The British rider takes his career-first pole position to beat Fernandez and compatriot Lowes in qualifying
Free Practice pacesetter Jake Dixon (Inde GASGAS Aspar Team) claimed a dream debut Moto2™ pole position in qualifying at the Pertamina Grand Prix of Indonesia thanks to a 1:35.799, a time good enough to beat second place Augusto Fernandez (Red Bull KTM Ajo) by 0.102s. Sam Lowes (Elf Marc VDS Racing Team) picked up P3 to start from the outside of the front row.
First POLE in #Moto2 for @jakedixonracing! ????
Setting a new lap record along the way for the brit#Moto2 | #IndonesianGP ???????? pic.twitter.com/OV6XIzEamO
— MotoGP™???? (@MotoGP) March 19, 2022
Ogura, Roberts, Schrötter out in Q1
A trio of leading contenders in the form of Ai Ogura (Idemitsu Honda Team Asia), Joe Roberts (Italtrans Racing Team) and Marcel Schrötter (Liqui Moly Intact GP) found themselves in Q1, but none of them would end up progressing into Q2. Instead it was Somkiat Chantra (Idemitsu Honda Team Asia), Bo Bendsneyder (Pertamina Mandalika SAG Team), Jeremy Alcoba (Liqui Moly Intact GP) and Simone Corsi (MV Agusta Forward Racing) who would end up in the pole position battle.
Dixon delivers in a crash heavy Q2
Chantra came straight out in Q2 and went top of the timesheets in the early stages, as we saw Jorge Navarro (Flexbox HP40) and Cameron Beaubier (American Racing) crash – separately – at Turn 2. Albert Arenas (Inde GASGAS Aspar Team) then also fell foul of Turn 2, thankfully all riders were ok, but the yellow flags were causing laps to be cancelled.
Two British riders then climbed to the summit with five minutes to go. Dixon led Lowes by 0.154s, with Fernandez now on the provisional front row ahead of Chantra. Bendsneyder then pounced up to P5, as another rider then crashed at Turn 2. This time, it was reigning Moto3™ World Champion Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM Ajo) – rider ok.
Turn 2 catches another victim! ????
This time its @cameronbeaubier that’s caught out as the riders are finding the right-hander pretty tricky today! ⚠️#Moto2 | #IndonesianGP ???????? pic.twitter.com/1hMV0BpigP
— MotoGP™???? (@MotoGP) March 19, 2022
In the closing stages, there were very few improvers. Dixon held onto P1 to bag his first intermediate class pole position, with Fernandez and Lowes the only riders to get within 0.4s of the British star.
Rows 2-4 for the Indonesian GP
After coming through Q1, Chantra claims a commendable P4 ahead of Bendsneyder and Arenas, who holds onto P6 despite the crash. World Championship leader Celestino Vietti (Mooney VR46 Racing Team) will launch from P7, the Italian has Tony Arbolino (Elf Marc VDS Racing Team) and Corsi for company on Row 3, as Acosta starts from P10 – the rookie has a Long Lap Penalty to contend with in the race. Beaubier and Fermin Aldeguer (MB Conveyors Speed Up) join Acosta on the fourth row in P11 and P12 respectively.
Don’t miss the Moto2™ Indonesian GP at 13:20 local time (GMT+8)!
Top 10:
1. Jake Dixon (Inde GASGAS Aspar Team) 1:35.799
2. Augusto Fernandez (Red Bull KTM Ajo) + 0.102
3. Sam Lowes (Elf Marc VDS Racing Team) + 0.154
4. Somkiat Chantra (Idemitsu Honda Team Asia) + 0.461
5. Bo Bendsneyder (Pertamina Mandalika SAG Team) + 0.538
6. Albert Arenas (Inde GASGAS Aspar Team) + 0.782
7. Celestino Vietti (Mooney VR46 Racing Team) + 0.789
8. Tony Arbolino (Elf Marc VDS Racing Team) + 0.858
9. Simone Corsi (MV Augusta Forward Racing) + 0.866
10. Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM Ajo) + 0.952
