Teammate Jaume Masia will start from twelfth position on the grid

Dani Holgado will be on pole for the Austrian Grand Prix, qualifying in the top spot for the first time in his Moto3 World Championship career. Both he and teammate Jaume Masia went directly into Q2, with his fellow Red Bull KTM Ajo rider twelfth on the grid after a crash in the closing moments.

The pair took part in the third and final Free Practice session on Saturday morning, and worked together once again to improve on their lap times from Friday. Holgado would lead the way at one stage, but finished in ninth with a time of 1:41.823, achieved on his 9th lap of 18. Masia was also amongst the top riders in the early going, but with five minutes to go he crashed at the new chicane. He placed eleventh thanks to his 1:41.934. and joined his teammate in Q2.

In the definitive qualifying session, the teamwork continued between the Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto3 duo. Holgado pushed hard to set an almost perfect last lap, claiming his first pole in the Moto3 World Championship with a time of 1:41.234. Masia maintained a good pace and fought to get onto the front row of the grid, but suffered another crash in the final stretch of the session -this time at Turn 3. Remounting for one final lap, he eventually came in twelfth courtesy of a 1:41.800.

The 23-lap Moto3 Austrian Grand Prix race will take place on Sunday at 11:00 AM local time.

Results (Qualifying session)
1. Dani Holgado (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 1:41.234
2. Ayumu Sasaki (Husqvarna) 1:41.244 +0.010
3. Deniz Öncü (KTM) 1:41.379 +0.145
4. Ricardo Rossi (Honda) 1:41.506 +0.272
5. Dennis Foggia (Honda) 1:41.588 +0.354
12. Jaume Masia (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 1:41.800 +0.566

#5 JAUME MASIA

“I felt good throughout the day. We have been improving progressively and we have been in the top positions. However, I made a mistake in Q2 and I crashed. That hurt us in qualifying, even though the team were able to repair the bike quickly. Tomorrow we’ll go out there and do our best to get a good result.”

#96 DANI HOLGADO

“It’s my first pole, and it’s even more special because it is the team’s home Grand Prix. I’m very happy with my last lap, especially with the last sector. Tomorrow it will be important that we are starting on the front row, because with the new chicane everyone will want to overtake. Tomorrow we will try to win and enjoy ourselves in Austria.”