The Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto3 duo will start the race from the fifth and eighth rows of the grid.

Qualifying for the Australian Grand Prix was held this Saturday at Phillip Island circuit, and the Red Bull KTM Ajo duo faced a difficult day. Jose Antonio Rueda will start the race fifteenth, whilst Xabi Zurutuza will do so from 22nd.

Practice 2 was once again held in the wet, compounded by the low temperatures and strong winds at Phillip Island. The Red Bull KTM Ajo riders worked to improve their times and secure a direct spot in Q2. Rueda took a big step forward and improved his times by up to 2 seconds, showing great consistency in difficult conditions. He achieved his best time on his last lap, a 1:46.494 that put him in eleventh place. Zurutuza also started the day with a good feeling, looking for a place among the Top 15. However, he suffered a heavy crash at Turn 4 after completing just 5 laps, leaving him with no chance of improving his times, and was forced to go through Q1.

The first qualifying session took place in dry conditions, and Zurutuza did not have the same feeling. After 8 laps, he was eighth with a time of 1:38.531, so will start the race from 22nd position. Rueda carried over his form and feeling in Q2, but saw his attempts curtailed by the intense activity on the track and strong gusts of wind, which did not allow him to turn his good work into complete laps. He was only able to finish fifteenth, with a time of 1:37.293.

The 21-lap Moto3 Australian Grand Prix takes place on Sunday at 11:00 am, local time.

Results Qualifying
1. Ivan Ortola (KTM) 1:35.872
2. Collin Veijer (Husqvarna) 1:35.996 +0.124
3. Adrian Fernandez (Honda) 1:36.023 +0.151
4. David Muñoz (KTM) 1:36.201 +0.329
5. Scott Ogden (Honda) 1:36.275 +0.403
15. Jose Antonio Rueda (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 1:37.293 +1.421
22. Xabi Zurutuza (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 1:38.531 +1.843 *Q1 Time

#99 JOSE ANTONIO RUEDA
“Today we took a good step forward in the wet, despite the wind, and went straight into Q2. I’m very happy about that, because these are the conditions that are most difficult for me. The result in Q2 does not reflect the work and the feeling we had; I felt very comfortable on the bike. However, I had to abort laps on several occasions because the rest of the riders were going slower. When I was on my best lap, a gust of wind prevented me from completely nailing it, and these are things that happen in these conditions, especially today. Tomorrow we will try to fight back from the start, because I feel very comfortable, it will be a very fast race and I think we can do very well. I feel very comfortable with the bike and with the team and that is what motivates me the most.”

#85 XABI ZURUTUZA
“Today was a pretty difficult day, because of the crash in Practice 2. The feeling was good in the wet, but at Turn 4 I had a high side and we had to go through Q1. It was the first dry session, and it was also very windy and cold, so we have to improve the feeling a lot because it wasn’t easy. This afternoon we will continue working to be able to improve tomorrow and get a good result in the race.”