Alex Márquez blasts to front row in Austria

Team Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS riders Franco Morbidelli and Álex Márquez will start together on the front row of the grid for the seventh time in 11 races in 2017, when the battle for the Moto2 World Championship intensifies in Austria tomorrow.

The spectacular Spielberg track served up a dramatic finale in a tense and nail-biting qualifying session in which Morbidelli and Márquez constantly posed a threat for the top three places on the grid.

An impressive early lap of 1’29.394 from Mattia Pasini threw down the gauntlet to Morbidelli and Márquez, and it was a challenge they quickly embraced, even working in tandem on track in a tremendous display of team riding to try and overhaul the experienced Italian.

Morbidelli’s blistering late speed inspired Márquez to his eighth front row start of the season after he managed to latch onto the back of his hard charging teammate for the crucial final stages of this afternoon’s qualifying session.

Using Morbidelli as the ideal reference in front of him, the Spaniard was able to post a personal best lap of 1’29.570, with Team Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS now well primed to claim a ninth victory in 11 rounds of this year’s campaign.

Álex Márquez: 3rd – 1’29.570
“I am very happy to be on the front here in Austria because I have been close to the front all weekend and it was good to make sure we were strong in qualifying. For some reason since we returned from the summer break I have been struggling more than usual in the time attack, so the front row is an excellent result. I have demonstrated good pace for the race, so I don’t think there is any reason we can’t be finishing inside the top three in the race.”