The lap times of Bo Bendsneyder and Dominique Aegerter were again better on the second day of the GP of Styria, but the riders of NTS RW Racing GP were not very successful. In qualifying for the second Moto2 race at the Red Bull Ring, Bendsneyder came no further than 26th place. Aegerter starts from 28th place. Feelings were mixed this Saturday. There are indeed improvements for both Bendsneyder and Aegerter, but this is not visible in terms of positions. In the third free practice, for example, Bendsneyder was more than two tenths faster and that pace was fairly consistent. That resulted in a better position in the combined rankings. Aegerter was also slightly faster on the Red Bull Ring, but with him the difference with the top got bigger. In the considerably warmer qualifying, Bendsneyder was able to stay close to his training times, but that was not enough. The Dutchman’s 1.29.993 resulted in only 26th place. Teammate Aegerter also had a difficult time. The Swiss came to 1.30.451, which means 28th place on the starting grid.
Bo Bendsneyder: “Compared to yesterday – and certainly compared to last week – we have really taken a good step, but unfortunately the position does not show that. Last week I couldn’t get into the 29’s. Now I could and quite constantly. These are small steps, but it is positive, especially for the longer term. In qualifying it was very difficult for everyone due to the heat. Still, I was only two tenths of my fastest time. That’s not too bad, but on a track like the Red Bull Ring, where it comes to thousands, it means we’re way too far from where we should be.”
Results Q1 & Q2 combined:
| Pos | Rider | Team | Fastest lap |
| 1 | Aron CANET | Openbank Aspar Team | 1’28.787 |
| 2 | Jorge MARTIN | Red Bull KTM Ajo | 1’28.905 |
| 3 | Tetsuta NAGASHIMA | Red Bull KTM Ajo | 1’29.157 |
| 4 | Augusto FERNANDEZ | EG 0,0 Marc VDS | 1’29.168 |
| 5 | Marco BEZZECCHI | SKY Racing Team VR46 | 1’29.177 |
| 6 | Remy GARDNER | Onexox TKKR SAG Team | 1’29.190 |
| 7 | Thomas LUTHI | Liqui Moly Intact GP | 1’29.241 |
| 8 | Hector GARZO | Flexbox HP 40 | 1’29.241 |
| 9 | Jorge NAVARRO | EGO Speed Up | 1’29.253 |
| 10 | Nicolò BULEGA | Federal Oil Gresini Moto2 | 1’29.260 |
| 11 | Sam LOWES | EG 0,0 Marc VDS | 1’29.271 |
| 12 | Luca MARINI | SKY Racing Team VR46 | 1’29.335 |
| 13 | Jake DIXON | Petronas Sprinta Racing | 1’29.403 |
| 14 | Joe ROBERTS | Tennor American Racing | 1’29.473 |
| 15 | Enea BASTIANINI | Italtrans Racing Team | 1’29.495 |
| 16 | Somkiat CHANTRA | IDEMITSU Honda Team Asia | 1’29.534 |
| 17 | Marcos RAMIREZ | Tennor American Racing | 1’29.670 |
| 18 | Stefano MANZI | MV Agusta Forward Racing | 1’29.844 |
| 19 | Xavi VIERGE | Petronas Sprinta Racing | 1’29.431 |
| 20 | Edgar PONS | Federal Oil Gresini Moto2 | 1’29.458 |
| 21 | Marcel SCHROTTER | Liqui Moly Intact GP | 1’29.553 |
| 22 | Andi Farid IZDIHAR | IDEMITSU Honda Team Asia | 1’29.731 |
| 23 | Lorenzo BALDASSARRI | Flexbox HP 40 | 1’29.880 |
| 24 | Lorenzo DALLA PORTA | Italtrans Racing Team | 1’29.891 |
| 25 | Fabio DI GIANNANTONIO | EGO Speed Up | 1’29.985 |
| 26 | Bo BENDSNEYDER | NTS RW Racing GP | 1’29.993 |
| 27 | Simone CORSI | MV Agusta Forward Racing | 1’30.377 |
| 28 | Dominique AEGERTER | NTS RW Racing GP | 1’30.451 |
| 29 | Alejandro MEDINA | Openbank Aspar Team | 1’30.894 |
Source: motogp.com, rwracinggp.com
