The number 28 continues his roll in Doha, with a first pole position in Moto3™
Izan Guevara (Gaviota GASGAS Aspar Team) has taken his maiden Grand Prix pole position in style with a late lunge to the top in the Grand Prix of Qatar, putting in a 2:04.811 to deny Q1 graduate Ayumu Sasaki (Sterilgarda Max Racing Team). 2021 Qatar GP winner Jaume Masia (Red Bull KTM Ajo) starts from the outside of the front row in P3.
Q1
Sasaki topped the session, the Japanese rider in Q1 after his final flying lap in FP3 got cancelled. Moving through with him were three rookies: Ivan Ortola (Angeluss MTA Team), Daniel Holgado (Red Bull KTM Ajo) and Matteo Bertelle (QJMotor Avintia Racing Team).
Q2
Fresh from finishing fastest in Q1, Sasaki was the early pacesetter in Q2 and his initial advantage stood at 0.5s – the fastest lap of the weekend at that stage. Dennis Foggia (Leopard Racing) closed the gap to 0.2s on his second flying lap as a lot of the riders piled into pitlane, but there were only four riders within a second of the top heading into the final five minutes.
Sasaki was towing teammate John McPhee and the British rider climbed to P5, with Ryusei Yamanaka (MT Helmets – MSI) then going P4. A freight train of frantic Moto3™ riders formed behind Foggia, a typical lightweight qualifying session.
A gaggle of riders crossed the finish line within tenths of each other, and Guevara was just able to grab P1 from Sasaki. Masia claimed P3 with Andrea Migno (Rivacold Snipers Team) slotting in ahead of Foggia, who slipped to P5. Yamanaka and McPhee’s strategy to go out ahead of the big group worked well as they line-up P6 and P7 for the opening race of the season.
Sergio Garcia (Gaviota GASGAS Aspar Team) set his best time on the final lap but only managed P8. Tatsuki Suzuki (Leopard Racing) and Ortola, impressing after moving through Q1, complete the top ten.
The stage is set for the first Moto3™ race of the season. Who will come out on top? Find out at 15:00 (GMT +3) on Sunday as the lights go out for Round 1 at Lusail.
Moto3™ FRONT ROW
1 Izan Guevara (Gaviota GASGAS Aspar Team) – GASGAS – 2’04.811
2 Ayumu Sasaki (Sterilgarda Husqvarna Max) – Husqvarna – +0.085
3 Jaume Masia (Red Bull KTM Ajo) – KTM – +0.212
Izan Guevara: “Yeah I’m really happy for my first pole position in the World Championship and I’m really happy for my last lap in qualifying. Thank you to my team for the work in these two days and tomorrow more!”
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