Maximo Quiles earned pole position during Moto3 World Championship qualifying Saturday at Balaton Park Circuit, in Hungary. Riding his CFMOTO Gaviota Aspar Team KTM on Pirelli control tires, the rookie topped the 26-rider field with a lap time of 1:46.060.
Valentin Perrone was the best of the rest with a 1:46.120 on his Red Bull KTM Tech3, and Angel Piqueras claimed the third and final spot on the front row with a 1:46.150 on his Frinsa – MT Helmets – MSI KTM.
Row-two qualifiers included Red Bull KTM Ajo’s Alvaro Carpe (1:46.167), LIQUI MOLY Dynavolt Intact GP KTM’s David Muñoz (1:46.324) and Guido Pini (1:46.329).
QualifyingResults MOTO3
More from a press release issued by Dorna:
Quiles rockets to pole ahead of Perrone at Balaton Park. A frenetic Moto3™ qualifying is bagged with Quiles starting on pole for Sunday’s Grand Prix.
A tense tussle for pole position eventually saw Maximo Quiles (CFMOTO Gaviota Aspar Team) clinch pole position at the Balaton Park circuit in Hungary. Round 14 of 22 and with a title battle tightening into the second half of the season, it was a vital session; making the most of it, Quiles stormed to pole ahead of Valentin Perrone (Red Bull KTM Tech 3) and Angel Piqueras (FRINSA – MT Helmets – MSI).
Moving into Q2 from Q1, Taiyo Furusato (Honda Team Asia) led Joel Kelso (LEVELUP-MTA) and the Australian’s teammate Marcos Uriarte, whilst Scott Ogden (CIP Green Power) also made it through to the pole fight. There were differing strategies in Q2 and the first lap times were slightly off the FP2 reference from the morning but there were red sectors aplenty soon enough. With five minutes to go, Quiles fired in a lap time to go P1 ahead of Valentin Perrone, Alvaro Carpe (Red Bull KTM Ajo) and Guido Pini (LIQUI MOLY Dynavolt Intact GP) but it was still very much to play for as everyone entered the track for the final stints. Championship leader Jose Antonio Rueda (Red Bull KTM Ajo) needed a lap, mired down in 11th.
The opposition were being worked hard as Quiles continued to set a relentless pace, the first and only rider into the 1’45s during the session, although the lap was cancelled due to track limits. Nonetheless, he still took pole ahead of Perrone and Red Bull Ring winner Angel Piqueras who snatched third on his final flying lap. Carpe leads the second row away with David Muñoz (LIQUI MOLY Dynavolt Intact GP) and Pini alongside him.
The third row features Jacob Roulstone (Red Bull KTM Tech 3) ahead of Rueda who did eventually improve but has shown similar signs of Austria, where he struggled. Adrian Fernandez (Leopard Racing) had to settle for P9 whilst teammate David Almansa starts from P10. There was a big crash in the session for Furusato who highsided out of Turn 1 and the Japanese rider starts from P12.
