Gabriel Rodrigo backed up his maiden Moto3 pole position at Brno by topping the timesheets once again in qualifying at the Red Bull Ring. The Argentine rider snatched pole position in a typically frantic finish to the session which saw traffic galore and a near-scuffle between Italian pair Romano Fenati and Fabio Di Giannantonio.
Having claimed his maiden victory here last season, dominant championship leader Joan Mir began the session as favourite, especially having topped FP3 earlier in the day. True to form, the Leopard rider returned to the pits after his first run in provisional pole position but while he regrouped, Red Bull KTM Ajo’s Bo Bendsneyder knocked two tenths off his benchmark.
The true fight for pole began with four minutes remaining as virtually the entire field poured out onto the track at once, recognising the need for a slipstream on a circuit featuring several long straights. In the case of Fenati though, the presence of Di Giannantonio proved more of a help than a hindrance with Romano seen furiously gesticulating at his compatriot after qualifying only eleventh.
Mir had followed Enea Bastianini to clock a 1:36.555 but Rodrigo was circulating close behind, enabling him to grab pole in the dying seconds on a 1:36.503. Juanfran Guevara claimed third to give the RBA team their second consecutive double-front row with Aron Canet qualifying fourth, just ahead of Bastianini and Britain’s John McPhee.
Bendsneyder failed to improve on his last run, slipping to seventh ahead of Andrea Migno and Philipp Oettl while Di Giannantonio held onto the last top ten spot, much to Fenati’s chagrin.
Moto3 NeroGiardini Motorrad Grand Prix von Osterreich: Qualifying
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