The Red Bull KTM Ajo rider was on the pace on Saturday and tomorrow he will start from the ninth row of the grid, after suffering a crash in Q1.

Can Öncü once again demonstrated his liking for Valencia’s Ricardo Tormo Circuit, as he rode at a strong pace in both FP3 and Q1. Unfortunately, the Red Bull KTM Ajo rookie crashed in both sessions, which prevented him from taking full advantage of his good work with his crew. Finally, the 16-year-old will start the last Grand Prix of 2019 in Valencia from the ninth row on the grid.

In FP3, Öncü improved his feeling on the bike compared to yesterday and, from the start of the session, he lapped in the Top 5. The young Turkish rider led the timesheets at several points and, in the second half of the practice, he improved on his best Friday time with a 1:40.220. Despite a crash with one minute to go, Can still managed to finish in a positive 10th place.

The Red Bull KTM Ajo rookie went into Q1 and was looking strong in the early part of the session. However, another crash at turn 14 during the first half of the qualifying hindered his progress, though he returned to the track thanks to the quick response of his team. Öncü was able to put in a fast lap, stopping the clock at 1:40.610 to end 13th. Tomorrow he will start 27th, on the ninth row of the grid.

The last race of the 2019 Moto3 World Championship will start tomorrow at 11 am local time, and will be contested over a total of 23 laps.

Results (Qualifying session)
1. Andrea Migno (KTM) 1:38.683
2. Marcos Ramirez (Honda) 1:38.957 +0.274
3. Jaume Masia (KTM) 1:39.107 +0.424
4. Aron Canet (KTM) 1:39.140 +0.457
5. Sergio Garcia (Honda) 1:39.141 +0.458
27. Can Öncü (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 1:40.610 (Q1 time)

63 CAN ÖNCÜ

“I felt good even though we crashed. It was a tough session, as we weren’t able to find the right path in terms of tuning the bike set-up. However, we have a good pace for the race and we are ready. I’m looking forward to tomorrow, we will do our best. I hope to enjoy the last contest of the season.”