The Moto2 has had few wet sessions in 2019 and for Jesko Raffin it was even the first time on a wet track with the NTS. The Swiss quickly mastered the circumstances and rode to eighth place in QP1, which earned him 22nd place on the starting grid for Sunday. Bo Bendsneyder was fast in the pouring rain in FP3, but a crash at the end of that session had consequences for QP1. The Dutchman came to thirteenth in qualifying, making him start the race from a disappointing 27th place. The conditions in QP1 were difficult. In contrast to the third free practice, it was no longer soaked, but instead the asphalt of the TwinRing in Motegi dried up. For some that was even a reason to try a lap on slicks at the end of the session. The changing circumstances did not make it any easier, certainly not for the riders of NTS RW Racing GP who could handle the rain very well. “We were quite strong in the rain,” said team manager Jarno Janssen. “Our bike is good in those circumstances, we’ve seen that before. For Jesko it was the first time on the NTS in the rain, but he was able to build up confidence quickly, which resulted in a neat 13th place in the qualification: almost a second faster than in FP3.” Bendsneyder was constantly in sixth, seventh place in free practice, until he crashed in turn 3, with 7 minutes on the clock. “It was a fairly harmless crash,” said Janssen, “but one with a certain effect in qualifying. The result is disappointing. There was more in it. A race from 27th place will not be easy and we will have to take a lot of steps, but then we can look forward to it with some confidence.”
Bo Bendsneyder: “The team did a great job by getting the bike back in order after the crash in FP3. It was a long slide in turn 3, with some damage here and there. I had to get the feeling back in QP1 and that was difficult on the drying track. I am disappointed by the result, but luckily it seems to stay dry tomorrow and I think that is better for us at this moment.”
Results Q1 & Q2 combined:
| Pos | Rider | Team | Fastest lap |
| 1 | Luca MARINI | SKY Racing Team VR46 | 2’00.985 |
| 2 | Augusto FERNANDEZ | FLEXBOX HP 40 | 2’02.133 |
| 3 | Lorenzo BALDASSARRI | FLEXBOX HP 40 | 2’02.212 |
| 4 | Alex MARQUEZ | EG 0,0 Marc VDS | 2’02.306 |
| 5 | Jorge NAVARRO | Beta Tools Speed Up | 2’02.411 |
| 6 | Somkiat CHANTRA | IDEMITSU Honda Team Asia | 2’02.435 |
| 7 | Thomas LUTHI | Dynavolt Intact GP | 2’02.483 |
| 8 | Marco BEZZECCHI | Red Bull KTM Tech 3 | 2’02.558 |
| 9 | Marcel SCHROTTER | Dynavolt Intact GP | 2’02.598 |
| 10 | Remy GARDNER | ONEXOX TKKR SAG Team | 2’02.687 |
| 11 | Stefano MANZI | MV Agusta Temporary Forward | 2’02.714 |
| 12 | Enea BASTIANINI | Italtrans Racing Team | 2’02.982 |
| 13 | Iker LECUONA | monday.com American Racing | 2’03.073 |
| 14 | Jorge MARTIN | Red Bull KTM Ajo | 2’03.077 |
| 15 | Sam LOWES | Federal Oil Gresini Moto2 | 2’03.479 |
| 16 | Tetsuta NAGASHIMA | ONEXOX TKKR SAG Team | 2’03.517 |
| 17 | Nicolo BULEGA | SKY Racing Team VR46 | 2’03.677 |
| 18 | Brad BINDER | Red Bull KTM Ajo | 2’05.963 |
| 19 | Andrea LOCATELLI | Italtrans Racing Team | 2’04.132 |
| 20 | Xavi VIERGE | EG 0,0 Marc VDS | 2’04.219 |
| 21 | Fabio DI GIANNANTONIO | Beta Tools Speed Up | 2’04.349 |
| 22 | Jesko RAFFIN | NTS RW Racing GP | 2’04.663 |
| 23 | Mattia PASINI | Tasca Racing Scuderia Moto2 | 2’05.053 |
| 24 | Joe ROBERTS | monday.com American Racing | 2’05.476 |
| 25 | Dimas EKKY PRATAMA | IDEMITSU Honda Team Asia | 2’05.642 |
| 26 | Lukas TULOVIC | Kiefer Racing | 2’05.850 |
| 27 | Bo BENDSNEYDER | NTS RW Racing GP | 2’05.960 |
| 28 | Dominique AEGERTER | MV Agusta Temporary Forward | 2’06.355 |
| 29 | Philipp OETTL | Red Bull KTM Tech 3 | 2’06.725 |
| 30 | Xavi CARDELUS | Gaviota Angel Nieto Team | 2’07.283 |
| 31 | Adam NORRODIN | Petronas Sprinta Racing | 2’07.613 |
| 32 | Jake DIXON | Gaviota Angel Nieto Team |
Source: motogp.com, rwracinggp.com
