A 1:21.493 on a Moto2 bike around the Sachsenring? That was a quite stunning new all-time lap record set by Ivan Ortola (QJMOTOR – R.O.M.E.A – MSI) in Q2 at the Liqui Moly Grand Prix of Germany, the exact time Valentino Rossi set in MotoGP Q2 back in 2013. Remarkable. And not far behind was championship leader Manuel Gonzalez (Liqui Moly Dynavolt Intact GP), 0.038s to be exact, while it’s second in the title race, Izan Guevara (BLU CRU Pramac Yamaha Moto2), who completes the top three.
Ortola’s unbelievable lap record was set early in the session to keep him P1 throughout, while Gonzalez’s stormer arrived in the closing stages to see the championship frontrunner gain crucial places on the grid, a time which pushed his chief title rival back to P3.
Daniel Holgado (CFMOTO Azul Marino Aspar Team) spearheads the second row in P4, with Senna Agius (Liqui Moly Dynavolt Intact GP) securing a decent grid slot in P5. The Aussie will attack for the win from there tomorrow, and Alex Escrig (KLINT Racing Team) will hope he can fight to clinch a debut podium from P6.
It’s a career-best qualifying for Taiyo Furusato (IDEMITSU Honda Team Asia) in Moto2, with the Japanese rookie starting P7, one place ahead of Dutch GP winner David Alonso (CFMOTO Azul Marino Aspar Team) – the Colombian has work to do from the middle of the third row.
Moto2 promises to deliver on Sunday, so tune in at 12:15 local time (UTC +2) to see if there are any title race twists before the summer break.
