Jack Miller was simply in a class of his own in qualifying for the Spanish Grand Prix, claiming his third consecutive pole position at Jerez. The Australians was a full six tenths clear of his nearest challenger on a scorching afternoon with Niccolo Antonelli taking second in a repeat of his impressive pre-season testing form here.
Miller kept a low profile early in the session as Isaac Vinales made the running for the Calvo squad but with seven minutes to go, the Spaniard’s 1:46.867 was put into perspective. Miller, who had previously been lying third, made a phenomenal jump forward to set a 1:46.287 and leave his rivals in no doubt what a fast time on Moto3 machinery was. As if his advantage wasn’t great enough, Jack improved again on his very next lap to a 1:46.173 and pole position was effectively his with five minutes of the session still to go.
Antonelli jumped up to second soon afterwards while Alex Rins matched Isaac Vinales’ third fastest time with the Estrella Galicia rider’s consistency in the low 1:47s making the difference as his next fastest lap was quicker than Isaac’s. Alex Marquez will line up fifth ahead of Francesco Bagnaia who proved the faster of the Sky Racing VR46 riders despite crashing late on.
Efren Vazquez was one of the afternoon’s main underperformers in seventh, his afternoon being compromised after a lap time was cancelled for exceeding track limits, and the Saxoprint-RTG rider will have teammate John McPhee for company on row three with Niklas Ajo between them. Argentina winner Romano Fenati will also count himself disappointed after qualifying tenth while Britain’s Danny Kent must come through from thirteenth if he is to threaten the podium tomorrow. Points remain a strong possibility and Spanish wildcard Maria Herrera will also have her eyes on a points finish after finishing a fine sixteenth today.
