Jorge Martin (Del Conca Gresini Moto3) took pole position in the Australian GP, on top by two tenths as the field returned to the pits to wait for a final shootout and then found conditions deteriorate with some light rain. It is the Spaniard’s eighth pole of the year, with Gabriel Rodrigo (RBA BOE Racing) and Championship leader Joan Mir (Leopard Racing) joining him on the front row.
The weather began dry at Phillip Island before the rain on some parts of the track made it impossible to improve times, and that left some high and dry as the final push for grid positions was abandoned. Mir and Romano Fenati (Marinelli Rivacold Snipers) protagonised the mid part of the session as the two went wheel to wheel on track in a teaser for what could await the crowds tomorrow, with the Italian lining up only two places behind Mir, taking fifth. The man separating the two to head up the second row is Juanfran Guevara (RBA BOE Racing Team), with Jules Danilo (Marinelli Rivacold Snipers) completing Row 2.
Manuel Pagliani (CIP) took seventh to head up the third row ahead of Estrella Galicia 0,0 riders Aron Canet and Enea Bastianini, with Tatsuki Suzuki (SIC58 Squadra Corse) showing more good pace on Saturday to complete the top ten.
Fabio Di Giannantonio (Del Conca Gresini Moto3), Marco Bezzecchi (CIP), Philipp Oettl (Südmetall Schedl GP Racing), Lorenzo dalla Porta (Aspar Mahindra Moto3) and Motegi podium finisher Niccolo Antonelli (Red Bull KTM Ajo) round out the fastest fifteen – with Antonelli’s teammate Bo Bendsneyder another big name to miss out after some great pace all weekend; the Dutchman in 19th. For full results, click here!
Now it’s time to race, and with a lot on the line: the 2017 crown. With 55 points over Fenati it’s advantage Mir, but who knows what can happen? The lights go out at 13:00 (GMT +11).