Mugello, Italy – 30 May 2015: Team Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS rider Tito Rabat starred in a record-breaking Moto2 qualifying session in Mugello today to secure a deserved place on the front row of the grid for the 21-lap Italian Grand Prix.

The reigning World Champion smashed Pol Espargaro’s 2012 circuit best lap of 1’52.369 by over 0.5s to lead the practice timesheets by almost 0.2s this morning.

Rabat was again on record pace in qualifying this afternoon and his lap of 1.51.874 was a massive 0.7s inside his own lap record to ensure he claimed a fifth front row start in six races this season.

Alex Marquez also enjoyed a positive qualifying session, with the 19-year-old looking well set to claim his first top 10 grid position in Moto2 at one stage.

He shaved 0.8s off his quickest practice pace to set a best time of 1.52.536, which left him less than half-a-second off the top five. He will start from 15th place and is confident he has the speed and consistency to battle for a first top 10 finish in 2015.

Tito Rabat 3rd – 1’51. 874
“I’m happy to be on the front row. I couldn’t push at my maximum at times in the session because there was a lot of traffic and it made it hard to find a good rhythm. But it was actually good practice for tomorrow because the race is going to be a big fight! We can improve the front feeling with the bike for the race but I am confident I can fight for the win.”

Alex Marquez 15th – 1’52.536
“I’m closer to the front in terms of the time gap and I am happy about that. But we need to be stronger in qualifying because starting from 15th always makes the first part of the race quite difficult. I am happy with the bike and my rhythm is not so bad and I think I can stay in the battle with the second group.”

Michael Bartholemy: Team Principal
“It has been an excellent weekend from Tito so far. He dominated practice and it was great to see him become the first rider to break into the 1’51s. Qualifying is always difficult because a lot of riders wait and he had the whole field behind him. I think we only missed pole position because he didn’t get a slipstream but I’ve no doubt he is going to be very strong in the race. Alex has been much stronger this weekend than previous races and can definitely fight for a top 10 finish. He has the pace and I am happy to see the progress he is making.”