The number 53 takes pole ahead of Holgado and Foggia as Mugello gets set for a Moto3™ showdown.
Red Bull KTM Tech3’s Deniz Öncü has claimed Moto3™ pole position at the Gran Premio d’Italia Oakley, with Dennis Foggia (Leopard Racing) not quite able to carry his dominance of Free Practice forward. However, Foggia still had a big say in how qualifying played out at Mugello, as it was the Italian who provided the decisive tow to Öncü. Foggia still made the front row, but will start to the outside of the pole-sitting Turk, with rookie Daniel Holgado (Red Bull KTM Ajo) impressing in the middle of the front row.
Q2
There are perhaps few circuits on the calendar where a tow is more important than Mugello, particularly in the lightweight class, and that was how John McPhee (Sterilgarda Husqvarna Max) put himself in top spot in the early stages of Q2 with a 1:57.299. Foggia, on the other hand, was having to punch his own hole in the air, although he managed to go second-fastest in the last few minutes with a 1:57.367.
Then, next time through, Foggia did manage to get the better of the Scotsman as he clocked a 1:57.168. Unfortunately for ‘The Rocket’, he had Öncü close behind him and the Turkish rider used the tow to set an even faster lap. With the chequered flag out, Foggia improved to a 1:57.094 but that was not good enough to knock the Tech3 rider off pole position, nor was it good enough to hold onto second spot as Holgado came through in a bunch of bikes to achieve a 1:56.908.
The Grid
Behind Öncü, Holgado and Foggia, Moto3™ World Championship leader Sergio Garcia qualified fourth, one position ahead of fellow Valresa GASGAS Aspar Team rider Izan Guevara. They will be joined on Row 2 by McPhee, courtesy of his first flying lap, with Diogo Moreira (MT Helmets – MSI) heading up Row 3, ahead of Riccardo Rossi (SIC58 Squadra Corse) and Q1 graduate Ryusei Yamanaka (MT Helmets – MSI).
Jaume Masia (Red Bull KTM Ajo), who is tied for second in the World Championship with Foggia, will be looking to make up ground from 10th on the grid, with Tatsuki Suzuki (Leopard Racing) and Lorenzo Fellon (Sic58 Squadra Corse) also on Row 4. Fellon was another of the riders to come from Q1, making the top four in that session thanks to a triple tow with the chequered flag out.
What will race day bring? We’ll find out from 11:00 (GMT +2) as the lights go out for Moto3™.
Moto3™ FRONT ROW
1 Deniz Öncü (Red Bull KTM Tech 3) – KTM – 1’56.811
2 Daniel Holgado (Red Bull KTM Ajo) – KTM – +0.097
3 Dennis Foggia (Leopard Racing) – Honda – +0.283
Deniz Öncü: “The lap was quite good, and when I saw the lap time – a 6.8 – it was my best lap time of the weekend, so I said, ‘Okay, for sure this is enough to be in the top two rows.’ After the chequered flag, I saw I was pole. I am happy because pole position is nice, to start the race from top, and I’m happy. For sure, tomorrow will be a big group race for me. It’s a disadvantage for me that I am tall and my weight compared to others is more, so I’m losing on the straights, as we see on the sectors. But, my strategy, I’ll be there, just waiting for the last laps, and I still don’t have a victory, so I will play all my cards to do this.”
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