David Almansa earned pole position during Moto3 World Championship qualifying Saturday at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, in Spain. Riding his Leopard Racing Honda on Pirelli control tires, Almansa topped the 26-rider field with a lap time of 1:46.877.
Joel Kelso was the best of the rest with a 1:47.079 on his LevelUp MTA KTM, and Angel Piqueras claimed the third and final spot on the front row with a 1:47.086 on his Frinsa MT Helmets MSI KTM.
Row-two qualifiers included Liquid Moly Dynavolt Intact GP’s David Muñoz (1:47.096), Piqueras’ teammate, Ryusei Yamanaka (1:47.233) and Almansa’s teammate Adrian Fernandez (1:47.235).
QualifyingResults moto3
More, from a press release issued by Dorna:
Almansa blasts to career-first pole in Barcelona. Leading the field going into Sunday, the #22 has primed himself for a strong Grand Prix.
David Almansa (Leopard Racing) left it late to fire himself into pole position for the first time in his Moto3™ career. The Spaniard will have a clear view down to Turn 1 and was the only rider able to dip into the 1’46s, with a 1’46.877 good enough to see him clear of Joel Kelso (LEVELUP-MTA) and Angel Piqueras (FRINSA – MT Helmets – MSI).
Graduating from Q1, Angel Piqueras, teammate Ryusei Yamanaka (FRINSA – MT Helmets – MSI), Dennis Foggia (CFMOTO Gaviota Aspar Team) and Cormac Buchanan (DENSSI Racing – BOE) all joined the pole battle. After the first run in Q2, Adrian Fernandez (Leopard Racing) was sitting pretty at the top of the standings with Yamanaka right behind him ahead of Piqueras, whilst David Almansa (Leopard Racing) was P4. After his two crashes thus far in the weekend, Maximo Quiles’ (CFMOTO Gaviota Aspar Team) got his first lap banked, good enough for P7.
However, with less than three minutes remaining, the fast laps started to come in as everyone pushed to raise the bar one more time. Piqueras blasted to provisional pole, using his extra Q1 session to his advantage. Late laps were needed for the likes of David Muñoz (LIQUI MOLY Dynavolt Intact GP) and Valentin Perrone (Red Bull KTM Tech 3) with them 12th and 17th and for Muñoz at least, he managed to get into P4, whereas Perrone was 14th. At the front and on his last lap, Almansa pounced to bag a career-first pole and fifth front row of the year. He wasn’t the only late improver as Joel Kelso took second and first front row since Le Mans; denied pole, Piqueras completed the front row in third.
Behind the top three, Muñoz was a solid fourth ahead of Yamanaka and Fernandez. Championship leader Jose Antonio Rueda (Red Bull KTM Ajo) could only manage seventh and heads up the third row, ahead of Guido Pini (LIQUI MOLY Dynavolt Intact GP) and Alvaro Carpe (Red Bull KTM Ajo). Quiles, unable to challenge at the front, rounds out the top ten and starts from the fourth row, his second-worst qualifying of the year.
