Moto3 Qatar: Antonelli claims pole in dramatic style
Nico Antonelli took pole by just a thousandth of a second as Moto3 marked it’s return with a dramatic qualifying session ahead of the opening race of the season in Qatar.
The Italian looked to have lost out despite some fast red sectors as he found himself stuck in a big group of riders heading to the line.
Smartly the SIC58 Squadra Corse rider moved in behind Tony Arbolino, to gain a great run to the chequered flag and snatch his first pole since 2016 with a lap of 2.06.364s.
An elated Paulo Simoncelli, father of the late MotoGP rider Marco and team manager, had much to celebrate as Antonelli’s pole was also the team’s first.
Jorge Martin crossed the line after Antonelli and gave him a nervous wait, ahead over the first half of the lap, the Del Conca Gresini man was just 0.001s behind when he arrived at the line for second.
The wind and sand had combined to reduce visibility and the resulting sandstorm and higher temperature saw times drop dramatically, with Martin’s record lap from FP2 remaining the best of the weekend.
RBA’s Gabriel Rodrigo also briefly held pole in the final dash to the line, and his KTM joins the Honda pair to complete the front row.
Ayumu Sasaki slotted in behind Martin to pull himself up to fourth for Petronas Sprinta Racing, with fellow countryman Kaito Toba also seeing late progression to move into fifth at the flag for Honda Team Asia.
The final spot on row two went to Marco Bezzecchi (PruestlGP) completing a row full of riders looking to come into their own in 2018.
Aron Canet had showed he could ride on his own with a solo lap bringing him back into contention before losing out in the final rush, leaving the Estrella Galicia rider down in seventh after setting the early pace.
He is joined on row three by Philipp Oettl (Sudmetal Schedl GP) in eighth and Lorenzo Dalla Porta (Leopard) in ninth with his team-mate Enea Bastianini doing enough to complete the top ten.
John McPhee (CIP-Green Power) had shown improvements in FP3 but could not translate them to the crucial qualifying session, his last lap saw him start badly but somehow find enough over the final few corners to lift himself from 18th to 12th.
Jaume Masia was the top rookie performer, just one position behind in 13th for Bester Capital Dubai.
Youngest rider in the field Alonso Lopez was the only faller, with a late return to track once his bike was returned placing him 21st.
It was a torrid return for Valentino Rossi’s Sky Racing VR46 Team, with Nicolo Bulega their best rider down in 22nd and Dennis Foggia an even more distant 25th.
Tatsuki Suzuki didn’t attend qualifying after fracturing his arm in practice on Friday.
