Jose Antonio Rueda sets the 16th fastest time, with Xabi Zurutuza in 21st place.

After having a good feeling at the start of the weekend, the Red Bull KTM Ajo duo were involved in tight Moto3 qualifying sessions on Saturday. Jose Antonio Rueda will start from 16th position on the grid, while Xabi Zurutuza sets the 21st best time.

Positive track conditions in Practice 2 allowed the pair to continue to make progress, despite the high temperatures and humidity. Rueda had to fight harder compared to Friday to put in a fast lap, although his feeling improved. He remained in the Q2 places and tried to secure a spot as far up timesheets as possible, completing a total of 13 laps. His best time came on the last attempt, with a 1:41.014 that put him twelfth. Zurutuza also fought to improve his times at the Chang International Circuit. The Moto3 rookie enjoyed a productive Practice 2, where he was just thousandths away from lowering his marker. After a pit stop, he tried to clinch a spot in Q2, although his 1:42.037 on his fifth lap of 15 placed him 25th.

In Q1, Zurutuza gave his all, although a small mistake prevented him from climbing positions when he was improving his times and had a chance of getting into the Top4. Finally, he was seventh with a time of 1:41.622, and will start the race from the seventh row, in 21st. In Q2, Rueda rode alone initially, although the wind present throughout the day made riding difficult. He fought to maintain a good pace and set a perfect lap that would allow him to place near the front. In the closing minutes he pushed hard, although his 1:41.713 only allowed him to get 16th.

The Moto3 Thai Grand Prix takes place at 12:00 pm, local time, on Sunday.

Results Qualifying
1. Joel Kelso (KTM) 1:40.603
2. Collin Veijer (Husqvarna) 1:40.676 +0.073
3. Angel Piqueras (Honda) 1:40.727 +0.124
4. Taiyo Furusato (Honda) 1:40.865 +0.262
5. David Alonso (CFMOTO) 1:40.959 +0.356
16. Jose Antonio Rueda (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 1:41.713 +1.110
21. Xabi Zurutuza (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 1:41.622 +0.381 *Q1 Time

#99 JOSE ANTONIO RUEDA

“Today we were able to improve a little on the problems we had yesterday, so I am happy with that. This morning in Practice 2 we were unable to set a good lap and in Q2 we had a hard time getting what we needed. The wind made things difficult for us and I found it tough to run a good pace while riding alone. We need to work on certain points so that tomorrow we can have a good race.”

#85 XABI ZURUTUZA

“We have finished the second day here in Thailand. It was a day with ups and downs, but we will take away the positive, and that is that we finished Q1 with a very good feeling. We were very close to making it into Q2, especially because of a mistake I made at Turn 5. But we are looking forward to tomorrow’s race. This is a circuit that I really like, so I think we can do well.”