Öncü tows his way to Moto3™ pole

Red Bull KTM Tech3’s Deniz Öncü has claimed Moto3™ pole position at the Gran Premio d’Italia Oakley after Dennis Foggia (Leopard Racing) could not carry his dominance of practice into Q2. Foggia still had a big say in how qualifying played out at the Autodromo Internazionale del Mugello, but that was because it was the Italian who provided the decisive tow to Öncü. Foggia still made the front row, but will start to the outside of the pole-sitting Turk, who set a 1:56.811, and also Daniel Holgado (Red Bull KTM Ajo).

Towing in the Tuscan hills

There are perhaps few circuits on the calendar where a tow is more important than Mugello, particularly in the lightweight class, and that was how John McPhee (Sterilgarda Husqvarna Max) put himself in top spot in the early stages of Q2 with a 1:57.299. Foggia, on the other hand, was having to punch his own hole in the air, although he managed to go second-fastest in the last few minutes with a 1:57.367.

Then, next time through, Foggia did manage to get the better of the Scotsman as he clocked a 1:57.168. Unfortunately for ‘The Rocket’, he had Öncü close behind him and the Turkish rider used the tow to set an even faster lap. With the chequered flag out, Foggia improved to a 1:57.094 but that was not good enough to knock the Tech3 rider off pole position, nor was it good enough to hold onto second spot when Holgado came through in a bunch of bikes to achieve a 1:56.908.

Championship leader on the second row

As the rain continued to hold off at Mugello, Moto3™ World Championship leader Sergio Garcia qualified fourth, one position ahead of fellow Valresa GASGAS Aspar Team rider Izan Guevara. They will be joined on Row 2 by McPhee, courtesy of his first flying lap, with Diogo Moreira (MT Helmets - MSI) heading up Row 3, ahead of Riccardo Rossi (Sic58 Squadra Corse) and Q1 graduate Ryusei Yamanaka (MT Helmets - MSI).

Jaume Masia (Red Bull KTM Ajo), who is tied for second in the World Championship with Foggia, will be looking to make up ground from 10th on the grid, with Tatsuki Suzuki (Leopard Racing) and Lorenzo Fellon (Sic58 Squadra Corse) also on Row 4. Fellon was another of the riders to come from Q1, making the top four in that session thanks to a triple tow with the chequered flag out.

With the grid now set, Warm Up is next on Sunday at 09:00 (GMT +2), before Moto3™ lights up Mugello with the first race of the day at 11:00.

Moto3™ Q2 Top 10:
1. Deniz Öncü (Red Bull KTM Tech 3) – 1:56.811
2. Daniel Holgado (Red Bull KTM Ajo) + 0.097
3. Dennis Foggia (Leopard Racing) + 0.283
4. Sergio Garcia (Valresa GASGAS Aspar Team) + 0.421
5. Izan Guevara (Valresa GASGAS Aspar Team) + 0.425
6. John McPhee (Sterilgarda Husqvarna Max) + 0.488
7. Diogo Moreira (MT Helmets - MSI) + 0.594
8. Riccardo Rossi (SIC58 Squadra Corse) + 0.639
9. Ryusei Yamanaka (MT Helmets - MSI) + 0.702
10. Jaume Masia (Red Bull KTM Ajo) + 0.721

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