Moto3 Misano1 Warm-Up: Will Raúl Fernández finally make it in the race?

The Moto3 category was the first to enter the battle for pole in perfect conditions at Misano and the spectacle saw various riders swap top spots during the 15 minutes of Q2. Ai Ogura (Honda, Honda Team Asia) started the session at the top of the timing screens before being pushed out of the spotlight by Tatsuki Suzuki (Honda, SIC58 Squadra Corse) and Gabriel Rodrigo (Honda, Kömmerling Gresini Moto3), but the rider Honda Team Asia fought back to claim their first ever pole position with an exceptional final lap. Rodrigo had this place taken back at the very last minute, but he will start in the middle of the front row, ahead of last year's Misano winner, Suzuki.

Despite being only fourth, Andrea Migno (KTM, Sky Racing Team VR46) arrived less than four hundredths of a second from pole, opening the second row in front of the returnee from Q1 Roman Fenati (Husqvarna, Sterilgarda Max Racing Team) and a constant Raul fernandez (KTM, Red Bull KTM Ajo). Celestine Vietti (KTM, Sky Racing Team VR46) qualifies third, where he will be joined by Jeremy Alcoba (Honda, Kömmerling Gresini Moto3) and the leader of Q1 Tony Arbolino (Honda, Rivacold Snipers Team). Filip Salac (Honda, Rivacold Snipers Team) completes the top ten, just half a second from pole and opens the fourth row in the company of Sergio Garcia (Honda, Estrella Galicia 0,0) and Riccardo Rossi (KTM, BOE Skull Rider Facile.Energy).

Albert Arenas (KTM, Aspar Team Gaviota) made errors late in the session which saw him slip down to 13th place and will begin the defense of his first place in the championship from the fifth row and alongside Jaume Masia (Honda, Leopard Racing) and Dennis Foggia (Honda, Leopard Racing). However, one of his main challengers, John mcphee (Honda, Petronas Sprinta Racing), had a difficult afternoon at Misano, suffering a crash at turn four in the first half of Q2, and struggled to do better than 17th on the grid.

Drivers such as DArryn Binder, Niccolo Antonelli et Ayumu Sasaki narrowly missed qualifying in Q2 and will have to start from the second half of the grid.

Here is the table that refreshes our memory, before the start of this Warm-Up…

Misano1 Moto3™	2019	2020
FP1	1'42.824 Albert Arenas	1'42.501 Raul Fernandez
FP2	1'43.017 Albert Arenas	1'42.783 Tatsuki Suzuki
FP3	1'42.127 Gabriel Rodrigo	1'42.415 John McPhee
Q1	1'43.161 Niccolo Antonelli	1'42.511 Tony Arbolino
Q2	1'42.844 Tatsuki Suzuki	1'42.403 Ai Ogura
Warm Up	1'43.205 Kaito Toba	1'41.899 Raul Fernandez
Course	Suzuki, McPhee, Arbolino
All time lap record	1'41.823 Jorge Martin 2018

 

It's 8:20 a.m., the riders set off for this morning Warm Up, because the Moto-E category is also racing this Sunday in Misano.

While the drivers took to the track under the bright sun, the air temperature was 21°C as was that of the ground. A bit cool temperature for this morning.

This does not prevent the drivers from quickly returning to the track to get their bearings on this race day.

Barry Baltus (KTM, PruestlGP) is the first rider to achieve a timed lap in 1'45.617, which will be quickly beaten. It is Raul Fernandez (KTM, Red Bull KTM Ajo) who temporarily moved to the top of the timesheet in the first part of this Warm-Up, with a lap completed in 1'43.241.

10 minutes from the checkered flag, the Spanish driver fights with Dennis Foggia (Honda, Leopard Racing) to appear first on the timing screens. In this little game, it's always Raul Fernandez (KTM, Red Bull KTM Ajo) who is in the lead and improves with a 1'42.265.

At the end of this very calm Warm-Up session, where no falls are to be recorded, it is Raúl Fernández (KTM, Red Bull KTM Ajo) who leads the way in front Dennis Foggia (Honda, Leopard Racing) and John mcphee (Honda, Petronas Sprinta Racing) who is reassured after his fall in qualifying and his 17th position on the grid.

Ai Ogura (Honda, Honda Team Asia), the pole sitter, is 11th in the morning. Darryn binder (KTM, CIP-Green Power), who once again missed his qualification, is in the top 10, and once again seems capable of a fantastic comeback in the race. As for the championship leader, Albert Arenas (KTM, Aspar Team Gaviota), he is 5th. The race promises to be thrilling!

Ranking of the Warm-Up session of the San Marino Moto3 Grand Prix:

Classification credit: MotoGP.com