Sam Lowes put on another stunning qualifying performance in Qatar as he secured a second successive Moto2 pole position at the desert track.

Battling the blustery conditions, Lowes fought off challenges from Remy Gardner, Marco Bezzecchi, Raul Fernandez and Jake Dixon to secure the spoils in the closing stages, his fellow Brit taking fifth at the flag for another admirable showing having fought his way through from Q1.

Dixon and teammate Xavi Vierge were both out in force as Moto2 qualifying began. The Petronas pair vying for promotion despite the challenging conditions. Jorge Navarro was the rider in charge as the session got up to speed, however, 1’59.766 the benchmark time, with Bo Bendsneyder claiming second on his third lap as Vierge advanced to third. Dixon joined his teammate as the second runs registered, setting a 1’59.9 to take second before the Dutchman was back on the hunt, forcing out the SRT duo to third and fourth.

As the flag waved there was little change on the timing screens until Albert Arenas slid through in the final seconds to upset the Malaysian squad. Taking third, the rookie dumped Vierge out of the promotion zone, forcing the Spaniard to settle for 19th on Sunday’s grid.

Arbolino concluded Q1 in sixth, translating to a seventh row start alongside Tom Luthi, with Yari Montella, Somkiat Chantra and Lorenzo Dalla Porta behind. Lorenzo Baldassarri continues a difficult start to the 2021 season as he lines up in 25th with Hector Garzo and Hafizh Syahrin for company, stand-in rider Tommaso Marcon concluding the standings in 28th.

It was Bezzecchi who took the opening gambit as Q2 fired up, Aron Canet, the recently promoted Bendsneyder and Lowes claiming the spoils behind before the times switched just as quickly. Gardner swept through to provisional pole but it was Lowes who was on a charge, taking the lead with a decisive 1’59.055 to sit comfortably ahead of the rest. Dixon held second for a brief all-Brit celebration before Raul Fernandez muscled him out by a mere 0.002s. Bezzecchi sat fourth from Gardner and Fabio Di Giannantonio before promoting his Sky machine back up to second on the next attempt with two minutes still to play out.

The closing battles expected personal bests across the field but nothing could outshine Lowes, the Marc VDS rider claiming his second consecutive pole of 2021 to head the standings 0.137s clear of Gardner and Bezzecchi. Fernandez finished fourth from another impressive performance from Dixon in fifth with Ai Ogura setting an equally notable rookie effort in sixth. Di Giannantonio’s seventh place sees him on the third row for Sunday’s race ahead of Joe Roberts and Canet with Augusto Fernandez, Stefano Manzi and Arenas concluding the top-12. Nicolò Bulega, Cameron Beaubier and Bendsneyder take fifth row starts while Marcel Schrotter, Navarro and Celestino Vietti complete the set for the top-18.