A last dash to the line in tricky conditions sees the Turk come out on top as Garcia starts 13th.
Despite a sore shoulder from a crash in training, Deniz Öncü (Red Bull KTM Tech3) produced the goods in a tricky Moto3™ Q2 session at the Gran Premio Gryfyn di San Marino e della Riviera di Rimini to claim pole, the Turk beating Daniel Holgado (Red Bull KTM Ajo) by 0.023s and third place Diogo Moreira (MT Helmets – MSI) by just 0.024s in a rain-affected Q2. Ryusei Yamanaka (MT Helmets – MSI) is fourth and still only 0.040 off the top after an incredibly close session at Misano.
Straight after we saw David Muñoz (BOE Motorsports), Lorenzo Fellon, the Frenchman’s SIC58 Squadra Corse teammate Riccardo Rossi and Adrian Fernandez (Red Bull KTM Tech3) come through Q1, light rain started to fall at the Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli. The rain flags were still out when the Q2 runners rumbled out of pitlane, but it wasn’t heavy enough to head out on wet tyres – a tense 15 minutes were coming up for the Moto3™ pole position contenders.
The first laps were set as Moreira and Izan Guevara (Gaviota GASGAS Aspar Team) set identical times – a 1:44.254. But that time didn’t last long as the effort to beat. Rossi shot to P1 with a 1:43.195 to lead Öncü by just under a tenth, before Guevara set a new benchmark to lead the session by 0.108s with seven minutes to go.
The times were tumbling every lap as the riders got to grips with the iffy conditions. Moreira was back at the summit with Öncü second, with Yamanaka going third. With a minute left, Guevara again made his way up to P1 but it was short-lived. Moreira and Yamanaka went 1-2 to shove Guevara to P3 with one last time attack available.
Pushing out of the final corner, Guevara lost the rear slightly and was unable to improve his time. However, Öncü produced a last lap stunner to claim pole position, and Holgado pinched second off Moreira as the top four were split by a slender 0.040s.
Behind the top three of Öncü, Holgado and Moreira, Yamanaka is the rider leading the second row as the Japanese rider missed out on a front row start by 0.016s. Guevara slipped to P5 by the end of the session, with compatriot Carlos Tatay (CFMOTO Racing PrüstelGP) joining the rider second in the title race on the second row.
Dennis Foggia (Leopard Racing) will launch from P7 on home turf, the Italian has John McPhee (Sterilgarda Husqvarna Max) and Andrea Migno (Rivacold Snipers Team) alongside him, while Fernandez rounded out the top 10 after progressing through Q1.
It was another difficult qualifying session for World Championship leader Sergio Garcia (Gaviota GASGAS Aspar Team) as the Spaniard is forced to settle for P13 on the grid – work to do for Garcia, but he always brings an extra sprinkle of speed on race day. Austria winner Ayumu Sasaki (Sterilgarda Husqvarna Max), meanwhile, has another comeback challenge from P17.
The stage is set for a stunner so Tune into the Moto3™ race at 11:00 local time (GMT+2) on Sunday morning!t
Moto3™ FRONT ROW
1 Deniz Öncü (Red Bull KTM Tech3) – KTM – +0.145
2 Daniel Holgado (Red Bull KTM Ajo) – KTM – 1’41.234
3 Diogo Moreira (MT Helmets – MSI) – KTM – +0.010
Deniz Öncü: “Our qualifying was just starting when there were small rain drops, and I just said, ‘Okay, keep doing laps.’ I was not expecting pole but I was pole.
“Well, the race, I don’t know. First of all, I want to finish these 23 laps. Yes, I had a crash in training and I have a lot of pain in my right shoulder. I will try to do my best and the first thing is that I want to finish the race. Then, take good points, because at the moment, realistically for me, I want to fight for third position in the Championship, while Guevara and Garcia are too far. But, you know, seven races to go, everything is possible, and realistically, third position. If not, we will see.”
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