Italian Moto3: Solo stunner powers Oncu to Mugello Pole
Nobody could touch Deniz Oncu, who displayed perfect pace alone on track as he claimed pole position ahead of the Moto3 Italian Grand Prix at Mugello
On pole for this round last season, Denis Oncu topped both Friday practice sessions and lowered his lap time further in P3, always running solo, finishing the third session sat in the pits confident in his time.
He continued that frame of mind into qualifying where the Red Bull KTM Ajo rider again dominated, with a best of 1m 56.020s, just shy of the lap record for his sixth pole, though he is yet to translate one to a Moto3 win.
Oncu aslo survived a huge slide, not only staying on board, but setting a time that at that point was still strong enough for third.
Joel Kelso didn’t ride like a man with a penalty hanging over his head and put the pressure on with some late pace on the CFMoto to claim second, 0.538s behind the Turkish rider.
France pole man Ayumu Sasaki held on to third to complete the front row for Liqui Moly Husqvarna IntactGP.
Diogo Moreira placed fourth for MT Helmets -MSI on the KTM, just ahead of championship leader Daniel Holgado, who used his last flying lap to move into fifth for Red Bull KTM Tech3.
Matteo Bertelle moved up from twelfth to second as the chequered flag waved on his Rivacold Snipers bike, with Stefano Nepa coming through Q1 for Angeluss MTA, seventh before his penalty is applied.
Xavier Artigas, Riccardo Rossi and Ivan Ortola complete the top ten
Scott Ogden was promoted to Q2 after a lap cancellation and made the most of his second chance, finishing the session 15th with progress forward expected when penalties are applied.
Teammate at VisionTrack, Joshua Whatley lines up 27th on Sunday.
What happened in Q1?
Joel Kelso was dropped into the session after his second fastest P3 lap was cancelled by yellow flags, dropping him back to 20th in that session. The CFMOTO rider went on to Q2with the top time , along with Taiyo Furusato, Stefano Nepa and Vincente Perez.
The result means a big reshuffle for the grid tomorrow - Lorenzo Salvador (20th), along with Vincente Perez, have a back of the grid penalty and a trip around the long lap loop to serve for riding slow on the racing line and disturbing riders on Friday.
During Q1 it was announced that Kelso, along with Luca Lunetta (25th) and Nepa were also to be penalised with a back of the grid and long lap penalty for irresponsible riding in P3.
Jose Antonio Rueda (Red Bull KTM Ajo) briefly held the final progression spot, but was shuffled out by Perez, who crossed the line just after him.
Ryusei Yamanaka looked confortable in the top four but his performance was completely swallowed by the last laps of Q1, leaving him seventh in the session for GasGas Aspar, 21st on the grid.
Injuries and replacements
Perez is in for the still absent David Munoz at BOE Motorsports, while Andrea Migno gets to enjoy a home grand prix as he fills in for Lorenzo Fellon once again at CIP Green Power.
There is an additional widcard on the grid - Luca Lunetta with MT Helmets - MSI.
