Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto3 riders go directly into Q2, qualifying well for tomorrow’s race at the Jerez-Angel Nieto Circuit.

The starting grid for the Spanish Grand Prix was set on Saturday, with the Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto3 team placing strongly. Both Raul Fernandez and Kaito Toba made it through to Q2 directly. The former was at the front in both FP3 and Q2, and will start from the second row of the grid, whilst the latter will be on row 5 – despite a small crash in FP3.

Fernandez was one of the fastest riders in FP3, including heading the timesheets at one point. The Spaniard made steady progress during the session and, on his 15th lap, clocked his personal best of the weekend – 1:45.862 – to finish third. Toba crashed at Turn 2 with 16 minutes remaining, hindering his attempts to lower his times. The Japanese rider fastest lap was a 1:46.502 and he ended 16th.

The Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto3 duo went straight into Q2. Raul Fernandez matched his times from FP3 and was one of the frontrunners for much of the session, eventually placing fourth with a 1:45.966. Kaito Toba earned 13th on the grid with his final attempt, a 1:46.554.

The 22-lap Moto3 Red Bull Grand Prix of Spain takes place on Sunday at 11 am local time.

Results (Qualifying sessions)
1. Tatsuki Suzuki (Honda) 1:45.465
2. Andrea Migno (KTM) 1:45.660 +0.195
3. John McPhee (Honda) 1:45.772 +0.307
4. Raul Fernandez (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 1:45.966 +0.501
5. Celestino Vietti (KTM) 1:46.076 +0.611
13. Kaito Toba (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 1:46.554 +1.089

25 RAUL FERNANDEZ

“I am happy with how things went today. Yesterday I couldn’t find a good feeling riding with a used tyre, due to the high temperatures. However, today that improved. This morning I also made a long run and felt comfortable.
A little luck is needed in qualifying, since we have very little time. In our case, we only had enough tyres to make a single attempt at a hot lap. Even so, I am satisfied with the results we took on Saturday.”

27 KAITO TOBA
“We didn’t have a bad qualifying, considering that this morning we suffered a crash after making a small mistake. Luckily, I went straight into Q2 thanks to my time from Friday. At the beginning of that session, it was difficult for us, but finally I managed to get a good lap in on my own. I am not entirely satisfied with today’s result, but we are going to work hard this afternoon to take that step forward that we are lacking for tomorrow’s race.”