Red Bull KTM Tech3’s Deniz Öncü claimed a late Moto3 pole position with a 1’42.448 effort despite damaging his shoulder in training.
The Turkish rider was in obvious pain as he crossed the line, denying fellow KTM rider Daniel Holgado and rookie Diogo Moreira in the dying seconds.
Lightweight Q1 began with CIP Green Power’s Joel Kelso suffering a clutch issue on his KTM in the opening minutes, Sic58 locking out the head of the standings as Lorenzo Fellon led Riccardo Rossi on 1’42.270 pace. Rivacold Snipers’ Alberto Surra and BOE’s David Muñoz completed the initial top four as Taiyo Furusato crashed the Honda Team Asia machine out at the halfway stage.
Muñoz took charge with seven minutes on the clock as the rookie struck half a tenth fastest than the local team’s duo. VisionTrack’s Scott Ogden and Josh Whatley circulating in 12th and 14th respectively ahead of their second run.
Kaito Toba claimed the final promotion spot on the second CIP machine as the last push completed before his time was deleted due to track limits. Red Bull KTM’s Adrian Fernandez returning to fourth as the rain flags began to wave. Ogden rose to eight with his final effort - a 1’43.024 - with no one able to challenge the promotion zone in the final stages.
Q2 saw a tentative start as the 18-strong pack analysed the circumstances on track with the smattering of rain. MT Helmets’ Moreira set the initial pace with a 1’44.254 lap, Aspar’s Izan Guevara matching it exactly before the pair were demoted down the pack as the pace increased.
Rossi was in charge after three laps from Tech3’s Öncü and the ever-advancing Guevara. Carlos Tatay placed the CFMoto in fourth from championship leader Sergio Garcia with John McPhee rising to sixth on the Sterilgarda Husqvarna at the halfway point.
Guevara continued to climb as he took control overall on the bubble of 1’43. Red sectors across the board as rain flags were removed allowing Moreira to improve with a 1’42.624 from Öncü, Tatay and McPhee.
Rossi crashed out at turn four as the final five minutes began. MT’s Ryusei Yamanaka and KTM Ajo’s Holgado sliding into third and fourth as the Scot dropped to sixth.
Ayumu Sasaki circulated a disappointing two seconds adrift of the benchmark time as his teammate bettered again with a 1’42.828 in the penultimate minute. The final efforts shuffling the standings completely as Moreira and Yamanaka claimed an MT Helmets one-two from Guevara and Tatay. Leopard’s Dennis Foggia finally arrived, to fifth as McPhee secured sixth before Holgado and Öncü struck with their final efforts to top the times. The Turk claiming the celebrations despite an obviously painful right shoulder from a, so far, undisclosed training incident. Guevara suffered a moment on his final lap as he settled for fifth with McPhee ultimately dropped to eighth behind Foggia and ahead of Rivacold Snipers’ Andrea Migno. Garcia once again starting from a lowly grid position, in 13th.
