The Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto3 rider qualifies third at Le Mans, with Holgado 14th.

The starting grid for the French Grand Prix was set at Le Mans this Saturday in qualifying, with the Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto3 riders continuing with their good feeling at the track and moving straight into Q2, after improving their Friday’s times in the FP3. Jaume Masia took third position and he’ll start tomorrow’s race from the first row, with Dani Holgado qualifying on the Row 5, in 14th place.

In the morning, the Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto3 duo took part in the third and final Free Practice session of the weekend. In it, both took a big step forward compared to Friday, lowering their lap times. Masia was very competitive and occupied the top positions from the start of FP3, even leading the way at times. He eventually finished in fifth position after stopping the clock at 1:42.113, on his 15th out of 18 attempts. Holgado was eighth in FP3 with a time of 1:42.178, having put in 17 laps.

In the afternoon, the pair went directly into Q2 thanks to their good work in practice. Masia took advantage of the opportunity and qualified in third position, after achieving his personal best of the weekend: a 1:41.778. With this result he earned a place on the front row of the grid. On the fifth row will be Holgado, who was 14th thanks to a 1:42.439 lap.

The Moto3 French Grand Prix race, scheduled for 22 laps, will take place on Sunday at 11 AM local time.

Results (Qualifying session)

1. Dennis Foggia (Honda) 1:41.621
2. Tatsuki Suzuki (Honda) 1:41.772 +0.151
3. Jaume Masia (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 1:41.778 +0.157
4. Diogo Moreira (KTM) 1:41.879 +0.258
5. Carlos Tatay (CFMoto) 1:41.961 +0.340
14. Dani Holgado (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 1:42.439 +0.818

#5 JAUME MASIA

“I’m happy with the way things went today. We took a big step forward in Q2, and we were able to qualify with a positive spot on the front row of the grid. I want to thank the team for their collaboration and effort. Tomorrow’s race is sure to be a fast one, but the important thing is that we are strong and that we are competitive at several parts of the circuit. We will give one hundred percent to fight for a good result.”

#96 DANI HOLGADO

“It has been a very good day for us, as we have taken a step forward in terms of our pace and lap times. We lacked a bit of explosiveness in the Q2, to qualify higher up the grid. Even so, we have done a great job, since we rode alone in the final part of the session and were able to be competitive all the same. I take away a positive feeling after how things went today. I want to thank the team because they have done a great job to get the bike ready. We are ready for tomorrow.”