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
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