Subscribe

Sign up for free

  • Get quick access to your favorite articles

  • Manage alerts on breaking news and favorite drivers

  • Make your voice heard with article commenting.

Autosport Plus

Discover premium content
Subscribe

Alex Rins grabs Moto3 pole as drying Jerez leads to frantic finish

Alex Rins sealed pole position for Moto3's first race at Jerez, as a drying track led to a frantic late battle for top spot

Times tumbled throughout qualifying, but the existence of damp patches and moderate temperatures meant that slicks only became the clear choice in the final minutes.

For a long while it seemed Jack Miller would be destined for pole, the reigning German 125cc champion topping the timesheets for much of the session before becoming the first rider to dip into the 1m58s with two minutes of the session to run.

Those 120 seconds proved his undoing however, as a host of riders improved on their final tour, demoting Miller to sixth.

Sandro Cortese (Ajo) kicked off the chain, moving top only to be demoted immediately by the Monlau Suters of Miguel Oliviera and then Rins.

Rins, the reigning Spanish 125cc champion, still could not be assured of pole as Qatar winner Maverick Vinales (Avintia) and Cortese had a lap in hand, but neither was able to snatch top spot - Vinales abandoning his lap and Cortese slotting into second, just 0.012 seconds off Rins.

Oliviera completed the front row, while Alexis Masbou (Caretta Honda) edged Kornfeil and Miller for fourth.

Isaac Vinales (Ongetta) wound up seventh ahead of Arthur Sissus, who had gone fastest with five minutes to run.

Maverick Vinales meanwhile ended ninth, ahead of Romano Fenati - the pair repeating the order in which they finished in the season opener in Qatar.

Pos  Rider                Team/Bike                Time       Gap
 1.  Alex Rins            Monlau Honda             1m57.507s
 2.  Sandro Cortese       Ajo KTM                  1m57.519s  + 0.012s
 3.  Miguel Oliveira      Monlau Honda             1m57.975s  + 0.468s
 4.  Alexis Masbou        Caretta Honda            1m58.301s  + 0.794s
 5.  Jakub Kornfeil       Ongetta FTR-Honda        1m58.438s  + 0.931s
 6.  Jack Miller          Caretta Honda            1m58.793s  + 1.286s
 7.  Isaac Viñales        Ongetta FTR-Honda        1m58.911s  + 1.404s
 8.  Arthur Sissis        Ajo KTM                  1m59.023s  + 1.516s
 9.  Maverick Vinales     Avintia FTR-Honda        1m59.101s  + 1.594s
10.  Romano Fenati        Italia FMI FTR-Honda     1m59.155s  + 1.648s
11.  Efren Vazquez        Laglisse Honda           1m59.198s  + 1.691s
12.  Louis Rossi          Germany FTR-Honda        1m59.450s  + 1.943s
13.  Alex Marquez         Estrella Suter Honda     1m59.500s  + 1.993s
14.  Adrian Martin        Laglisse Honda           1m59.729s  + 2.222s
15.  Danny Kent           Ajo KTM                  1m59.859s  + 2.352s
16.  Hector Faubel        Aspar Kalex-KTM          1m59.925s  + 2.418s
17.  Niccolo Antonelli    Gresini Honda            2m00.009s  + 2.502s
18.  Josep Rodriguez      Wild Wolf FTR Honda      2m00.312s  + 2.805s
19.  Luis Salom           RW Kalex-KTM             2m00.391s  + 2.884s
20.  Alberto Moncayo      Aspar Kalex-KTM          2m01.153s  + 3.646s
21.  Danny Webb           Mahindra                 2m01.191s  + 3.684s
22.  Kenta Fujii          Technomag-CIP TSR-Honda  2m01.281s  + 3.774s
23.  Ivan Moreno          Laglisse FTR-Honda       2m01.319s  + 3.812s
24.  Alessandro Tonucci   Italia FMI FTR-Honda     2m01.364s  + 3.857s
25.  Marcel Schrotter     Mahindra                 2m01.450s  + 3.943s
26.  Brad Binder          RW Kalex-KTM             2m01.477s  + 3.970s
27.  Niklas Ajo           TT Motion KTM            2m01.702s  + 4.195s
28.  Zulfahmi Khairuddin  Ajo KTM                  2m01.752s  + 4.245s
29.  Jasper Iwema         FGR-Honda                2m02.499s  + 4.992s
30.  Toni Finsterbusch    MZ-Honda                 2m02.737s  + 5.230s
31.  Simone Giorgi        Amborgio Oral            2m03.041s  + 5.534s
32.  Luigi Morciano       Ioda                     2m03.055s  + 5.548s
33.  Giulian Pedone       Ambrogio Oral            2m03.123s  + 5.616s

Be part of the Autosport community

Join the conversation
Previous article Maverick Vinales beats new star Romano Fenati to win Moto3's inaugural race in Qatar
Next article Romano Fenati takes stunning wet Moto3 win at Jerez

Top Comments

There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?

Sign up for free

  • Get quick access to your favorite articles

  • Manage alerts on breaking news and favorite drivers

  • Make your voice heard with article commenting.

Autosport Plus

Discover premium content
Subscribe