Catalunya Moto2: Zarco takes first pole of 2016, Lowes falls

The 40-minute session kicked off with local rider Alex Rins taking the top spot, only to be demoted by Zarco between the two pit stops.

Although Rins closed the gap to just 0.035s in the beginning of the final stint, a lack of further improvements meant Zarco secured first place.

Thomas Luthi will complete the front row as he jumped into third with his final effort, edging out Honda Team Asia's Takaagi Nakagami.

Championship leader Lowes had a crash at Turn 9 at halfway point, threatening to end his session prematurely.

Although his bike was fixed in time for a late flyer, the Briton made a mistake and did not have time for another lap.

He still ended up fifth, closely followed by Spaniards Axel Pons and Alex Marquez.

The latter's teammate Franco Morbidelli fell in the early minutes and, soon after rejoining, fell again, suffering a violent highside crash.

He received medical attention but managed to get up on his feet before going to the medical centre.

The top 10 was completed by Lorenzo Baldassarri and German duo Marcel Schrotter and Sandro Cortese.

Full times

Pos	Rider	Team	Bike	Time
1	Johann Zarco	Ajo Motorsport	Kalex	1:49.179
2	Alex Rins	Pons Racing	Kalex	1:49.214
3	Thomas Luthi	Technomag Racing Interwetten	Kalex	1:49.472
4	Takaaki Nakagami	Idemitsu Honda Team Asia	Kalex	1:49.606
5	Sam Lowes	Gresini Racing	Kalex	1:49.619
6	Axel Pons	AGR Team	Kalex	1:49.661
7	Alex Marquez	Marc VDS Racing	Kalex	1:49.712
8	Lorenzo Baldassarri	Forward Racing	Kalex	1:49.753
9	Marcel Schrötter	AGR Team	Kalex	1:49.949
10	Sandro Cortese	Dynavolt Intact GP	Kalex	1:49.980
11	Simone Corsi	Speed Up Racing	Speed Up	1:50.066
12	Jonas Folger	Dynavolt Intact GP	Kalex	1:50.072
13	Hafizh Syahrin	Petronas Raceline Malaysia Team Honda	Kalex	1:50.152
14	Dominique Aegerter	CarXpert Interwetten	Kalex	1:50.196
15	Miguel Oliveira	Leopard Racing	Kalex	1:50.430
16	Xavier Simeon	QMMF Racing Team	Speed Up	1:50.479
17	Julian Simon	QMMF Racing Team	Speed Up	1:50.493
18	Franco Morbidelli	Marc VDS Racing	Kalex	1:50.628
19	Mattia Pasini	Italtrans Racing Team	Kalex	1:50.658
20	Luca Marini	Forward Racing	Kalex	1:50.868
21	Danny Kent	Leopard Racing	Kalex	1:50.902
22	Xavi Vierge	Tech 3	Tech 3	1:51.229
23	Ratthapark Wilairot	Idemitsu Honda Team Asia	Kalex	1:51.235
24	Remy Gardner	Tasca Racing Scuderia Moto2	Kalex	1:51.241
25	Edgar Pons	Pons Racing	Kalex	1:51.739
26	Robin Mulhauser	CarXpert Interwetten	Kalex	1:51.847
27	Isaac Viñales	Tech 3	Tech 3	1:51.853
28	Ramdan Rosli	Petronas AHM Malaysia	Kalex	1:52.159