The lead changed hands early in the session with the Q2 graduates initially leading away before Ai Ogura set a solid🥂 benchamark for the Moto2 riders to chase down as&⛦nbsp; qualifying got underway in Catalunya.

Jake Dixon ꦕresponded. A fresh tyre in after heading into the pits first, the Asterius GasGas Aspar rider was back out on tra𝓀ck behind Pedro Acosta.

The Br♈itish rider had already topped P3 in style, proving he had pole pace by gapping the field by four tenths to move into Q2 with the t💜op time.

That pace with a marker to chase, ๊his tyre issues solved and 🦩the best line of anyone through the fourth sector saw him claim pole, his first of the season with a lap of 1m 43.983s.

Dixon repaid the favour and lead Acosta around but the Championship leader had his lap 🌄ebhind&💝nbsp;cancelled for exceeding track limits.

The positioning of the lead trio in the championship on thꦏe grid hands Dixon some hop🌱e to cut into the lead, with Acosta back in ninth and Tony Arbolino way back in 20th.

The Acosta/Dixon pairing was not the only unusual duo on track circulating together with Aron Canet swapping time at thಞe front of his pairing with Manuel Gonzalez. That allowed him to gain slipstream and set the second 🐻best lap for Pons Wegow Los40 - 0.390s behind Dixon’s pole time.

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Ai Ogura was fastest after Friday’s sessions, withꦕ long runs promi💜sing great race pace for Sunday. The Idemitsu Honda Team Asia rider spent much of his time on track solo and was still fast enough for third to complete the front row.

Running with Canet helped Gonzalez (Correos Prepago Yamaha VR46 MAster Camp) up to fourth. Albe🃏rt Arenas got in a solid lap early on, then second to Ogura. That helped him hold onto fifth at home for Red Bull KTM Ajo.

Fermin Aldeguer was the best of the riders not running Kalex machinery, bringing his Beta Tools Speed Up Boscoscuro around with the sixth best time with ver🌱y little seperating himslf and fellow countryman Arenas.

Aldeguer, in turn, just beat the time of his teammate Alonso Lopez, who was seventh. Sergio Garcia was by far the bᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ𒀱ᩚᩚᩚest of the rookies as the only one to make a Q2 appearance after moving through Q1 to place eighth on the second Pons bike.

Acosta fails to take advantage in ninth

Arriving to qualifying having dropped from second overall to seventh in P3, the final practice session indicated that the championship leader may not have an easyꦍ ride. Eleventh a𝄹fter the pit stop before the final run for position, instead of instantly seeking to take advantage of the absence in the session of Arbolino he instead lead around Dixon, pulling him to pole while Acosta was fifth on the same lap.

Without his nearest rival on track the pressure should have been off. The Spa🔴niard instead piled it on himself, leading to cancelled laps and ninth on the grid for the Red Bull KTM Ajo rider.

Barry Baltus, anot🐎her Q2 graduate, completed the top ten as he continued to improve for Fieten Olie Racing.

Sam Lowes last lap was another that was cancelled, stopping the progression his red sectors indica💧ted, placing him eleventh, but as the top Elf Marc VDS rider.

Celestino Vietti was the polesitter and winner of the Catalan race last yea🐼r, he arrived with a win from the front row after a turnaround in form in Austria seemed to have marked a comeback for the Italian.

Sitting thirteenth after a late improvement on Fr♑iday, he did the same again in P3 to move through sixth but failed to build again - fifteenth was the best the Fantic rider could manage in Montmelo.

Arbolino puts himself under pressure as he fails to move on from Q1

Tony Arbolino has struggled with qualifying for much of the season and Friday was an indicator that there could be more of the same in Spain, with a late pusღh for eleventh. His best slipped dow🧸n the timesheets in P3, and although the Elf Marc VDS rider improved his time he finished the session a lowly 21st for a trip through Q1.

His last ꦡlap of that session laid the #14’s issues out - pushing hard, his Kalex looked unstable, with him needing to bail out as a lack of grip saw his bike begin to buck and slide, his 🉐hand going up in frustration.

That left him unable to respond ad the clock ticked down, pushed back to 20th as others in Q2 picked up the pace with better luck witꦯh track position and improved grip.

What happened in Q1?

Aside from the Arbolino drama, the session saw several riders capable of automatic progression to the second session in need of 🍰a strong lap to move on with Somkiat Chantra (12th) pulling out one great lap to progress, with Garcia also through in second. Filip Salac (13th) and Barry Baltus found something late on despite their frustrati๊ons to move on.

That saw Bo Bendsneyder (Pertamina Mandalika SA🌠G), who set the early benchmark pushed back to fifth in the session, for 19🐼th on the grid.

Salac was seventh and behind Arbolino so his move up saw the 💜Italian puཧshed backa place further.

Rory Skinner continues the tricky move sideways from BSB to Moto3 and placed eleventh in the session for 25th on the gri🌃d with American Racing.

Injuries and Replacements

Darryn Binder misses the round after suffering a fractured vertebra in his crash in front of Sam Lowes at the 𒈔last round. The South African is rep🍬laced by Senna Agius (21st) at Liqui Moly Intact GP.

Pertamina Mandalika SAG have a rider absent with Mattia 𓂃Rato(26th) fil🐷ling in for Taiga Hada.

Alex Escrig is also absent and has Yeray Ruiz (30th) 🃏keeping his seat warm at Forward Racing.