Jake Dixon set the 2^nd fastest time of Moto2 qualifying at the Algarve International Circuit on Saturday before suffering a low-speed crash at Turn 5. Thankfully, the Briton is OK, while Filip Salac was 17^th.

Like Friday, the weather played a factor on Saturday at the Algarve International Circuit. Heavy overnight rain left the track wet ahead of Moto2 FP2 on Saturday morning.

Thankfully, the spectacular, undulating track had dried ahead of qualifying, which kicked off at 13.40 local time. Conditions were the hottest of the warmest so far, with track temperatures hitting 29 degrees during Moto2 Q2.

There will be a different running order on Sunday for the penultimate round of the season. The 21-lap Moto2 race will be the first of the day rather than Moto3 and gets underway at 11.15 local time.

Jake Dixon, 2^nd – 1’41.185

As the track dried but was still considerably wet, Jake chose to not go out in FP2 and preferred to avoid risks ahead of qualifying.

The Briton was immediately competitive and jumped to provisional pole with his first flying lap of the session, which was under the previous lap record.

Readying an attack on his second run, Jake had a fall at Turn 5. He was unharmed and even if he remounted, he was unable to improve on his time, meaning he dropped to second in the final seconds.

“Another decent day here in Portugal. I didn’t have the cleanest first lap if I’m being honest. I made a big mistake in the last corner and I lost a couple of tenths there. I’m a bit annoyed I didn’t get a 1’40.8 or 1’40.9 as I think the potential for that was there. Then after I was in a bit deep at Turn 5 and continued squeezing the brake. I should have rolled out as I was in hot but went down. But that’s what happens when you’re riding at the limit. Let’s see how we go tomorrow. I feel good with my rhythm and yesterday was even better than today because we got minimal dry running on Saturday. I was one of the only ones to do long runs in both of yesterday’s sessions so I feel I’m in a better position than everyone else. I’ve got nothing to lose so I’m going to go for it and see where we end up.”

Filip Salac, 17^th – 1’42.129

Like his team-mate, Filip took no part in FP2. But he showed he was up for the fight in Q1, as he placed 2^nd in the session, 0.2s from the top time

The Czech rider acted as a tow for his team-mate in the first run of Q2 with the hope of attacking in his second.

But a mechanical issue forced the 23-year old off track in the final minutes of qualifying, which meant he was unable to improve his time.

“Well, in the morning we didn’t even start because the conditions were mixed. It made no sense going out as we knew this afternoon would be sunny. In Q1 I had a good feeling. I did my fastest laps alone but was just missing something in the final sector. Then in Q2 at the start I tried to help Jake. And in the second run I seemed to lose power and my bike felt like it cut out. It’s frustrating as I’ve lost a bit of confidence again and I feel like we have the potential for a solid result this weekend. We’re looking at another comeback tomorrow but I’ll be up for the fight once the race gets started.”