Daniel Holgado has returned to pole positions in Moto3, for the first time since last year’s Austrian Grand Prix. The rider was the strongest in the qualifying session for the Qatar GP this Saturday.

After the first flying laps, Matteo Bertelle (Rivacold Snipers Team/Honda) led with a 0.170s gap over Ivan Ortolá (Angeluss MTA Team/KTM), with Jaume Masiá (Leopard Racing/Honda) in third.

Despite not improving his time, Bertelle held onto the lead but came under pressure from Deniz Öncü (Red Bull KTM Ajo)… before the Turk took the lead six minutes before the checkered flag.

Later on, Ayumu Sasaki (Liqui Moly Husqvarna Intact GP) also overtook Bertelle to claim second place. There was still plenty of time left, and the standings could still change. Holgado (Red Bull KTM Tech3) and Diogo Moreira (MT Helmets-MSi/KTM) moved up to the top two positions, respectively.

Nothing changed until the end, with Holgado securing the pole position just three milliseconds ahead of Moreira. Öncü finished third, Sasaki in fourth, and Collin Veijer (Liqui Moly Husqvarna Intact GP) in fifth. The championship leader, Masiá, will start only in tenth place, putting him in a less favorable position to secure the title tomorrow.

Q2 results:

Overall results of the qualifying:

O conteúdo Daniel Holgado secures his first pole position of the season at the Moto3 Qatar GP aparece primeiro em Motorcycle Sports.

The final four qualifiers for the second qualifying in the Moto3 Qatar Grand Prix have been determined. Filippo Farioli led the way in Q1 at Losail and secured qualification alongside three other riders.

Farioli (Red Bull KTM Tech3) took the lead in the first few moments, but with only eight minutes remaining, most riders had not yet set lap times. At that point, the qualifying positions were held by Matteo Bertelle (Rivacold Snipers Team/Honda) in first, ahead of David Muñoz (BOE Motorsports/KTM), Farioli, and Syarifuddin Azman (MT Helmets-MSi/KTM).

Azman was then overtaken by Adrián Fernández (Leopard Racing/Honda), who became the fourth-placed rider just over five minutes before the end.

Only in the final minute were there more changes. Taiyo Furusato (Honda Team Asia) took the lead, but Farioli quickly overtook him. Bertelle dropped to third, and Muñoz to fourth. With his final lap, Fernández moved into second place, securing his qualification. Furusato settled in third, and Bertelle claimed fourth, also advancing to Q2. Riccardo Rossi (SIC58 Squadra Corse/Honda) improved towards the end but finished fifth, 0.117s away from qualification.

Results:

O conteúdo Filippo Farioli set the pace in the Moto3 Qatar Grand Prix Q1 and advances to Q2 with three other riders aparece primeiro em Motorcycle Sports.

Daniel Holgado set the fastest time in the Moto3 practice sessions for the Malaysian Grand Prix, leading the third session this morning in Sepang – in which only one rider did not improve his time from yesterday.

After the first flying laps, Jaume Masiá (Leopard Racing/Honda) – who had set the fastest time on Friday – was in the lead but was soon overtaken by David Alonso (Gaviota GasGas Aspar). The Colombian was then passed by his teammate Ryusei Yamanaka.

After about 12 minutes, the Japanese rider was dethroned by Holgado (Red Bull KTM Tech3) when he completed the best lap of the practice sessions in 2m11.139s. Several riders improved their times until the end, unlike the Spaniard. However, the closest one was Deniz Öncü (Red Bull KTM Ajo), 0.225s behind.

Masiá finished in third, followed by Ayumu Sasaki (Liqui Moly Husqvarna IntactGP) and Diogo Moreira (MT Helmets-MSi/KTM) in the top five. Further down, Riccardo Rossi (SIC58 Squadra Corse/Honda) secured the last direct spot in the second qualifying phase, beating José Antonio Rueda (Red Bull KTM Ajo) by just 99 thousandths. Among the other riders who will have to go through Q1 is Alonso, who was only 19th in the sessions.

P3 timesheet:

Combined standings P1 + P2 + P3:

O conteúdo Daniel Holgado was the fastest in the Moto3 practice sessions in Sepang aparece primeiro em Motorcycle Sports.

Despite the setback, Daniel Holgado remains confident. The rider, who had led the Moto3 World Championship since his victory in Portimão in the first round, had a challenging race at the Japanese circuit and now occupies third place in the standings, trailing Jaume Masiá (Leopard Racing/Honda) by nine points and Ayumu Sasaki (Liqui Moly Husqvarna Intact GP) by three. However, this hasn’t diminished his ambition.

‘Of course it’s possible to win. There are six races left, which means many races on challenging circuits where experience plays a role. I’ll have to remain calm, always give my best, and when I can’t win, try to finish the races’, said Holgado(Red Bull KTM Tech3), recalling the race in India, where he ‘finished 18th and narrowly missed fourth place’.

‘I’ll go back home, try to disconnect a bit, train, and prepare for the upcoming races, which will be tough because in Indonesia and Thailand, the heat is incredible. I’ll need to prepare well in terms of cardio to withstand a strong pace’, concluded Holgado, speaking to AS newspaper.

O conteúdo ‘Of course it’s possible to win the championship’ – Daniel Holgado aparece primeiro em Motorcycle Sports.

The last four riders who will fight for pole position at the Moto3 San Marino Grand Prix have been determined. Daniel Holgado led the quartet of qualifiers in the first phase of qualifying at Misano.

Holgado (Red Bull KTM Tech3) was in the lead since the first flying laps, with Matteo Bertele (Rivacold Snipers Team/Honda) initially in second. Xavier Artigas (CFMoto Racing PrüstelGP) and David Salvador (CIP Green Power/KTM) also made it to the top four but were later overtaken by Riccardo Rossi (SIC58 Squadra Corse/Honda).

Three minutes before the end, Holgado solidified his lead. In the final moments, Joel Kelso (CFMoto Racing PrüstelGP) climbed to second place, pushing Artigas out of the qualifying zone. Rossi beat the Australian to finish second, 0.436s behind Holgado. David Muñoz (BOE Motorsports/KTM), who had a crash in the early minutes, managed to secure fourth place and a spot in the Q2. He left Bertelle out by 0.036s.

Results:

O conteúdo Daniel Holgado «crushed» his rivals and advances to the Moto3 Q2 at Misano along with three other riders aparece primeiro em Motorcycle Sports.

Daniel Holgado led the first phase of qualifying for the Catalunya Moto3 Grand Prix, securing a spot in Q2 along with three other riders: Joel Kelson, Scott Ogden, and Taiyo Furusato.

After the initial outings, the qualifying positions were held by Holgado (Red Bull KTM Tech3), Diogo Moreira (MT Helmets MSi/KTM), David Salvador (CIP Green Power/KTM), and David Muñoz (BOE Motorsports/KTM).

KTM was dominating this initial phase of qualifying, but there were still many minutes left, and everything could change in the final attempts to secure qualifying positions.

Indeed, there was a shake-up in the standings. Holgado didn’t lose his lead, but Kelso (CFMotoRacing PrüstelGP), Furusato (Honda Team Asia), and Ogden (VisioNTrack Racing Team/Honda) moved up to second, third, and fourth, respectively. They were not overtaken until the end, securing their qualification. Moreira finished fifth, missing out by 0.206s.

O conteúdo Daniel Holgado and three more riders advance to Moto3 Q2 in Catalunya aparece primeiro em Motorcycle Sports.