The 16-year-old becomes the youngest-ever intermediate class polesitter after beating Fernandez by 0.150s in Argentina
The Saturday script for Fermin Aldeguer (MB Conveyors Speed Up) couldn’t have been written any better at the Gran Premio Michelin® de la República Argentina as the young Spaniard coverts Free Practice domination into a maiden Grand Prix pole position. Aldeguer beat Augusto Fernandez (Red Bull KTM Ajo) by 0.150s in Moto2™ qualifying to become the youngest-ever intermediate class polesitter at 16 years old, as Tony Arbolino (Elf Marc VDS Racing Team) picked up a front row start in Termas de Rio Hondo.
Pitch perfect Aldeguer
Bo Bendsneyder (Pertamina Mandalika SAG Team), Sam Lowes (Elf Marc VDS Racing Team) and Q1 graduate Manuel Gonzalez (Yamaha VR46 Master Camp Team) all took turns to lead Q2 in the early stages, before World Championship leader Celestino Vietti (Mooney VR46 Racing Team) took over at the top. The Italian’s stay was short-lived though, as Fernandez climbed to P1 with seven minutes to go.
Free Practice pacesetter Aldeguer was then leading the way once more on Saturday, 0.019s splitting the two Spaniards at the summit of the timesheets. With three to go, Aldeguer then extended his advantage to 0.150s with another fastest lap of the session. Vietti could only manage P6 on his penultimate effort, as the field struggled to find their personal best times. It was job done for Aldeguer, a stunning Termas pole position was his by a tenth and a half.
Half a second splits the front four rows
Heading the second row of the grid is Albert Arenas (Autosolar GASGAS Aspar Team), former Moto3™ World Champion has teammate Jake Dixon alongside him in P5, with Vietti aiming for a third consecutive podium from P6 – all three riders were 0.3s off Aldeguer’s pace.
Indonesian GP winner Somkiat Chantra (Idemitsu Honda Team Asia) recovered from a big FP2 crash to claim P7, the Thai star has teammate Ai Ogura starting next to him on the third row, Bendsneyder ended Q2 in P9. Rookie Gonzalez will be pleased with P10, especially as the Spaniard managed to better both Lowes and second in the Championship Aron Canet (Flexbox HP40) in Q2.
Make sure you don’t miss the Moto2™ race in Termas de Rio Hondo at 13:20 local time (GMT+3) on Sunday afternoon.
Top 10:
1. Fermin Aldeguer (MB Conveyors Speed Up) – 1:43.306
2. Augusto Fernandez (Red Bull KTM Ajo) + 0.150
3. Tony Arbolino (Elf Marc VDS Racing Team) + 0.207
4. Albert Arenas (Autosolar GASGAS Aspar Team) + 0.309
5. Jake Dixon (Autosolar GASGAS Aspar Team) + 0.316
6. Celestino Vietti (Mooney VR46 Racing Team) + 0.339
7. Somkiat Chantra (Idemitsu Honda Team Asia) + 0.365
8. Ai Ogura (Idemitsu Honda Team Asia) + 0.404
9. Bo Bendsneyder (Pertamina Mandalika SAG Team) + 0.421
10. Manuel Gonzalez (Yamaha VR46 Master Camp Team) + 0.455
Source: MotoGP.com – Read Full Article Here