The Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto3 rider will start from the front of the grid for the third time this year, with teammate Kaito Toba in 7th place.

The Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto3 team and Raul Fernandez have been showing great consistency in practice sessions this year and they earned pole position at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix this Saturday afternoon. The Spaniard has gone directly into Q2 at every race so far in 2020 and has been on pole three times. Teammate Kaito Toba enjoyed his best Saturday to date this season and, after making it through Q1, he will take off from the third row at Misano, in 7th place.

Despite feeling discomfort after a crash on Friday, Raul Fernandez was still able to lower his best time by three tenths in FP3. The Spaniard stopped the clock at 1:41.692 to place fourth, claiming a spot in Q2. The Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto3 rider completed 15 laps of the Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli in the session, as did Kaito Toba. The Japanese also rode faster than he had been yesterday, setting a 1:42.062. Toba finished the morning in 15th position, improving his feeling on-board his KTM bike.

In Q2, Fernandez continued his scintillating qualifying form, setting a 1:41.705 that went unmatched for pole position at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix. It is his third pole of the season and of his World Championship career. Kaito Toba made his way out of Q1, going on to take seventh in Q2 with his personal best this weekend: 1:41.963. The lap handed him his highest grid spot of 2020.

The Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto3 duo will end their two weeks of intense work at Misano tomorrow, with the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix race. The 23-lap contest will get underway at 11 am local time.

Results – Qualifying day
1. Raul Fernandez (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 1:41.705
2. Tony Arbolino (Honda) 1:41.793 +0.088
3. Andrea Migno (KTM) 1:41.797 +0.092
4. Albert Arenas (KTM) 1:41.851 +0.146
5. Celestino Vietti (KTM) 1:41.873 +0.168
7. Kaito Toba (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 1:41.963 +0.258

25 RAUL FERNANDEZ

“I am very happy to have achieved pole position today. In the morning I didn’t feel quite right about the setup of the bike and, in addition, I had some discomfort after the crash yesterday that prevented me from riding comfortably. Thanks to the work by the team, we were able to improve in the qualifying session and get the pole position. I feel satisfied, since I put in my fastest time riding alone. Tomorrow we will try to make the most of this place and do our best to get a good result in the race.”

27 KAITO TOBA

“That was our best qualifying so far this year. I felt very good on the bike and that was reflected in the results. Tomorrow I will try to stay calm – as I always do – and enjoy another race. The objective is to finish the contest and continue getting experience and kilometres under our belt, to allow us to be up at the front soon.”