 2017
A strategy refused by the teammate Morbidely who therefore started the exercise in thirteenth position, more than three seconds behind his leading teammate. Twenty minutes from the goal, the slick supporters swelled their ranks to better dislodge their first leader. Pasini, Baldassari, Cortese et agitated did better than one Alex Marquez rejected in fifth place. Everything remained to be done.
Less than 20 minutes to go and it's @MattiaPasini who goes top of the pile from Balda & Cortese! #ArgentinaGP pic.twitter.com/M8cBeas3rv
- MotoGP @ 🏁 (@MotoGP) April 8, 2017
Until the checkered flag dropped, the positions continued to change depending on the track found to be more or less dry by the protagonists. In this game, it's ultimately Miguel Oliveira who won with a time of 1'45.616. Which shows how much the times evolved during this qualifying session.
A great achievement since the Portuguese confirmed his love of a track which had given him pole position in 2015 during the Moto3 era but already during the KTM period. The Austrian brand, for its second Grand Prix at this level, achieved a top performance which delighted boss Aki Ajo. This is the first “non-kalex” pole position since Sam Lowes at Silverstone in 2015 and the first Portuguese pole position in the intermediate category.
Morbidely is second to the teammate Alex Marquez. The second line is also a team affair since Lüthi leads ahead Raffin while Pasini is sixth. For Tech3, Xavier Vierge is eighth behind Cortese and in front Simeon. Baldassari is tenth.
The first rookie is bagnaia, thirteenth while fabio quartararo settles for seventeenth position. Disappointment is called Nakagami : only twenty-second.
#ArgentinaGP Moto2 Qualifying: Chronos
1. Miguel Oliveira POR Red Bull KTM Ajo (KTM) 1m 45.616s
2. Franco Morbidelli ITA EG 0,0 Marc VDS (Kalex) 1m 45.715s
3. Alex Marquez SPA EG 0,0 Marc VDS (Kalex) 1m 45.864s
4. Thomas luthi SWI CarXpert Interwetten (Kalex) 1m 45.990s
5. Jesko Raffin SWI Garage Plus Interwetten (Kalex) 1m 46.053s
6. Mattia Pasini ITA Italtrans Racing Team (Kalex) 1m 46.144s
7. Sandra Cortese GER Dynavolt Intact GP (Suter) 1m 46.145s
8. Xavi Verge SPA Tech 3 Racing (Tech 3) 1m 46.173s
9. Xavier Simeon BEL Tasca Racing Scuderia Moto2 (Kalex)
1m 46.197s
10. Lorenzo Baldassarri ITA Forward Racing Team (Kalex)
1m 46.420s
11. Luca marini ITA Forward Racing Team (Kalex) 1m 46.482s
12. Danny Kent GBR Kiefer Racing (Suter) 1m 46.719s
13. Francis Bagnaia ITA SKY Racing Team VR46 (Kalex) 1m 46.768s
14. Hafiz Syahrin MAL Petronas Raceline Malaysia (Kalex)
1m 46.815s
15. Axel Pons SPA RW Racing GP (Kalex) 1m 46.832s
16. Marcel schrotter GER Dynavolt Intact GP (Suter) 1m 46.834s
17. fabio quartararo FRA Pons HP40 (Kalex) 1m 46.864s
18. Dominique Aegerter SWI Kiefer Racing (Suter) 1m 46.902s
19. Simone Courses ITA Speed Up Racing (Speed Up) 1m 46.943s
20. Jorge Navarro SPA Federal Oil Gresini Moto2 (Kalex)
1m 46.970s
21. Isaac Viñales SPA BE-A-VIP SAG Team (Kalex) 1m 47.190s
22. Takaaki Nakagami JPN IDEMITSU Honda Team Asia (Kalex)
1m 47.343s
23. Edgar Pons SPA Pons HP40 (Kalex) 1m 47.641s
24. Brad Binder RSA Red Bull KTM Ajo (KTM) 1m 47.855s
25. Remy gardner AUS Tech 3 Racing (Tech 3) 1m 47.899s
26. Julian Simon SPA Garage Plus Interwetten (Kalex) 1m 47.912s
27. Tetsuta nagashima JPN Teluru SAG Team (Kalex) 1m 48.118s
28. Khairul Idham Pawi MAL IDEMITSU Honda Team Asia (Kalex)
1m 48.173s
29. Axel Bassani ITA Speed Up Racing (Speed Up) 1m 48.243s
30. Yonny Hernandez COL AGR Team (Kalex) 1m 49.013s
31. Andrea Locatelli ITA Italtrans Racing Team (Kalex) 1m 49.178s
32. Stefano manzi ITA SKY Racing Team VR46 (Kalex) 1m 50.023s
