Celestino Vietti claimed his first pole position of the 2024 Moto2 season at the German GP this Saturday. In a somewhat unlikely turn of events, the rider advanced from Q1 to clinch pole position, a rare achievement.
Q1 saw only three riders leading: Barry Baltus (RW-Idrofoglia Racing GP/Kalex) was the first to complete a flying lap, Dennis Foggia (Italtrans Racing Team/Kalex) topped the timesheets for about eight minutes, and finally, Vietti took the lead.
The Italian from Red Bull KTM Ajo set his best lap at 1m23.111s, edging out Foggia by 0.053s, who did not improve on his initial lap. Similarly, Darryn Binder (Liqui Moly Husqvarna Intact GP/Kalex) did not better his time but still finished third.
The last spot in Q2 was claimed by Senna Agius. The rookie from Liqui Moly Husqvarna Intact GP improved in the final minutes to secure fourth place, narrowly beating Jaume Masiá (Preicanos Racing Team/Kalex) by just 0.049s.
In Q2, Alonso López (MB Conveyors SpeedUp/Boscoscuro) was the first to set a flying lap, which was quickly bettered by Diogo Moreira (Italtrans Racing Team/Kalex) and then by Tony Arbolino (Elf Marc VDS/Kalex).
On his penultimate lap, Vietti set an impressive 1m22.778s, a time that no one could surpass, securing him pole position. Jake Dixon (CFMoto Polarcube Aspar/Kalex) came close, just 47 milliseconds behind, while Fermín Aldeguer (MB Conveyors SpeedUp/Boscoscuro) secured third place.
Agius delivered a surprising performance, finishing fourth, marking one of his best qualifications in the World Championships. The championship frontrunners were further back: Ai Ogura (MT Helmets-MSi/Boscoscuro) will start seventh, while his teammate and championship leader, Sergio García, managed only 12th. Somkiat Chantra (Idemitsu Honda Team Asia/Kalex), who set a new lap record in practice yesterday, finished 17th.
Results:
Celestino Vietti goes from Q1 to getting the #Moto2 pole position 🤩@jakedixonracing and @Aldeguer54 complete the front row 👏#GermanGP 🇩🇪 pic.twitter.com/VCLY8gv87t
— MotoGP™🏁 (@MotoGP) July 6, 2024
