Moto3 Germany: Sasaki secures stunning maiden pole at the Sachsenring
Ayumu Sasaki became the latest rider to score a debut pole position as he claimed the top spot on the grid ahead of the Moto3 German Grand Prix, round nine of the championship.
The Petronas Sprinta Racing rider found a good tow on his final run, coupled with a new found confidence which saw him claim the best time in Q2 - 1m 26.135s.
Sasaki had shown his ability when he finished Friday fastest and built on that to qualify on pole - the first Japanese rider to do so in the lightweight class since Youichi Ui in South Africa back in 2003.
Japanese riders dominate the front row with Qatar winner Kaito Toba lining up in second. The Honda Team Asia rider was just 0.057s slower than his compatriot at the end of the session.
The all Honda front row is completed by Leopard’s Marcos Ramirez in third after leading the way for much of the session, following on from breaking the lap record in FP3.
After circulating together frequently his team-mate Lorenzo Dalla Porta finished up just behind on the timing sheets. His final lap was wasted as most riders had already taken the chequered flag, meaning both he and Gabriel Rodrigo started with red sectors but lost time as soon as they hit the on track slow moving traffic, however, fourth on the grid still hands him a massive advantage over his title rivals.
The biggest absentee from Q2 was Championship leader Aron Canet (Sterilgarda Max Racing Team), who was sitting at the top of the timing screens before a final flurry of laps saw him shuffled down to eighth in Q1, 22nd on the Grid. The Spaniard left it too late for a final flying lap as the chequered flag came out, unaware he went for it anyway but was forced to sit up after a wobble and would have ruined the lap had it counted.
Back at the front of the grid Romano Fenati has a much improved start to his weekend, pulling his VNE Snipers machine up to fifth - his best qualifying performance so far this season.
Jakub Kornfeil, who performed best of the riders who came through after Q1, is the top KTM on the grid ahead of his Redox PruestelGP team’s home race in sixth Just ahead of Albert Arenas (Sama Qatar Angel Nieto Team) who starts seventh.
Dennis Foggia was the best of the Sky Racing VR46 riders in eighth. Gresini’s Rodrigo Improved as the session went despite having his final lap go awry on his way to ninth, which pushed John McPhee, who had just squeezed through Q1 to take part, down to tenth on the second Petronas entry.
Assen polesitter Niccolo Antonelli (SIC 58 Squadra Corse) could only manage a best of 17th after an unusually quiet session for the Italian.
Sergio Garcia confirmed 18th on the grid when he was the first to crash at the start of the session, halting his progress as he instead took a trip to the medical centre for a check up.
Another rider to shock by not making it out of Q1 was Assen victor, Tony Arbolino (VNE Snipers). The first rider to win more than once this season went into the final minutes of the session without a lap under his belt and his final run fell just short, fifth in the session handing him a 19th place grid slot.
The roster of home riders in the paddock for the German grand prix is increased by one with the addition of wildcard Dirk Geiger (Kiefer Racing), he chose to run out of sync on his own schedule and starts 28th, just ahead of the second British representataive in the class Tom Booth Amos (CIP Green Power) in 27th.
