Tony Arbolino continued his excellent streak by claiming a late pole position in the sun at the Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli, while team-mate Filip Salac qualified 11^th.

• Much like Friday, the weather was perfect on Italy’s Adriatic Coast throughout Saturday as Elf Marc VDS Racing Team riders Tony Arbolino and Filip Salac completed qualifying in ambient temperatures of 29 degrees.
• The 13^th round of the 2024 World Championship will get underway in Misano at 12.15 local time on Sunday, with the race being run over 22 laps.

/// TONY ARBOLINO, 1^st – 1’35.229

• Following on from his strongest Friday of the year, Tony started qualifying day in fine style, setting the 2^nd fastest time in P2, just 0.2s off Aron Canet’s new outright lap record.
• Running together with Celestino Vietti on track, the 24-year old timed his pole attack to perfection, with his 1’35.229 enough to take top spot away from his compatriot by 0.011s. This was the 1^st pole position of Tony’s Moto2 career.

“Today is like a victory and a very special moment for me”

“A first pole position in Moto2… Finally! It was such a long time without a pole position. Today is like a victory and a very special moment for me and also the team. They’ve been joking a lot, telling me, ‘Come on, now’s the time to get your first pole!’ And it happened. I’m very grateful for this moment. Hard work pays off, as I always say. I want to thank the team. They believe in me and they’ve been believing this weekend. Every time I’ve said something, they’ve been behind me 100%. This is what makes us a strong team and a strong crew. We’ll keep going. Tomorrow will be an important day. It’ll be crucial to be at the front in the early laps and then make sure we finish the race in the best way possible. Let’s go for it!”

/// FILIP SALAC, 11^th – 1’35.841

• Despite feeling strong in terms of rhythm, Filip was slowed by a number of riders riding slowly in P2, which left him with the 18^th fastest time.
• A trip to Q1 followed, but the Czech rider posted a strong late run in the 1^st qualifying session to finish 3^rd and qualify for Q2. Despite having just one set of tyres for the 2^nd 15-minute shootout, Filip was able to better his lap time by 0.1s to qualify 11^th.

“That was my second-best grid position this year”

“It was a good Saturday for us. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to set a good lap time this morning because there were a few riders riding slowly for a number of laps. But our pace was good. We went through Q1 and I was able to set a lap time that was very positive. In Q2 we had just one set of tyres and I was able to do a lap that was good enough for 11^th position. So, that was my second-best grid position this year. That will make our job much easier tomorrow so I can’t wait to get started. Let’s give it our all and see if we can fight for a competitive result in the race.”