Moto3 Austria 2 Qualifying: Gabriel Rodrigo wins a turbulent qualifying

A sunny Saturday morning in Styria offered another chance for the Moto3 class to fine-tune their race setup and shift the standings to move straight into Q2. The disappointment of the day certainly goes to Tony Arbolino (Honda, Rivacold Snipers Team) who briefly dominated FP3 at the end of the session and took the lead in the combined standings, with a new track record of 1'35.767, before seeing his round canceled just after the checkerboard. However, he saved the furniture by placing eighth and thus qualifying for Q2.

After two thirds of the session where the drivers did not really change the combined ranking, the hunt for the time began in the last 15 minutes, the drivers fighting to secure their place in Q2. The moment the checkered flag was waved, Tony Arbolino (Honda, Rivacold Snipers Team) had improved his own lap record around the Red Bull Ring to become the fastest man of the weekend, two tenths faster than the benchmark of Celestine Vietti (KTM, Sky Racing Team VR46), Friday. However, the Snipers driver was stripped of this feat shortly after the session ended, when his time was canceled and Sergio Garcia (Honda, Estrella Galicia 0,0) made the headlines on the timesheets. This is becoming a habit in Moto3…

Raul Fernandez (KTM, Red Bull KTM Ajo) moved up to second place, just seven hundredths of a second behind Garcia and with Drive third in the session but still fastest overall. Ai Ogura (Honda, Honda Team Asia) was one of the few debutants to improve and moved up to fourth, the championship leader Albert Arenas (KTM, Aspar Team Gaviota) completing the top five. John mcphee (Honda, Petronas Sprinta Racing) remained close to sixth place, only a tenth and a half less than the best driver and just ahead gabriel rodrigo (Honda, Kömmerling Gresini Moto3). Arbolino demoted to eighth place, these are Filip Salac (Honda, Rivacold Snipers Team) and Jeremy Alcove (Honda, Kömmerling Gresini Moto3) which complete the top ten.

The remaining tickets for direct access to Q2 have been given to Stefano Nepa, Kaito Toba, Dennis Foggia and Tatsuki Suzuki. Suzuki only finished 15th in the session, but his time on Friday was good enough to secure him a place in Q2. This leaves Andrea Migno, Deniz Oncu, Jaume Masia or even Darryn binder fight in Q1…

 

Moto3™ Red Bull Ring 2	16/08/20	23/08/20
FP1	1'36.550 Tony Arbolino	1'35.997 Celestino Vietti
FP2	1'37.060 Johan McPhee	1'36.398 Tatsuki Suzuki
FP3	1'42.775 Celestino Vietti	1'36.055 Sergio Garcia
Q1	1'37.032 Ricardo Rossi	1'36.921 Jaume Masia
Q2	1'36.277 Raúl Fernández	1'36.470 Gabriel Rodrigo
Warm-up	1'36.483 Celestino Vietti
Course	Arenas, Masia, McPhee
All time lap record	1'35.778 Tony Arbolino 2019

 

At the start of Q1, the air temperature was 31°C and the track temperature was 51°C. For the moment, despite a few clouds, this summer weather is a far cry from the rain and storms forecast for the afternoon, which could add even more suspense to these qualifications.

The drivers immediately returned to the track to seize this final chance to advance to Q2, during the 15 minutes of Q1. Only 4 of the 16 drivers participating in this Q1 will qualify for Q2, which will take place immediately afterwards.

False start for the Belgian driver Barry Baltus (KTM, PruestlGP), victim of a technical problem even before leaving the pit lane. He pulled it up in the opposite direction and risks a penalty for this.

The first to pass the 1'37 mark is Jaume Masià (Honda, Leopard Racing) with a time of 1'36.921, from his first flying lap. There was then a nice heat, followed by a nice catch-up. At the same time, Andrea Migno (KTM, Sky Racing Team VR46) fell and took Maximilian Kofler (KTM, CIP-Green Power) with him at turn 4. The two protagonists of this spectacular incident got back on their wheels, bringing the motorcycles back to the box and giving work to their technical teams to try to get back on track and qualify for Q2.

5 minutes from the checkered flag, Jaume Masia (Honda, Leopard Racing) still leads this Q1, ahead Niccolo Antonelli (Honda, SIC58 Squadra Corse), Ayumu Sasaki (KTM, Red Bull KTM Tech3) and Darryn binder (KTM, CIP-Green Power). Andrea Migno (KTM, Sky Racing Team VR46), 12th in Q1 and very far from what he hoped for, waits for his bike to be repaired.

With less than 3 minutes remaining in the session, the drivers set off for the final run, the last chance to advance to Q2. It's now or never, and the game of cat and mouse begins from the pit lane, to get to the best slipstream.

Jaume Masia (Honda, Leopard Racing) crashed on this last lap, at turn 6, but kept his first place in Q1 and therefore moved on to Q2. He leaves without his fairing, or even his gloves, to return to his box, and in turn have his motorcycle repaired. The rear tire is full of coolant or oil, hoping the bike is not too damaged and can be ready for Q2.

Andrea Migno (KTM, Sky Racing Team VR46) had managed to restart and fell again on the one and only lap he completed. The same mishap happened to Davide Pizzoli (KTM, BOE Skull Rider Facile.Energy)… Because of what Jaume Masia left on the track between turns 9 and 10? Race Direction goes to check this on the track with the marshals at turn 6, before the start of Q2.

The 4 qualified for Q2 are therefore Jaume Masià (Honda, Leopard Racing) still leads this Q1, ahead Niccolo Antonelli (Honda, SIC58 Squadra Corse), Deniz Oncu (KTM, Red Bull KTM Tech3) and Darryn binder (KTM, CIP-Green Power).

After this Q1 full of twists and turns, it's now time for Q2, these 4 drivers joining the 14 others fastest from the 3 practice sessions. The start of the race was delayed while the track was cleaned by the marshals and inspected by the Race Direction, so that the drivers could ride safely. I have to say that Masià had repainted a good part of the track, the marshals did a fantastic job!

The fall of Jaume Masia having resulted in 2 falls, his behavior is under investigation by Race Direction.

We were able to observe the mechanics working on the motorcycle Masià, then restart it in record time to check that the motorcycle is 100% safe before returning to the track. He was nevertheless penalized by the FIM for having returned to the track without gloves (in addition to his behavior which led to 2 falls), he will not take part in Q2. Ayumu Sasaki (KTM, Red Bull KTM Tech3), fifth in Q1, was expected to join Q2 following the FIM's decision to suspend Masià of this Q2, but it will not happen, which is a shame for the Tech3 team.

After a bit of waiting, the green lights finally go out for 15 minutes of this Q2, while the sky gets darker and darker. It's still 32°C in the air and 53°C on the track. The drivers take their time to hit the track.

Deniz Oncu, representative of the Tech3 team, is the first to set off for a single lap, in order to check the track conditions. He returns to the pits immediately.

He was then imitated by many drivers, which meant that 8 minutes from the end of the session, no time had been set. Pole can still be decided among the 18 drivers, the end of this Q2 will be full of surprises!

The first reference round is signed Ai Ogura (Honda, Honda Team Asia) but will be canceled because it exceeded the track limits. It is then gabriel rodrigo (Honda, Kömmerling Gresini Moto3) who achieved the real first time in 1'39.506, which he then improved to 1'37.015. Hostilities are finally launched.

Meanwhile, Raul Fernandez (KTM, Red Bull KTM Ajo) gets a scare.

5 minutes from the end of this Q2, gabriel rodrigo improves in 1'36.689, ahead Tony Arbolino (Honda, Rivacold Snipers Team), Albert Arenas (KTM, Aspar Team Gaviota) and John mcphee (Honda, Petronas Sprinta Racing).

The majority of drivers are careful not to exceed the limits of the track.

Tony Arbolino (Honda, Rivacold Snipers Team) improved the best time but exceeded the limits of the track once again. The sanction falls and his time is canceled, Rodrigo stays in mind. There are 2 minutes left on the track.

Celestine Vietti (KTM, Sky Racing Team VR46) wakes up at the end of the session and signs a very good 1'36.645, but Rodrigo he takes back first place in 1'36.470 ahead of the 2 other polemen of the season, Raúl Fernández (KTM, Red Bull KTM Ajo) and Tatsuki Suzuki (Honda, SIC58 Squadra Corse). Albert Arenas, the leader of the World Championship, will start 9th.

Results of the Q1 session of the Styrian Moto3 Grand Prix:

Results of the Q2 session of the Styrian Moto3 Grand Prix:

Classification credit: MotoGP.com