Masia takes stunning wet weather pole, Sasaki starts third as Öncü hits drama

Saturday at the IndianOil Grand Prix of India saw torrential conditions delay proceedings ahead of Moto3™ Q2, after right after Q1 had taken place largely in the dry.

Jaume Masia (Leopard Racing) excelled in the rain as the Spaniard put on a dominant display and got to grips with the conditions to set the fastest lap of the session on his final tour with a 2:09.336. Matteo Bertelle (Rivacold Snipers Team) bagged 2nd place, 0.727s back from the polesitter, with Ayumu Sasaki (Liqui Moly Husqvarna Intact GP) taking a much-welcomed front row.

It wasn’t a great day in the office for Daniel Holgado (Red Bull KTM Tech3) as the Championship Leader failed to fight his way through Q1 and will have to start the Grand Prix of India from P19 – and after passing a medical review ahead of the race.

On the second row, it’s Scott Ogden (VisionTrack Racing) leading the way in P4, with Kaito Toba (SIC58 Squadra Corse) and Diogo Moreira (MT Helmets – MSI) joining him in 5th and 6th. Stefano Nepa (Angeluss MTA Team) had a decent wet-weather showing and snapped up P7. Joining the Italian on the third row will be Taiyo Furusato (Honda Team Asia) and Collin Veijer (Liqui Moly Husqvarna Intact GP) in 8th and 9th, with David Salvador (CIP Green Power) rounding out the top 10.

As well as Holgado’s crash in P3 and then subsequent check up, there was also drama for Deniz Öncü (Red Bull KTM Ajo) in the morning. He didn’t follow the protocol after a crash at Pit Entry and then ignored a black flag, so he was given a back of the grid start and a Long Lap penalty to create a real mountain to climb on Sunday.

The Moto3™ riders’ attention now turns to the race on Sunday, make sure not to miss any of the action as it commences at 12:30 local time (GMT +5:30).

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