Daniel Holgado rides to his first pole position of the season in Qatar – Jaume Masia only tenth on the grid – World Championship rival Ayumu Sasaki on row two
Daniel Holgado claimed his first pole position of the year in the penultimate Moto3 qualifying session of the season in Qatar. With a time of 2:04.742 minutes, the KTM rider narrowly beat his brand colleague Diogo Moreira into second place. Three thousandths lay between the two. Deniz Öncü, also a KTM rider, finished third
“That was an incredible qualifying session for me,” enthused pole setter Holgado and thanked his team-mate Filippo Farioli, who gave him the decisive slipstream on his fastest lap. “He was incredible today.”
“But the important day, namely the day of the race, is tomorrow,” Holgado knows and is confident: “All I can say is that I’m ready.”
The track action under floodlights was opened by the 14 riders who battled in Q1 for a late entry into the second qualifying session. KTM rider Farioli, Adrian Fernandez, Taiyo Furusato and Matteo Bertelle (all Honda) came out on top.
However, Farioli will have to start from the back of the grid anyway following a penalty on Friday’s practice session, regardless of his actual qualifying result. And further penalties could follow. Numerous drivers were seen waiting off the track in Q1. Race control announced an investigation
Waiting for a slipstream!
The FIM MotoGP Stewards are investigating late Q1 shenanigans ⚠️QatarGP pic. twitter.com/edLmRX6Fef
– MotoGP™ (@MotoGP) November 18, 2023
In Q2, there were no similar scenes. Bertelle used his experience from the first session and set the fastest time, but was soon edged out by Öncü, who was the first Moto3 rider to set a time under 2:05 minutes this weekend.
Holgado and Moreira also managed this in the final phase, pushing Öncü from the top spot. The top 3 were separated by just 0.152 seconds in the end
Remarkably, that’s @daniholgado96‘s first pole position of the season!
He is still in this title fight and he’s given himself the best possible chance at keeping his title dreams alive! QatarGP pic.twitter.com/e9EsqGZx2p
– MotoGP™ (@MotoGP) November 18, 2023
Current World Championship runner-up Ayumu Sasaki (Husqvarna) finished qualifying in fourth place, six positions ahead of title rival Jaume Masia (Honda), who was unable to finish higher than tenth after a late mistake in turn 5.
He finished behind Collin Veojer (Husqvarna/5th), Romano Fenati (Honda/6th), Joel Kelso (CFMoto/8th), Bertelle (8th) and Ivan Ortola (KTM/9th). Farioli qualified eleventh, but will start from the back as mentioned. Vicente Perez (KTM) inherits eleventh place, David Alonso (GasGas) advances to twelfth
