The British Red Bull Husqvarna Ajo rider will start from sixth position on row two of the grid for tomorrow’s race in Qatar; Niklas Ajo will start from row six in sixteenth position.

The qualifying session tonight at Losail Circuit in Qatar saw the Husqvarna riders determine their starting positions for the first race of the 2014 season. Danny Kent, who qualified sixth, will launch from the second row on his return to the Moto3 category, while Niklas Ajo, will start from the sixth row after setting the sixteenth fastest time.

The hard work that the Red Bull Husqvarna Ajo team did last night paid off for Danny Kent, who qualified in the top 10. The British rider set his fastest qualifying time during his last outing of the qualifying session with a 2:06.864.

Niklas Ajo also made progress yesterday, though did not succeed in climbing up the timesheet after mounting new tyres in the final outing of the qualifying heat. The Avant Tecno Husqvarna Ajo rider marked his best time of 2:07.564 in second outing of the qualifying session to place him sixteenth for the race start.

The first race of the year will kick off tomorrow at 19.00 local time Losail Circuit. Last year, Niklas Ajo achieved his best result at this track with a ninth place, while Danny Kent placed eighth at his last Moto3 class race in 2012.

Results – Qualifying Practice
1. Alex Rins (Honda) 2:05.973
2. Alex Marquez (Honda) 2:06.125 +0.152
3. Jack Miller (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 2:06.365 +0.392
4. Jakub Kornfeil (KTM) 2:06.515 +0.542
5. Isaac Viñales (KTM) 2:06.843 +0.870
6. Danny Kent (Red Bull Husqvarna Ajo) 2:06.864 +0.891
16. Niklas Ajo (Avant Tecno Husqvarna Ajo) 2:07.564 +1.591

Danny Kent – Red Bull Husqvarna Ajo – Audio
“We can be quite happy with this first qualifying session of the year and with the second row start. We made a step forward in terms of how the bike feels compared to yesterday, with the drawback that today the track conditions were not as good as yesterday. The sector times had been better. On the last lap I think I was going with the red helmet, but I made a mistake in the third sector. I feel good about tomorrow, I just need to get a good start and try to be ahead of the leaders in the early laps. Then we have to stay consistent with a good pace.”

Niklas Ajo – Avant Tecno Husqvanar Ajo – Audio
“It’s been quite a complicated weekend because we haven’t found the right setting yet and I think we’re a little lost with the riding style. However, we have a little more confidence after this qualifying session and we are a little closer to the front. There isn’t much difference between the front and those who are behind the top five. Still, we have a lot work to do to find the right set-up for the bike and also find a correct riding style to suit this track. This circuit is the fastest on the calendar and we have to adapt, so we still have work to do. We’ll see how it goes tomorrow.”

*Audio solely for radio use