Moto3: Almansa Claims Pole Position At Balaton Park

David Almansa earned pole position during Moto3 World Championship qualifying Saturday at Balaton Park, in Hungary. Riding his Liqui Moly Dynavolt Intact GP KTM on Pirelli control tires, the Spaniard topped the 26-rider field with a lap time of 1:45.686.

Maximo Quiles was the best of the rest with a 1:45.750 on his CFMOTO Gaviota Aspar Team KTM, and Brian Uriarte claimed the third and final spot on the front row with a 1:46.323 on his Red Bull KTM Ajo machine.

Row-two qualifiers included Red Bull KTM Tech3’s Valentin Perrone (1:46.371), Rivacold Snipers’ Jesus Rios (1:46.410) and Perrone’s teammate Rico Salmela (1:346.475).

QualifyingResults Moto3

More from a press release issued by MotoGP:

Almansa goes back-to-back to deny Quiles pole by just 0.064. One week on from forfeiting his start from pole in Italy, Almansa is back on top.

A week after withdrawing from the Italian GP with illness – where he was supposed to start from pole – David Almansa (Liqui Moly Dynavolt Intact GP) is back on top with a 1’45.686 in Hungary. He and Championship leader Maximo Quiles (CFMoto Gaviota Aspar Team) pulled out more than half a second on the chasing pack in qualifying, split themselves by only six hundredths. Completing the front row it’s Brian Uriarte (Red Bull KTM Ajo), who came through Q1 but made it count for third.

Valentin Perrone (Red Bull KTM Tech3) heads up Row 2, with Jesus Rios (Rivacold Snipers Team) splitting him from teammate Rico Salmela. Marco Morelli (GRYD Racing), Adrian Cruces (CIP Green power) and Veda Pratama (Honda Team Asia) are Row 3 – the Indonesian now third overall following the disqualification of Adrian Fernandez (Leopard Racing) from the first six GPs of the year. Fernandez starts P11 here, just behind Joel Kelso (GRYD Racing).

David Almansa (on the left) and Maximo Quiles (on the right) in the parc fermé at Balaton Park. Photo courtesy MotoGP.

There were some yellow flags and other dramas too – including a shortcut for Alvaro Carpe (Red Bull KTM Ajo) invalidating his lap and a crash for David Muñoz (Liqui Moly Dynavolt Intact GP) – leaving that duo looking for a lot more without a lap set each.

Check out the full results from Moto3 qualifying at Balaton and tune in for the Moto3 showdown on Sunday morning!