The riders who managed to qualify for Q2 have been found: Franco Morbidelli, yes, you read that right, and Brad Binder. Jack Miller faced some issues and wasn’t able to ride as much as the competition.
It was all or nothing with the rain falling at Jerez in the fight for Q2, with names like Brad Binder, Jack Miller, Dani Pedrosa, Fabio Quartararo, Johann Zarco or Miguel Oliveira. The Australian KTM rider seemed to be having problems getting out onto the track, with the team having trouble putting the rear wheel on his KTM RC16.
And it was precisely the South African who came out on top with a lap of 1:49.11s, 0.173s ahead of Franco Morbidelli, but there were plenty of riders on the red sectors. Many passed between the places that gave access to Q2, but only provisionally, as Binder returned to the top and Raúl Fernández placed himself next to the #33, winking at the passage to the next qualifying. Miguel Oliveira, especially in these conditions, was 0.109s off his team-mate and third in the session.
After some riders made their usual pit stop, Pedrosa, on his fifth lap, set the second fastest time, 0.073s off the top.
It didn’t take long for the usual suspect in the rain to do his thing, Oliveira jumping into first place in the session but… for a short time: Morbidelli, on a roll, was first into second 47! – 1:47.887s – a difference of 0.531s to the Portuguese’s time.
And… as you’d expect, the changes didn’t stop there: Brad Binder was back on the attack and took second place in the session, also in second 47.
In the final seconds, Zarco moved up to third, but until the end no-one else could beat the front duo, led by Morbidelli.
Jack Miller was still able to ride, but given the time he lost in the garage he was only able to ride on the same set of tyres and fell short of what he can do in these conditions.