The Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto3 rider finished sixth in Q1 and will start tomorrow’s race from the seventh row of the grid.

After a positive opening day at the Catalan Grand Prix, today Can Öncü continued his progress, lowering his lap times from Friday. The Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto3 rider finished sixth in Q1 and he will start 20th on the grid in Sunday’s race.

With the sun shining brightly from early in the morning, Can Öncü tackled FP3 with the aim of keeping his good feeling from Friday going. The young Turk was riding in the top 10 in the first half of the session, looking to go directly into Q2. In a final fast lap, the Red Bull KTM Ajo rookie registered a 1:49.392, improving on his best effort from yesterday by two tenths, thus finishing the session 22nd.

Can Öncü therefore went into Q1 and was looking competitive in that session, initially lapping amongst the Q2 positions. Ultimately, though, the young Turkish talent finished the session in sixth – 1:49.660 -, just 0.2s off the cut, meaning he will start tomorrow’s race from the seventh row of the grid – in 20th place.

The Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto3 team is now ready for the start of Sunday’s 21-lap Moto3 Catalan Grand Prix, which commences tomorrow at 11 am local time.

Results (Qualifying session)
1. Gabriel Rodrigo (Honda) 1:48.450
2. Ai Ogura (Honda) 1:48.471 +0.021
3. Tony Arbolino (Honda) 1:48.764 +0.314
4. Tatsuki Suzuki (Honda) 1:48.782 +0.332
5. Aron Canet (KTM) 1:498.796 +0.346
20. Can Öncü (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 1:49.660 (Q1 time)

61 CAN ÖNCÜ

“The day went pretty well, we took a big step forward in qualifying compared to other races, so we are happy. We had the pace to be in Q2, but finally we missed the cut by a small margin. Tomorrow we will start from 20th place, yet I am sure that, if we begin the race smartly and don’t make any mistakes in the first few laps, we can move ahead. I’m hoping for a thrilling, exciting race. I know we can do well.”