Indianapolis, United States – 8 August 2015: Moto2 World Champion Tito Rabat showed he will be a leading contender for the victory in tomorrow’s 25-lap Indianapolis Motor Speedway showdown after the Team Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS rider qualified on the front row of the grid for the eighth time this season.

Rabat overcame early front-end chatter issues in the 45-minute Qualifying session to comfortably beat Mika Kallio’s 2014 pole record with a brilliant last flying lap of 1.36.686.

And his fastest pace was only 0.137s away from securing the 26-year-old a 15th career pole position at the iconic Indianapolis Motor Speedway, where he claimed his first ever Moto2 rostrum in 2011 and won the race in 2013.

Alex Marquez also looks well set to challenge for his best Moto2 result after a positive afternoon on the 2.591 miles Brickyard track.

Marquez was just over 0.4s off the front row of the grid after his best time of 1.37.329 left him down in 13th position on the grid.

Tito Rabat: 2nd – 1’36.686
“You always want to make the pole position but Moto2 is so competitive that to start on the front row again is unbelievable. At the start of qualifying I had some issues with the front tyre and I had a lot of chatter. We changed it and I was able to immediately return to my fast pace. I made a very good job to get on the front row. Now the most important thing is enjoy the race and fight for the win.”

Alex Marquez: 13th – 1’37.329
“I am happy but not completely satisfied because I think we could have been closer to the front. I need to improve my rhythm. In the other races my Qualifying has not been the best but my rhythm has been good. Here it is the opposite and we still have the Warm-up to try and make some adjustments to improve the bike. But I am confident the top 10 is well within my grasp.”

Michael Bartholemy: Team Principal
“It was a good day. Alex Rins and Tito have the best pace for tomorrow and if the race is run in the dry then I think it will be hard for anybody else to follow them. Tito certainly looks like he can battle for the win and it should be an exciting fight. Alex has made a positive improvement after the struggles of Germany. He’s only 0.7s from pole and not far away from third. He is always stronger in the race than Friday and Saturday, so my wish is to see him inside the top 10.”