Marco Bezzecchi claimed his maiden Moto3 pole position after seeing off the brave challenge of Jorge Martin on a drying track in Austria. The championship leader shrugged off a crash midway through the session to take pole position, eight hundredths of a second quicker than Martin who is riding just seven days after surgery on a broken wrist.
With the heavy rain from Friday and Saturday morning having passed, the track conditions improved throughout the session, placing added importance on being on track in the dying seconds. John McPhee wouldn’t get that opportunity though after two crashes on wet tyres, leaving him last on the grid, while Bezzecchi was fortunate to re-join after tumbling at turn three.
With seven minutes remaining, Philipp Oettl was the first rider to gamble on slicks and instantly leapt to the top of the standings. The German continued to lower the benchmark time before being usurped by Bezzecchi once the Italian had switched to dry tyres himself. The big shock came from Martin though who, despite his obvious pain and discomfort, grabbed provisional pole with 20 seconds remaining on a 1:39.259.
The Gresini rider, who has already taken six pole positions this season, improved again with his final lap of the afternoon but hopes of a remarkable seventh pole had already been dashed by Bezzecchi whose 1:38.617 saw him narrowly pip his title rival. Le Mans winner Albert Arenas was another to strike late, taking third ahead of Aron Canet, while Tony Arbolino and Gabriel Rodrigo made up the second row.
Marcos Ramirez took seventh, relegating Oettl to eighth, while Enea Bastianini and Adam Norrodin rounded out the top ten.
Moto3 eyetime Motorrad Grand Prix von Osterreich: (Qualifying)
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