Assen, The Netherlands – 26 June 2015: A seventh front row start of 2015 was the reward for a record-breaking Dutch TT qualifying performance by Team Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS rider Tito Rabat in Assen this afternoon.

The Spaniard powered his Kalex machine to an impressive lap of 1.36.633, which decimated the 2012 pole record set by Marc Marquez by 0.5s, to secure second position on the grid for tomorrow’s 24-lap encounter.

Rabat is confident he can fight for a first ever podium at the legendary Assen venue after he comfortably headed the combined practice timesheets while concentrating on race set-up this morning.

Alex Marquez looked well set to secure a first ever top 10 grid position in Moto2 before a late crash at the Haarbocht first turn ended his challenge.

Marquez slipped down the order to 13th with a best lap of 1.37.638.  But there is no doubt he has the pace and consistency to mount a challenge on the top six tomorrow, with his fastest lap less than 0.2s away from a place on the second row.

Tito Rabat: 2nd – 1’36.633
“I am happy to be on the front row. I pushed at my maximum in qualifying and the pace was very fast, so it was important to be in the top three. But Johann (Zarco) is faster and that means we can still improve. We need to wait and see what the weather conditions will be like tomorrow but I think it will be a group race and a good start will be key. I will just go for it at full gas!”

Alex Marquez: 13th – 1’37.638
“Unfortunately the crash at the end of qualifying was quite costly because it leaves me not in the position on the grid I hoped for. Only another tenth would have put me seventh, but it was a small mistake that definitely denied me a top 10. The positive thing is I have very good pace, so we will try and improve the set-up in the Warm-up and push hard in the race to try and get the top 10 I think our performance so far deserves.”

Michael Bartholemy: Team Principal
“I am happy to see Tito on the front row again. He definitely has the pace and rhythm to be a big threat tomorrow and I am confident he will be right there at the front. He is consistently fast over a longer run, so we hope for a dry race for him to show how strong his pace is. It is a shame that Alex crashed late on because he has looked very impressive all weekend. He is getting closer all of the time to the level we know he is capable of, so it would have been nice to see him qualify higher up. He has clearly made a big step and I look forward to seeing him fight for a season best result tomorrow.”