Moto3 Australia Qualifying: wind, rain, oil, crashes and Ramírez!

A Dalla Porta in the game and ready to win his first World Champion title, but a Canet determined to thwart his plans like an Arbolino who showed his good form this morning are the three drivers who assert themselves in this Australian Grand Prix, seventeenth round of the calendar. But outsiders can also reveal themselves in complicated conditions on a Phillip Island track toy with the elements. So who will be the hero of this Saturday in the category?

Before answering this question, here is the table of available references:

Phillip Island Moto3™	2018	2019
FP1	1'38.841 Jorge Martin	1'48.024 Tony Arbolino
FP2	1'37.285 Arón Canet	1'36.809 Arón Canet
FP3	1'46.898 Fabio Di Giannantonio	1'38.492 Tony Arbolino
Q1	XXX
Q2	1'36.591 Jorge Martin
Warm-up	1'36.948 Gabriel Rodrigo
Course	Arenas, Di Giannantonio, Vietti
All time lap record	1'36.050 Alex Márquez (2014)

13° in the air and 17° on the dry, windswept track are offered to Moto3 riders who compete in their qualifications in two stages as is now tradition. A 1-minute Q15 then a final quarter of an hour in the form of a decisive Q2 for the acquisition of pole position. For the repechages, the distinguished guests are Masia, Arbolino, or Fernandez. Four drivers will go out to go to the final.

But when the track opens, the downpour falls. Despite everything, the peloton tries on slick… Fernandez is the first in line. And he crashes at turn 4… And in the same turn, seven drivers get into it. The red flag is out. The slick bet was missed! Among the victims, Arbolino. But he leaves again. The red flag, the fault of the rain? Nay! It's the guest Yanni Shaw who spilled oil from his broken engine on the bend... Since it's oil, the interruption is likely to last a while...

The absorbent placed on the bitumen is pushed by the wind while the heavy downpour arrives... And here is the hero of the moment...

The commissioners are busy while the storm rages. This time the weather forecast is verified.

After more than ten minutes of work, the exercise resumes on a track wet with oil…

López fall at turn 5… Darryn Binder at turn 2… And the track begins to dry!

Booth-Amos, Garcia, Masito and Cornfeel lead the dance. The reference is 1'50.934. The CIP driver improves to 1'48.859. He loves these delicate conditions. Garcia follows as Fernandez et Sasaki who pushes Masia out of Q2. Booth-Amos drives the point home at every turn. here he is in 1'47.559. But Arbolino reacts in 1'47.318.

Under the checkered flag, it's Can Öncü which slams a 1'44.878 in front Arbolino, Masia et Booth-Amos. Cornfeel is the first to fail. Masaki, Garcia et Fernandez also missing the boat… And the sun comes back!

Starting in the deluge, Q1 ended under the sun so that parts of the Phillip Island track dried up. For Q2, slick tires are expected… Nepa is in this final and he will have to give up 12 places at the end of these qualifications to serve a penalty imposed by the officials.

The rain sets in again as the drivers take to the slick…

fenati signs a 1'44.270 ahead Arenas, Ramirez, McPhee et Tuff. The rain is here but the pilots insist. Arbolino clocked a 1'40.624 while Can Öncü fall at the famous turn 4.

Despite the dire conditions, the peloton did not let up on the pressure. Arenas did a 1'40.348 in front Ramírez, Arbolino, Toba and the championship leader Dallas Port. The last five minutes have begun. A moment celebrated by Canet with a 1'39.830.

Arbolino experiencing a technical problem at the worst possible time. We are predicting a fuel shortage... Ramirezis in the lead in 1'39.235 ahead Migno, Canet et Dallas Port. Antonelli fall at turn 1. Masia at turn 8.

Under the checkered flag it is Ramirez in 1'38.976 which snatches the piece in front Canet et Arenas. McPhee, Toba et Dalla Porta follow. fenati is eighth, Arbolino only 13th.

Moto3 Australia Qualifying: times

1	42	Marcos RAMÍREZ	Honda	1'38.976
2	44	Arón CANET	KTM	1'39.160	0.184	0.184
3	75	Albert Arenas	KTM	1'39.244	0.268	0.084
4	17	John MCPHEE	Honda	1'39.310	0.334	0.066
5	27	Kaito TOBA	Honda	1'39.493	0.517	0.183
6	48	Lorenzo FROM THE DOOR	Honda	1'39.683	0.707	0.190
7	16	Andrea MIGNO	KTM	1'39.715	0.739	0.032
8	55	Roman FENATI	Honda	1'39.818	0.842	0.103
9	13	Celestino VIETTI	KTM	1'40.061	1.085	0.243
10	7	Dennis FOGGIA	KTM	1'40.150	1.174	0.089
11	19	Gabriel RODRIGO	Honda	1'40.189	1.213	0.039
12	24	Tatsuki SUZUKI	Honda	1'40.396	1.420	0.207
13	14	Tony ARBOLINO	Honda	1'40.417	1.441	0.021
14	69	Tom BOOTH-AMOS	KTM	1'40.656	1.680	0.239
15	5	Jaume MASIÁ	KTM	1'40.844	1.868	0.188
16	61	Can ÖNCÜ	KTM	1'41.441	2.465	0.597
17	82	Stefano NEPA	KTM	1'42.428	3.452	0.987
18	23	Niccolo ANTONELLI	Honda	1'47.318	8.342	4.890
		Q1 Results:
Q2	61	Can ÖNCÜ	KTM	1'44.878
Q2	14	Tony ARBOLINO	Honda	1'44.996	0.118	0.118
Q2	5	Jaume MASIÁ	KTM	1'45.268	0.390	0.272
Q2	69	Tom BOOTH-AMOS	KTM	1'46.242	1.364	0.974
19	84	Jakub KORNFEIL	KTM	1'46.284	1.406	0.042
20	22	Kazuki MASAKI	KTM	1'47.006	2.128	0.722
21	11	Sergio GARCIA	Honda	1'47.551	2.673	0.545
22	12	Philip SALAC	KTM	1'48.089	3.211	0.538
23	25	Raul FERNÁNDEZ	KTM	1'48.442	3.564	0.353
24	71	Ayumu SASAKI	Honda	1'48.483	3.605	0.041
25	79	To OGURA	Honda	1'48.484	3.606	0.001
26	76	Makar YURCHENKO	KTM	1'48.531	3.653	0.047
27	54	Riccardo ROSSI	Honda	1'49.097	4.219	0.566
28	15	Rogan CHANDLER	Kalex KTM	1'55.110	10.232	6.013
	9	Yanni SHAW	Kalex KTM
	21	Alonso LÓPEZ	Honda
	40	Darryn BINDER	KTM