Holgado steals pole from Ortola in Qatar

Daniel Holgado (Red Bull GASGAS Tech3) is on pole position for the opening Grand Prix of the season after setting a remarkable 2:02.276. The Spaniard’s impressive lap time put him 0.265 clear of Ivan Ortola (MT Helmets – MSI) who will fight from the middle of the front row. A further 0.055 behind was Jose Antonio Rueda (Red Bull KTM Ajo) with nothing to separate the front row.

The lap times in Q2 were instantly fast, with Ivan Ortola setting an incredible 2:02.541 on his second lap of Qualifying – breaking the all-time lap record by 0.924. However, on the second run, Holgado was able to carve his way through the field, setting a time which was 0.265 quicker.

At the start of row two will be Adrian Fernandez (Leopard Racing) who will start as the first Honda on the grid. Fellow Honda rider Matteo Bertelle will start from fifth and was the sole Rivacold Snipers Team bike on the grid after David Almansa (Rivacold Snipers Team) was declared unfit. Joel Kelso (BOE Motorsports) rounds out the second row in sixth after a strong Qualifying for the Australian.

Riccardo Rossi heads row three after setting a 2:03.020 in Qualifying, with the #58 starting alongside Championship favourite David Alonso (CFMOTO Aspar Team). Red Bull KTM Ajo’s Vincente Perez will start in ninth, setting his personal best lap time of the weekend.

The fourth row will have Collin Veijer (Liqui Moly Husqvarna Intact GP) beginning the race in 10^th place, after spending most of the session without a tow. SIC58 Squadra Corse’s Filippo Farioli will start from the middle of the fourth row in 11^th. Moto3™ rookie Angel Piqueras (Leopard Racing) will start the race from 12^th on the #36 machine.

The next time the Moto3™ Field will be on track is for the first Grand Prix of the season on Sunday at 17:00, so make sure you keep up to date and tune in on motogp.com.

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