MotoGP Austria: Rookie Holgado on Moto3 pole

Red Bull KTM Ajo’s Daniel Holgado claimed his maiden Moto3 pole position for the team’s home Austrian Grand Prix.

Sterilgarda Husqvarna’s Ayumu Sasaki staked his claim on the Red Bull Ring’s front row with a lap worthy of pole until the final seconds, the KTM rookie denying the Japanese rider by just one hundredth of a second with further home success for Tech3 as Deniz Öncü claimed third.

Qualifying for the lightweight class found Rivacold Snipers’ Andrea Migno and Leopard’s Tatsuki Suzuki heading the Q1 charge for the final four promotion places. Cloud cover intensifying as only CIP Green Power’s Joel Kelso and VisionTrack’s Josh Whatley ventured out on circuit in the opening five minutes.

Mind games continued across the session until the action finally ignited in the final five minutes as Suzuki took charge on 1’42.357 pace followed by MTA’s Ivan Ortola and Honda’s Taiyo Furusato.

Furusato improved next time around to top the standings from Migno as Adrian Fernandez slotted the Red Bull KMT Tech3 machine into fourth in front of the home fans. Suzuki returning to the fore with a 1’41.977 as MT Helmets’ Ryusei Yamanaka, Ortola and Furusato staked their claim on promotion.

A final flurry as the flag dropped found the top two safe while Kelso and Migno collected entry to Q2 in the dying seconds.

The fight for pole began with Leopard’s Dennis Foggia heading teammate Suzuki at the front on 1’41.6 pace as Sasaki circulated just 0.026s adrift in third. Rookie Diogo Moreira, Migno, Kaito Toba and Yamanaka sitting mid-pack with Izan Guevara, Ricardo Rossi and morning pace-setter Öncü rounding out the top ten.

Sasaki stormed to the top next time around with a 1’41.2 as Guevara improved to fourth while the Red Bulls of Jaume