David Almansa earned pole position during Moto3 World Championship qualifying Saturday at Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli, in San Marino. Riding his Liqui Moly Dynavolt Intact GP KTM on Pirelli control tires, the Spaniard topped the 26-rider field with a lap time of 1:40.612.
Red Bull KTM Ajo’s Brian Uriarte was the best of the rest with a 1:40.829, and Joel Kelso claimed the third and final spot on the front row with a 1:41.009 on his GRYD Racing Honda.
Row-two qualifiers included Red Bull KTM Tech3’s Valentin Perrone (1:41.111), CFMOTO Gaviota Aspar’s Maximo Quiles (1:41.127) and Level Up MTA’s Matteo Bertelle (1:41.384).
MOTO3 QP
More, from a press release issued by MotoGP:
Almansa amazes Misano with dominant sixth pole of 2026. The Spaniard was untouchable in Q2, repeatedly improving at the front to beat Uriarte by 0.217s as Kelso grabbed the final front-row spot.
Talk about dominance! David Almansa (Liqui Moly Dynavolt Intact GP) simply had too much for the rest in Moto3 qualifying at Misano, firing in a 1:40.612 to seal yet another pole in a season that continues to belong to the #22 on Saturdays.
A busy Q2 got underway at Misano with plenty of riders immediately grouping up in search of a tow. Casey O’Gorman (SIC58 Squadra Corse) set the early pace before Ryusei Yamanaka (MT Helmets – MSI) and Hakim Danish (MT Helmets – MSI) tucked in behind Almansa. Valentin Perrone (Red Bull KTM Tech3) made the slipstream count to take over at the top, with Brian Uriarte (Red Bull KTM Ajo) quickly putting himself into P2.
That provisional pole position didn’t last long for Perrone. Almansa began piling on the pressure and went fastest, with Uriarte and Perrone taking a tow from the Spaniard and slotting into second and third respectively, while Maximo Quiles (CFMOTO Gaviota Aspar Team) climbed to fourth.
Almansa wasn’t done yet though. Even after a wobble on his fifth lap, the #22 still managed to further turn up the heat, while Uriarte was visibly pushing to the limit on his next attack but couldn’t find an answer. Almansa lowered the time once again on lap six to put pole further out of reach, although there was a bit of a scare when he outbraked himself at Quercia and took the scenic route through the run-off.
With the chequered flag approaching, Joel Kelso (GRYD Racing) produced the late move that mattered to snatch P3, while Uriarte mistimed his final flying lap and was left watching the timing screens to see whether his front-row place would survive. It did. Perrone was pushed back to fourth ahead of Quiles and Matteo Bertelle (Level Up – MTA), with O’Gorman, Rico Salmela (Red Bull KTM Tech3) and Alvaro Carpe (Red Bull KTM Ajo) completing the first three rows.
Nobody could threaten Almansa in the closing seconds, though, leaving the Championship contender to celebrate pole number six of a remarkable 2026 campaign. Six poles are in the bag, can Almansa turn his latest into podium number six on Sunday in San Marino?
