Enea Bastianini claimed his first pole position of the 2018 season in Barcelona after a chaotic qualifying session. The Italian set his quickest time in the very early stages while qualifying specialist Jorge Martin was forced to settle for second after a crash disrupted his session.
Moto3 qualifying sessions usually start quietly before culminating in a mad scramble for lap times in the dying seconds but on this occasion, the drama came early on as two title contenders hit trouble. Fabio Di Giannantonio was the first to encounter difficulty, losing control at turn four without even registering a lap time, while Martin suffered a spill of his own at turn ten shortly afterwards, wiping out Albert Arenas in the process.
Bastianini was largely untroubled and his 1:48.806 in the opening ten minutes proved enough for pole while Martin secured second after his Honda proved largely undamaged in his accident. Tatsuki Suzuki took his second consecutive front row start in third ahead of compatriot Ayumu Sasaki while Aron Canet took fifth spot as he looks to revive his fading title challenge.
Kaito Toba starts sixth ahead of John McPhee and Gabriel Rodrigo on the leading KTMs while championship leader Marco Bezzecchi will have to come through from ninth on the grid. Di Giannantonio has even more work to do tomorrow but the no.21 limited the damage after a late run dragged him up to thirteenth.
Moto3 Gran Premi Monster de Catalunya: (Qualifying)
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