Moto3: Danny Kent grabs first grand prix pole at Motegi

By Lisa Lewis

Red Bull KTM Ajo rider Danny Kent has taken pole position in the Moto3 qualifying session at Motegi,setting an unbeatable time of 1m58.371 to secure the first pole of his Grand Prix career.

The 18 year old's final flying lap saw him 0.203 seconds ahead of Blusens Avintia's Maverick Vinales, who had used his FTR Honda to stamp his authority on the session from the start and kept the lead until Kent showed a glimpse of what was to come when he initially went fastest with five minutes remaining.

Sandro Cortese's Red Bull KTM also challenged and briefly hit the front, but the championship leader had to settle for the final front row spot after finishing third fastest.

Zulfahmi Khairuddin was bolstered by the many Malaysian fans who had travelled to support him and heads up the second row for Sundays race after qualifying fourth on the AirAsia Ajo and making it three KTM machines in the top four.

Alessandro Tonucci starts fifth after a career best qualifying for Team Italia and Aragon race winner Luis Salom starts sixth for RW Racing.

Jonas Folger's Mapfre Aspar Kalex KTM Bike had problems which saw the Aragon pole-sitter miss more than half the session, he recovered to qualify seventh while Louis Rossi starts eighth for Racing Team Germany.

Efren Vazquez qualified ninth for JHK Laglisse with Team Italia FMI rider Romano Fenati tenth after he spent the early part of the session waiting to have his clutch changed.

Miguel Oliveira finished the session eleventh for Estrella Galicia, San Carlo Gresini's Niccolo Antonelli was next fastest in twelfth. Oliveira's team mate Alex Rins starts from 13th.

John McPhee qualified 26th for Caretta on his KRP Honda while fellow Brit Danny Webb qualified 32nd for the Mahindra team.

There are wild card rides this weekend for Japanese riders Hyuga Wantanabe and Yudai Kamei, both on Hondas. They will start from 21st and 27th respectively.

Qualifying:

1.Danny KentGBR (KTM)1m 58.371s
2.Maverick Vi?alesSPA (FTR Honda)1m 58.574s
3.Sandro CorteseGER (KTM)1m 58.669s
4.Zulfahmi KhairuddinMAL (KTM)1m 58.951s
5.Alessandro TonucciITA (FTR Honda)1m 59.072s
6.Luis SalomSPA (Kalex KTM)1m 59.097s
7.Jonas FolgerGER (Kalex KTM)1m 59.125s
8.Louis RossiFRA (FTR Honda)1m 59.213s
9.Efren VazquezSPA (FTR Honda)1m 59.287s
10.Romano FenatiITA (FTR Honda)1m 59.359s
11.Miguel OliveiraPOR (Suter Honda)1m 59.494s
12.Niccol? AntonelliITA (FTR Honda)1m 59.652s
13.Alex RinsSPA (Suter Honda)1m 59.653s
14.Arthur SissisAUS (KTM)1m 59.686s
15.Alberto MoncayoSPA (FTR Honda)1m 59.904s
16.Adrian MartinSPA (FTR Honda)1m 59.945s
17.Alex MarquezSPA (Suter Honda)1m 59.949s
18.Brad BinderRSA (Kalex KTM)1m 59.974s
19.Jakub KornfeilCZE (FTR Honda)1m 59.998s
20.Alan TecherFRA (TSR Honda)2m 0.021s
21.Hyuga WatanabeJPN (Honda)2m 0.044s
22.Jack MillerAUS (Honda)2m 0.177s
23.Niklas AjoFIN (KTM)2m 0.386s
24.Toni FinsterbuschGER (Honda)2m 0.460s
25.Isaac Vi?alesSPA (FTR Honda)2m 0.526s
26.John McpheeGBR (KRP Honda)2m 0.755s
27.Yuudai KameiJPN (Honda)2m 0.940s
28.Giulian PedoneSWI (Suter Honda)2m 0.987s
29.Kenta FujiiJPN (TSR Honda)2m 1.233s
30.Josep RodriguezSPA (FGR Honda)2m 1.256s
31.Luca AmatoGER (Kalex KTM)2m 1.500s
32.Danny WebbGBR (Mahindra)2m 2.362s
33.Armando PontoneITA (Ioda)2m 3.819s
34.Riccardo MorettiITA (Mahindra)2m 5.450s