Moto3 Doha QP: Jaume Masia takes pole position

Jaume Masia takes his first pole position of the year.

Moto3 championship leader Jaume Masia takes his first pole position of the year in Doha as the lap times slow down dramatically, unfortunately today in Moto3 we didn’t get to see the lap record take another beating as it did last weekend curtsey of Darryn Binder. Despite this Masia was able to take pole position at the same circuit he won at last weekend, he is looking unbelievably strong in the Red Bull KTM Ajo team after switching from the Leopard Honda back to the KTM he had previous success on.

Also on the front row with him is Sergio Garcia, Garcia qualified in second place but will start the race from pit lane following a penalty for irresponsible riding in the FP2 session yesterday with Jeremy Alcoba joining him on the front row of the grid in P3 overall ahead of his teammate Gabriel Rodrigo. Alcoba is once again impressing in Moto3 with his rookie season under his belt, sadly for Alcoba he has been unable to prove his pace so far after being skittled out of the race last weekend but with a front-row start tomorrow he is in a good place to battle for the win.

Heading the second row is Gabriel Rodrigo who desperately is looking to take his second ever podium in the class after several seasons in Moto3, it is looking like a last chance saloon for him this year if he cannot improve and make a step into Moto2, he is joined by Tatsuki Suzuki and Andrea Migno on the second row, Migno had an impressive session after coming through Q2 to take P6 overall, he is in a similar situation to Rodrigo and really does need to impress to get out of the Moto3 class.

Row 3 we see the Petronas Moto3 duo of Darryn Binder and John McPhee with Binder leading the two, Binder was able to take his first Honda podium in the class last weekend in his Honda debut and is in a really good place for a title fight with McPhee also on the row with him, joining the duo is rookie Pedro Acosta who is another rider forced to start from pit lane tomorrow.

Rookie Izan Guevara was the 10th fastest rider being joined by Jason Dupasquier on the same row, Swiss rider Dupasquier was able to take his first points in the class last weekend and is raising many eyebrows with his speed.

Further down the order, it was a tough session for Leopard rider Dennis Foggia in P18, many expected him to be fighting for the title this year but it seems the rider Leopard let go (Masia) is the man they should’ve kept alongside new arrival Artigas who qualified in P16.

Q2 Results:

Q1 Results:

Featured image – Red Bull KTM Ajo