San Marino Moto3: Oncu braves the rain for Misano pole position

Deniz Oncu took the most risks as the rain arrived for pole in qualifying ahead of the Moto3 San Marino Grand Prix in Misano.

Lisa Lewis

03 Sep 2022

Deniz Oncu, Moto3, San Marino MotoGP, 3 September

Deniz Oncu took the most risks so gained the reward of pole in qualifying for the Moto3 San Marino Grand Prix, round fourteen of the championship.

There was no time to hang around for the Moto3 riders with light rain arriving at the end of Q1. Most of the eighteen rider field stayed out as the rain worsened, and it was the Red Bull Tech3 rider who pushed hardest, his KTM slipping and sliding as he searched for the best time.

The Turkish rider had fallen to eighth after his early run, but came back strong and put in a final lap of 1m 42.448s while being chased over the line to claim the top spot on the grid for the third time.

Rookie and fellow Red Bull rider Daniel Holgado was in close pursuit and was just 0.023s slower as he pulled himself up from seventh to second after securing pole himself at the last round.

Brazilian Diogo Moreira was another rookie unfazed by the tricky conditions. Running around with his MT Helmets - MSI team-mate Ryusei Yamanaka, he claimed the final podium spot, with Yamanaka fourth fastest.

Izan Guevara is the highest title contender on the grid. The Gaviota GasGas rider was busy in the pits on the phone for information before the session started and was immediately at the top of the wet pace, jointly leading the early part of the session with an identical lap time to Moreira.

The Spaniard, who currently sits second overall, was the only rider to dip back into the pits for a tyre change, a move that looked as if it had paid off when he moved to the top of the timesheets briefly as he once again crossed the line solo. With another lap off the table he could only watch as the riders on a final push dropped him to fifth.

Carlos Tatay wasn’t shy of looking for a tow, initially looking for an advantage behind Ayumu Sasaki after his controlling win at the last round. When the CFMOTO Racing PruestelGP rider looked elsewhere, pulling into the group with Oncu.

His time was briefly top but held on to a second row slot in sixth.

Dennis Foggia won both races held at the Rimini circuit last season, but was less assured in the wet. Risking as much as he dared on his final time attack the Leopard rider left enough on track for the seventh best time as the top Honda rider.

John McPhee also made some late gains only to be knocked back by the final times from the Oncu train, the Sterilgarda Husqvarna Max rider will line up eighth.

Andrea Migno also moved forwards, picking up places he moved from 16th to ninth on his final lap aboard the Rivacold Snipers bike.

Adrian Fernandez was the best of the riders to come through Q1, completing the top ten for Red Bull KTM Tech3, cementing a strong showing for the team.

The other Q1 graduates were Riccardo Rossi (SIC58 Squadra Corse) in 14th , David Munoz (BOE Motorsports) who came through with the top tiemf or 15th and Lorenzo Fellon (SIC58 Squadra Corse) who was 18th.

Jaume Masia (Red Bull KTM Ajo) spent much of Q2 last after having his banker lap cancelled but rallied in the closing minutes to pull himself back to eleventh.

Stefano Nepa was twelfth fastest for the Angeluss MTA Team.

Championship leader Garcia struggles in 13th

Sergio Garcia’s session got off to a solid enough start, comfortably inside the top five. Having his best lap cancelled for exceeding track limits saw the Spaniard drop down the timesheets, with faster laps coming in at the same time he was 15th coming into his final run.

That pulled the Aspar rider up to 13th but with a lot of work to do on race day to move through the field and with his two closest rivals in the title hunt, Guevara and Foggia, ahead of him on the grid.

Tatsuki Suzuki looked uneasy in the wet in 16th with compatriot Ayumu Sasaki, fresh from his win after serving a double penalty in Austria also having a tough time in the patchy, wet conditions as he could only manage the 17th best time, so a similar performance will be needed for the Sterligarda Husqvarna Max rider to have an impact on the podium places.

What happened in Q1?

Rain had arrived to all sectors by the time the chequered flag came out. Munoz, Fellon and Rossi held progression places for much of Q1, with Fernandez taking his back after Kaito Toba’s final lap - which was the fourth fastest - was cancelled after he exceeded track limits.

Pulled back to his previous time the CIP Green Power rider was tenth in the session, for 24th on the grid. Toba had also been unlucky in not going to Q2 from FP3 as it was his best lap that was interrupted by a slew of slow riders on track.

Scott Ogden had only just missed out on an automatic Q2 place like Munoz. The VisionTrack riders FP3 time would have seen him progress to the second half of qualifying, but the Brit could not match it. His final run saw red sectors but came as the weather worsened, leaving the #19 22nd on the grid.

Injuries, replacements and penalties

The only change to the entry sheet for Misano is the addition of Wildcard rider Harrison Voight. The Australian joins the SIC 58 Squadra Corse team for the round. A regular rider in the CEV, Voight recnetly saw success at the track in the Italian Moto3 championship, again as a wildcard, where he took a podium finish with a third and fourth place.

Track familiarity helped him to 28th on the grid, ahead of regular riders Joshua Whatley, Joel Kelso and Ana Carrasco.