Red Bull KTM Ajo rider takes third consecutive Moto3 pole position with a time 0.6 seconds faster than his nearest rival. Karel Hanika will set off from row ten after mechanical problems.

After pole positions at Austin and Termas de Río Hondo, Jack Miller added Jerez to his list of pole positions in the Moto3 World Championship with a sterling qualifying performance this Saturday. The Red Bull KTM Ajo rider took the top spot with a 1:46.173 time, more than half a second faster than his nearest rival. Teammate Karel Hanika was only able to make use of half of the session, and thus qualified 29th for tomorrow’s Spanish Grand Prix.

The Red Bull KTM Ajo riders enjoyed 40 minutes of practice in the morning, in which they adjusted their setups for the Spanish GP. The results were very positive, with big improvements from Friday. Jack Miller placed second and was 1 second faster than his previous best, whilst Karel Hanika shaved almost 2 seconds off his Friday time to occupy seventeenth.

Miller dealt the killer blow in qualifying with a spectacular run of laps, putting new tyres on his KTM and setting a series of three 1:46 laps in a row by himself. He set a new circuit fastest lap of 1:46.173 in the process, putting him 0.615s faster than anyone else on track. Hanika was not so fortunate, as just before the halfway point in the session he experienced a mechanical issue and was left unable to go back out for further laps. He eventually placed 29th, with a time of 1:48.365.

This is the third consecutive pole position for Jack Miller, from the opening four races of the season. He has also taken three podiums to date -a tally that he will look to increase when the Spanish GP starts tomorrow at 11am.

Results – Qualifying practice
1. Jack Miller (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 1:46.173
2. Niccolo Antonelli (KTM) 1:46.788 +0.615
3. Alex Rins (Honda) 1:46.867 +0.694
4. Isaac Viñales (KTM) 1:46.867 +0.694
5. Alex Marquez (Honda) 1:46.884 +0.711
29. Karel Hanika (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 1:48.365 +2.192

Jack Miller >> Audio (only for radio use)

“Today we improved a lot in the final practice session compared to yesterday, and we did even better in qualifying. I am very happy to have taken a third pole position. I felt very comfortable on the KTM, setting times more or less the same as in the preseason tests here but in completely different conditions.

Tomorrow the conditions will be different again; I’m sure that it will be hotter and more slippery, but we will treat it like any other race. I am very confident and feel prepared, and have belief in the bike and the tyre response. We hope to have a good day.”

Karel Hanika >> Audio (only for radio use)

“Today’s qualifying didn’t go as we had wanted, due to a mechanical issue, but I am convinced that tomorrow we can have a good race and get into some good battles. In the final practice session I felt great, was comfortable when riding and set a good lap time. I know that I’m not starting from a great spot, but we still have room for improvement and I will try to get a good start, have some strong early laps and use them to get as high up the order as possible. Tomorrow is the important day, so we will see where we end up. I am confident at this circuit.”