Raul Fernandez and Remy Gardner maintained their formidable form at Austin on Saturday as the KTM Ajo duo locked out the Moto2 standings.
Fabio Di Giannantonio completed the fastest three, with Sam Lowes and Jake Dixon securing their places in the afternoon’s Q2 shootout from sixth and 13th respectively.
Jorge Navarro turned a frustrating Friday around as his Saturday campaign got underway in Austin, setting the early pace with a 2’10.958 ahead of Dixon and Aron Canet. The Aspar rider taking a high-speed off shortly after, at turn six. On-track clashes saw Marco Bezzecchi arguing with Simone Corsi after eight minutes of action, Gardner suffering his own close call at turn 12 as the dramatic session unfolded.
The Australian soon regrouped, however, hitting the top alongside Cameron Beaubier and Raul Fernandez, Dixon sitting fourth fastest ahead of Di Giannantonio, Bezzecchi and Lowes.
The KTM riders switched positions as the fifth laps fired in, Ai Ogura joining the fun in fourth as Dixon saved a moment in the final corner.
Tony Arbolino was the next to claim fourth, the Italian the second rider, under Beaubier, to have improved on his Friday pace - Fernandez’ 2’09.8 still the benchmark overall.
The Brits were on the move at the halfway stage, the pair spit by a tiny 0.004s as Dixon took second from Lowes in third with Gardner and Beaubier maintaining their hold on the top five.
Augusto Fernandez joined his Marc VDS teammate, in fourth, as the session counted down, the pack returning to the pits ahead of the final quarter of an hour.
Lowes kicked off the final push with a 2’10.0, to sit top of the session and second overall in the closing 10 minutes. The 31-year-old instantly setting about another hot-lap to secure a 2’09.969. Di Giannantonio and Bezzecchi climbed to second and third as they too fired up their challenge before the Gresini rider took charge. Ogura topped the overall times with a 2’09.823 on his 11th lap before di Giannantonio hit back, advancing the pace by just under a tenth.
The KTM’s arrived with two-minutes to go, Gardner moving the target with a 2’09.4 as his rookie teammate improved to fourth. Augusto Fernandez trailing his namesake and bettering his Marc VDS teammate in fifth before Raul hit the front with a blistering 2’09.258. The Australian retaliated, to sit 0.061s back, before attempting a final flourish. It wasn’t to be, however, as he ran wide saving a front end moment.
Di Giannantonio completed the session in third, just under half a second from the title rivals with Ogura, Fernandez and Lowes securing fourth to sixth. Home hero Beaubier sat a successful seventh with Dixon maintaining his Q2 contention from 13th.
