Sam Lowes placed 8^th and Tony Arbolino 9^th in an ultra-competitive Q2 session at the Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli on Saturday.

• Like Friday, conditions were perfect for Elf Marc VDS Racing Team riders Sam Lowes and Tony Arbolino, who rode under clear, sunny skies all day. Track temperatures peaked at 43 degrees during Q2.
• As is usually the case at the short 4.23km Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli, times were exceptionally tight in Moto2 qualifying as half a second covered the first 11 riders in Q2.

/// SAM LOWES, 8^th – 1’36.541

• Sam showcased podium level rhythm through P3. At the end of the session his quickest time, which would have been good enough for 3^rd, was cancelled due to a yellow flag, meaning he ended the session 14^th.
• The Briton had hopes of securing a front row start but didn’t feel as comfortable in the hotter temperatures and struggled to post a clean lap over a 9-lap run. Still, Sam was just 0.34s off Celestino Vietti’s pole position time.

“I didn’t put the perfect lap in”

“It was OK. I didn’t feel so good in the hotter conditions this afternoon. I didn’t put the perfect lap in. Of course, we wanted to be in a stronger starting position than P8. But my pace seems good. I’m looking forward to the race. When it gets into the second half, my rhythm will be quite strong. I expected a bit more today so we’re disappointed with this position. As always at Misano it’s really tight, really close. Let’s see for tomorrow. We’ll try to get a good start and do a nice job.”

/// TONY ARBOLINO, 9^th – 1’36.559

• At first glance, P3 didn’t appear to go so well for Tony as he finished 19^th. But the Italian felt he made a breakthrough with set-up, and posted his fastest time – a 1’36.790 – with 16 laps on his rear tyre, a good indicator for Sunday’s race.
• The 23-year old then came through Q1 by setting the 2^nd fastest time, just 0.001s from 1^st. And his speed in Q2 was much-improved, as he placed 9^th, just 0.358s back of pole.

“I’m feeling great for tomorrow’s race2

“Yesterday I said we needed to keep working and believing as always. It’s a long season and you get many different feelings across the year. Also, here it wasn’t the best weekend after the Practice sessions. But now it looks better as I have good pace. I tried to extract the best lap time in Q2 but I wasn’t quite able to do it. We lost a few tenths somewhere on track. But I’m feeling great for tomorrow’s race. Like I always do, I’ll give my everything.”