VNE Snipers’ Tony Arbolino made up for losing out on yesterday’s top spot right at the end of FP2 by storming to the fastest lap of the weekend so far in Moto3™ and ending quickest in FP3 at the Motul TT Assen. The Italian, still buoyed with confidence following his debut GP win at Mugello, ended over a tenth clear of Honda Team Asia’s Katio Toba.
Arbolino’s 1:41.554 remains a quarter of a second adrift of the all-time lap record around the TT Circuit Assen but expect Enea Bastianini’s 1:41.283 from 2015 to be rivalled in this afternoon’s Q2 session. Toba ended second, narrowly ahead of the pace setter on day one, Redox PruestelGP’s Jakub Kornfeil.
The top 20 riders covered by less than 0.6s! ????@TonyArbolino tops FP3 but @dallap48 pays the price for his crash, and must go through Q1! ????#DutchGP ???????? pic.twitter.com/YFOHZU0va8
— MotoGP™ ???????? (@MotoGP) June 29, 2019
After a disastrous first day, Sterilgarda Max Racing Team’s Aron Canet was back on form this morning by finding just short of a second to move up from outside of the top twenty into fourth quickest overall. The current championship leader was a tenth of a second ahead of Ai Ogura (Honda Team Asia), with the young Japanese rider surviving a late crash at Turn 8.
Kasuki Masaki (BOE Skull Rider Mugen Race) and Ayumu Sasaki (Petronas Sprinta Racing) ended sixth and seventh overall to make it four Japanese riders inside the top seven heading into the fight for the pole position. Despite not improving their lap times from Friday, both Niccolo Antonelli (SIC58 Squadra Corse) and Romano Fenati (VNE Snipers) held onto Q2 spots by ending eighth and ninth quickest.
Estrella Galicia 0,0’s Sergio Garcia rounded out a top ten covered by just over three tenths of a second. Tatsuki Suzuki (SIC58 Squdra Corse) was eleventh, ahead of Kömmerling Gresini Moto3’s Gabriel Rodrigo, with the Argentine failing to improve on his lap from yesterday after crashing out halfway through the session.
Not the ideal start to @dallap48's day! ????
— MotoGP™ ???????? (@MotoGP) June 29, 2019
The @Le0pardRacing rider crashes at turn 11, moments after @gabrirodrigo19 has his own fall. Both riders are ok but their Q2 spots may be in jeopardy! ????#DutchGP ???????? pic.twitter.com/1EZ2Cbtqjj
Raul Fernandez (Sama Qatar Angel Nieto) and Celestino Vietti (SKY Racing Team VR46) claimed the final Q2 places and in the process knocked out some regular front runners. Leopard Racing pair Lorenzo Dalla Porta and Marcos Ramirez both head into Q1, with Dalla Porta’s session spoiled by a crash with fifteen minutes left of FP3.
Joining the Catalan GP winner, Ramirez, and the man second in the title chase, Dalla Porta, in Q1 will be Argentine GP winner Jaume Masia (Bester Capital Dubai) and French GP winner John McPhee (Petronas Sprinta Racing). Catch Moto3™ Q1 at 12:35 (GMT+1) with the pace starting to heat up in the Netherlands.
Top 10 combined:
1. Tony Arbolino (VNE Snipers) 1:41.554
2. Kaito Toba (Honda Team Asia) + 0.154
3. Jakub Kornfeil (Redox PrüstelGP) + 0.182
4. Aron Canet (Sterilgarda Max Racing Team) + 0.276
5. Ai Ogura (Honda Team Asia) + 0.292
6. Kazuki Masaki (BOE Skull Rider Mugen Race) + 0.301
7. Ayumu Sasaki (Petronas Sprinta Racing) + 0.327
8. Niccolo Antonelli (SIC58 Squadra Corse) + 0.339
9. Romano Fenati (VNE Snipers) + 0.342
10. Sergio Garcia (Estrella Galicia 0,0) + 0.355
Click here for the full results!