Austria Moto3: Rookie Holgado snatches up late pole position
Daniel Holgado ran a mature, well timed session to rise to the top of the timesheets at just the right time to take pole positon ahead of the Moto3 Austrian Grand Prix.
The Red Bull KTM Ajo rider looked confident at a track where he has plenty of track time, with several rounds of the Red Bull Rookies taking place in Spielberg last season.
Building into the session, the Spanish rookie slowly climbed higher in the list of times and was able to move from eleventh to fourth and then second as the clock ticked down.
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At the back of a group who all improved as the chequered flag waved, tucked in behind Riccardo Rossi, his final effort landed him a 1m 41.234s - a new record due to the change to the layout at turn two.
Qualifying was incredibly important to Ayumu Sasaki if he is to make any progress in the race, with a two lap penalty to be served after the crash he caused at Silverstone, crashing into the back of Sergio Garcia.
The Sterilgarda Husqvarna Max rider was leading the way before Holgado launched his final time attack. Leaving in a group of seven riders who all timed their last run poorly an took the chequered flag instead of starting a final flying lap (along with Leopard riders Dennis Foggia and Tatsuki Suzuki, Brits John McPhee and Scott Ogden, with Andrea Migno and Ryusei Yamanaka) leaving him unable to defend provisional pole.
The Japanese rider was just 0.010s slower on his previous run.
Deniz Oncu is the only rider to have picked up rounds at every round, and came to qualifying with the fastest time after free practice. The Turkish rider has good form over one lap of the track, having qualified on pole for the Styrian Grand Prix at the track on 2021.
Fast again, he claimed the final front row slot for Red Bull KTM Tech3.
Rossi made his own gains in the fast last group, moving up to fourth for SIC58 Squadra Corse.
Foggia arrived on a high, back in the title hunt after his win at the last round in Silverstone as both of the GasGas riders endured DNF’s for just the second time so far this season.
The Italian spent much of his time on track running around with his Leopard team-mate, but taking the chequered flag early saw him stifled in fifth, with Suzuki seventh.
Silverstone polesitter, Diogo Moreira, split the pair with the sixth best time for MT Helmets - MSI.
Foggia will be ahead of his main rivals for the title on the grid, with Izan Guevara the best of the AutoSolar GasGas Aspar eiders in eighth, Garcia was pushed back every time he made a little progress, so will line up eleventh.
Kaito Toba was another of the late improvers, climbing to eighth before being pushed back a slot to ninth for CIP Green Power, while Stefano Nepa, for Angeluss MTA Team, picked up the pace enough to score a top ten start.
Jaume Masia finished the session twelfth for Red Bull KTM Ajo. Joel kelso took 13th after coming through Q1 with the third best time, behind Suzuki and Yamanaka.
The rest of the Q2 grid placings were a mainly result of leaving the pits late for the group who exited together, but did not have a relatively safe banker lap like Suzuki and Foggia. David Munoz was not a part of that track pack but was 16th for BOE Motorsports
Andrea Migno was stuck down in 14th for Rivacold Snipers, Yamanaka 15th best for MT Helmets -MSI. Scott Ogden had found himself back in Q2 automatically after finishing FP3 14th but his release by the VisionTrack team with that gaggle of riders saw him 17th with John McPhee (Sterilgarda Husqvarna Max) last in the session and 1.7s off of the pole pace.
What Happened in Q1?
Fast final sectors at the back of the group saw Joel Kelso, who for much of the session was the only rider on track as the pitlane saw the rest of the riders wait for Suzuki to appear for a follow, and Andrea Migno pass both Ivan Ortola (Angeluss MTA Team) and Taiyo Furusato (Honda Team Asia). They will line up 19th and 20th respectively.
Lorenzo Fellon had his last run disrupted by a near miss with Suzuki so the SIC58 Aquadr Corse rider lines up 23rd, One place ahead of Carlos Tatay, who has seen a slump in qualifying form on the CFMOTO PruestelGP bike.
Joshua Whatley linked onto the back of a series of fast riders and improved to 14th in the session on the second VisionTrack entry, for 28th on the grid.
Injuries, Replacements and Penalties
Nicola Fabio Carraro (26th) continues his replacement ride, in at QJ Motor Avintia Racing Team until the end of the season as Matteo Bertelle continues his recovery from the surgery he underwent in the summer break.
As of qualifying, no further penalties were announced, with just Sasaki currently needing to visit the long lap loop in the race.
