Submitted by Mike Lewis on
Jaume Masia took the first pole position of his young career with a 1'48.775 in the second Moto3 qualifying practice Saturday at the Termas de Rio Hondo circuit in Argentina. The Spanish teenager set the top time well before the session's end, withstanding a late charge from second-place Aron Canet.
Canet, for his part, managed a second spot on the front row after fighting through the first qualifying session. Under the new format, the top four riders from Q1 advance to Q2. Tony Arbolino -- 16th in the Qatar race -- seized the final spot on the front row. Lorenzo Dalla Porta leads the second row, followed by Niccolo Antonelli (5th) and Andrea Migno in the final spot on the second row.
Nearly five-tenths back is Romano Fenati who has returned to Moto3 after a troubled Moto2 season last year. Kaito Toba, winner of the season's first race in Qatar ended Q2 in the middle of the third row closely followed by Ayumu Sasaki. Raul Fernandez completed the top 10.
The top 15 riders are separated by less than a second.
QUALIFYING 2
| Pos. | Num. | Rider | Bike | Time | Gap 1st | Prev. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| POLE | 5 | Jaume MASIA | KTM | 1'48.775 | ||
| 2 | 44 | Aron CANET | KTM | 1'49.094 | 0.319 | 0.319 |
| 3 | 14 | Tony ARBOLINO | Honda | 1'49.122 | 0.347 | 0.028 |
| 4 | 48 | Lorenzo DALLA PORTA | Honda | 1'49.128 | 0.353 | 0.006 |
| 5 | 23 | Niccolò ANTONELLI | Honda | 1'49.160 | 0.385 | 0.032 |
| 6 | 16 | Andrea MIGNO | KTM | 1'49.226 | 0.451 | 0.066 |
| 7 | 55 | Romano FENATI | Honda | 1'49.255 | 0.480 | 0.029 |
| 8 | 27 | Kaito TOBA | Honda | 1'49.301 | 0.526 | 0.046 |
| 9 | 71 | Ayumu SASAKI | Honda | 1'49.309 | 0.534 | 0.008 |
| 10 | 25 | Raul FERNANDEZ | KTM | 1'49.327 | 0.552 | 0.018 |
| 11 | 17 | John MCPHEE | Honda | 1'49.459 | 0.684 | 0.132 |
| 12 | 42 | Marcos RAMIREZ | Honda | 1'49.473 | 0.698 | 0.014 |
| 13 | 19 | Gabriel RODRIGO | Honda | 1'49.550 | 0.775 | 0.077 |
| 14 | 24 | Tatsuki SUZUKI | Honda | 1'49.622 | 0.847 | 0.072 |
| 15 | 79 | Ai OGURA | Honda | 1'49.746 | 0.971 | 0.124 |
| 16 | 84 | Jakub KORNFEIL | KTM | 1'49.974 | 1.199 | 0.228 |
| 17 | 21 | Alonso LOPEZ | Honda | 1'49.975 | 1.200 | 0.001 |
| 18 | 77 | Vicente PEREZ | KTM | 1'50.340 | 1.565 | 0.365 |
QUALIFYING 1
| Pos. | Num. | Rider | Bike | Time | Gap 1st | Prev. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Q2 | 16 | Andrea MIGNO | KTM | 1'49.496 | ||
| Q2 | 44 | Aron CANET | KTM | 1'49.611 | 0.115 | 0.115 |
| Q2 | 77 | Vicente PEREZ | KTM | 1'49.764 | 0.268 | 0.153 |
| Q2 | 84 | Jakub KORNFEIL | KTM | 1'49.832 | 0.336 | 0.068 |
| 19 | 22 | Kazuki MASAKI | KTM | 1'49.868 | 0.372 | 0.036 |
| 20 | 40 | Darryn BINDER | KTM | 1'50.013 | 0.517 | 0.145 |
| 21 | 13 | Celestino VIETTI | KTM | 1'50.015 | 0.519 | 0.002 |
| 22 | 7 | Dennis FOGGIA | KTM | 1'50.119 | 0.623 | 0.104 |
| 23 | 61 | Can ONCU | KTM | 1'50.234 | 0.738 | 0.115 |
| 24 | 12 | Filip SALAC | KTM | 1'50.235 | 0.739 | 0.001 |
| 25 | 81 | Aleix VIU | KTM | 1'50.239 | 0.743 | 0.004 |
| 26 | 54 | Riccardo ROSSI | Honda | 1'50.314 | 0.818 | 0.075 |
| 27 | 69 | Tom BOOTH-AMOS | KTM | 1'50.943 | 1.447 | 0.629 |
| 28 | 11 | Sergio GARCIA | Honda | 1'51.210 | 1.714 | 0.267 |
| 29 | 76 | Makar YURCHENKO | KTM | 1'51.564 | 2.068 | 0.354 |
