Misano, Italy – 12 September 2015: Team Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS rider Tito Rabat will launch his bid for a second successive Misano Moto2 victory from third place on the grid in San Marino tomorrow.

Another strong qualifying performance from the Spaniard saw Rabat come within 0.1s of claiming a second pole position of 2015, with Johann Zarco and Alex Rins joining him on the front row for tomorrow’s 26-lap race.

Rabat, Zarco and Rins have finished on the podium together in the last two races, and their fast pace throughout the weekend so far suggests the battle for glory in round 13 of the 2015 World Championship will once again be played out between the trio.

This afternoon’s qualifying session took place in gloriously sunny conditions close to the Adriatic Coast, but an early crash at the second corner cost Alex Marquez the chance to shine.

The reigning Moto3 World Champion was unable to improve his pace after his fourth lap crash, and a personal best lap of 1.37.786 left him in the middle of the sixth row of the grid.

Tito Rabat: 3rd – 1’36.854
“I pushed at 100% but at the end I wasn’t quite fast enough to take pole. I can improve and we have a good pace for the race and this is most important. It looks like being a close race based on the times and I am looking forward to a big fight. It would be great to repeat the win of last year but it is going to be incredibly difficult.”

Alex Marquez: 17th – 1’37.786
“I expected more from today, so to have the early crash and be down in 17th is disappointing. The crash was a pity but all weekend we have had some small issues holding us back. We’ve had the same problems all weekend and we have not really been able to find a solution. The Warm-up will be important to find a better feeling with the bike. I wouldn’t say this was our worst day of the season but it has certainly made tomorrow’s race more complicated after strong results in Brno and Silverstone.”