Deniz Öncü will start the British GP race from ninth, with Jose Antonio Rueda sixteenth.

Saturday at the British Grand Prix was wet for the Red Bull KTM Ajo riders, who contested their final Free Practice under heavy rain. Deniz Öncü will start from the third row of the grid, in ninth position, while Jose Antonio Rueda will be on the sixth row, in sixteenth.

The rain made an early appearance that left the track at Silverstone in a delicate state for Practice 3. Faced with the impossibility of improving their times from Friday, the Red Bull KTM Ajo duo used the session to get a better feeling in the wet. Öncü remained in the Top 10 and lowered his times lap after lap, and on his final attempt of eleven he earned the second best time with a 2:31.373. Rueda did not feel comfortable under these difficult conditions and searched for a good feeling throughout the session. He went on to improve his times during the runout, culminating in the 24th best time of 2:35.556 on his final lap.

Q2 was also held in the wet, albeit without rain falling on the track. Öncü produced a strong last lap with which he set the ninth fastest time of the session: a 2:26.185 that put him on the third row of the grid. Rueda tried to turn his situation around and was quicker than in the morning, and his improved feeling led to his best time of 2:27.258 on his sixth and final attack. He will start from sixteenth position, on the sixth row.

The 15-lap Moto3 race takes place on Sunday at 11:15 AM local time.

Results (Qualifying)
1. Jaume Masia (Honda) 2:25.072
2. Scott Ogden (Honda) 2:25.435 +0.363
3. Daniel Holgado (KTM) 2:25.607 +0.535
4. Riccardo Rossi (Honda) 2:25.676 +0.604
5. Joel Kelso (CFMOTO) 2:25.707 +0.635
9. Deniz Öncü (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 2:26.185 +1.113
16. Jose Antonio Rueda (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 2:27.258 +2.186

#53 DENIZ ÖNCÜ

We finished in ninth place today, but in Moto3 races the situation can change a lot. Today’s conditions were very tough and I couldn’t really get much feeling, so I tried to set a good last lap and qualify in the Top 10. The target was the front row, but I think that tomorrow we can be up at the front and fight in the group.

#99 JOSE ANTONIO RUEDA

I didn’t feel comfortable with the bike in Practice 3 and the conditions were quite difficult with the rain. We saw where we could improve, we made some changes and that allowed me to feel much more comfortable in the wet, which was something I hadn’t found until today. Although the grid position is not what I wanted, I’m happy because we are improving in the wet and I feel better all the time.