Jake Dixon showed tremendous consistency in FP2 before qualifying 8^th for the Indonesian Grand Prix on Saturday while Filip Salac was 18^th.

The scenic Pertamina Mandalika Circuit hosted the 18^th Moto2 qualifying session of the year on Saturday, with heat and humidity again a challenge for Elf Marc VDS Racing Team riders.

Conditions were slightly cooler during Saturday’s qualifying sessions on Lombok, with track temperatures 55 degrees, some five degrees cooler than the previous day.

The Moto2 lap record was pulverised once again in Q2, with Saturday’s pole time nearly 0.7s faster than the previous best from 2024.

Jake Dixon, 8^th – 1’32.909

After missing chunks of FP1, Jake used FP2 to do a mini-race simulation. While setting the 6^th fastest time, he also did an 11-lap run, with 9 of those in the low 1’33s – a strong rhythm.

The Briton felt he had potential for a place on the front row, but was frustrated to find many riders using him for a tow in the first part of Q2.

The 29-year old then got his head down in the last five minutes with his best time good enough for 8^th, just 0.5s back of Diogo Moreira’s pole time.

“It was alright to be fair. I did a long run this morning and felt pretty good when I was doing that. Then this afternoon in Q2 I should have just gone alone and ridden in clear track. Instead, I just ended up towing everyone around. Anyway, P8 and the third row isn’t the end of the world. We’ll be aiming to get a good start tomorrow, get a good run through Turn 1 and get right into the mix. My rhythm is really good, which will be positive for tomorrow. Let’s see what we can do!”

Filip Salac, 18^th – 1’33.47

Aiming to build his confidence back up after a tricky Friday, Filip felt better on his bike during FP2, when he placed 18^th, improving his personal best from the previous day by 0.2s.

The Czech rider carried that feeling into Q1, when his 1’32.990 was good enough for 2^nd place and a spot in Q2.

In Q2 Filip found that his bike was lacking power, which was a consequence of the high temperatures. Despite improving late on, Filip was 18^th.

“It was a difficult day. In the morning I didn’t feel so good on the bike but at least it was a little better than yesterday. In Q1 I did a good first lap, which was good enough to get me into Q2. But then in Q2 I felt like the bike didn’t have enough power. We had this problem before and it seems like the bike was just so hot from Q1. It’s strange. Mentally this is a difficult moment as we haven’t got good results in the last few races. Anyway, it’s time to think about tomorrow and for sure I’ll give it everything in the race.”