Jorge Martin eased to his seventh pole position of the 2017 season despite crashing in another farcical finish to qualifying at Motorland Aragon. The Spaniard chose to ride alone on his final run as countless others searched for a slipstream but even though he suffered a crash on his last run, Martin had already done enough for pole position.
Qualifying has been dominated by the Gresini rider throughout 2017 and Jorge was the man to beat for much of the session, clocking a 1:59.125 on his first set of tyres. Championship leader Joan Mir was the first to break into the 1:58s, moving four tenths clear of his compatriot but Martin struck the crucial blow with ten minutes remaining, improving to a 1:58.067.
The closing minutes bore a frustrating resemblance to several other Moto3 qualifying sessions earlier in the season as the circuit fell quiet, only for the entire field to emerge as one with less than three minutes remaining. Martin took an even riskier approach, hanging back so long that he only beat the chequered flag with one second to spare but the strategy looked to be paying off halfway around his hot lap.
With two sectors complete, Martin was two tenths under his own benchmark but the front end of the Gresini Honda washed away at turn twelve, ending his session. Fortunately for Jorge, a five-rider pile-up three corners ahead of him, triggered by Adam Norrodin’s highside, had delayed Joan Mir and preserved his pole position.
Enea Bastianini wasn’t delayed by the late mayhem and climbed to second, edging out his team-mate Aron Canet, while Sky VR46 duo Nicolo Bulega and Dennis Foggia, the latter in as a wildcard this weekend, secured fourth and fifth respectively ahead of Mir. John McPhee will start seventh ahead of Philipp Oettl and Tatsuki Suzuki while Marcos Ramirez rounds out the top ten, edging out Misano winner Romano Fenati.
Moto3 Gran Premio Movistar de Aragon: Qualifying
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