Binder untouchable at the front

Championship leader unstoppable in Misano qualifying

Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Ajo) stole pole position at Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli in the final seconds of the session, with the South African heading a qualifying freight train before timing it perfectly to take back P1 over the line on his final lap. 2015 pole sitter and victor Enea Bastianini (Gresini Racing Moto3) was second fastest after proving the pacesetter on Friday, with Sky Racing Team VR46 rookie Nicolo Bulega qualifying in P3.

With perfect blue skies at Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli, the classic Moto3™ qualifying waiting game saw everyone put their banker lap in before returning to the pits ahead of the final run, with all eyes focused on who would blink first.

Brad Binder spent his FP3 consistently putting in the 1:42s and was wise to the game as the majority of his rivals sat it out and waited for the championship leader to move. Heading out and finding himself at the head of a freight train as riders looked for a tow, Binder then backed off and found himself just enough space to go for one last run - taking pole just at the flag to edge ever closer to that championship trophy.

Bastianini followed Binder across the line with some well-judged track tactics, and similarly set his best lap on his last, ending up with the second fastest lap as Moto3™ return to the scene of his 2015 pole position and maiden race win. The 'Beast' has shown fantastic pace all weekend and was the pacesetter on Friday as well as closest to Binder in qualifying.

Nicolo Bulega shot up the timing screens to take a provisional pole before the last run began, and then just found his time beaten by Binder and Bastianini. The Sky Racing Team VR46 rider has had a pole position in his rookie year at Jerez, but will have to settle for P3 at his home GP. Teammates Lorenzo Dalla Porta and Andrea Migno had a more difficult session, recording lap times that saw them end the session in P17 and P22 respectively.

Jakub Kornfeil (Drive M7 SIC Racing Team) had fantastic pace to take P4, just ahead of late crasher and title contender Jorge Navarro (Estrella Galicia 0,0), with his compatriot and teammate Aron Canet just behind with the sixth fastest lap of the session. Philipp Oettl (Schedl GP Racing), Hiroki Ono (Honda Team Asia) and Juanfran Guevara (RBA Racing Team) were the next quickest in QP, with local rookie Fabio Di Giannantonio (Gresini Racing Moto3) completing the top ten.

Joan Mir (Leopard Racing) was down in P26 for some of the session as the team worked on his bike, before finally getting back out in the last fifth of the practice and pushing to move up the order - eventually ending up sixteenth fastest despite his morning pace. Francesco Bagnaia (Gaviota Mahindra Aspar) was another rider out of position in P21 by the time the final run began, as the Silverstone polesitter faced a mountain to climb but was unable to improve in Mahindra's 100th race, sliding down to P25 on the timesheets. In addition, Bagnaia's teammate Jorge Martin suffered a crash in qualifying that saw the Spaniard break two bones in his foot, and the Brno podium finisher will sadly be forced to sit out the rest of the San Marino GP; hoping to return to action in Aragon.

Due to the nature of the Moto3™ qualifying session, Race Direction are expected to apply penalties that may affect the grid before the race.

Every Moto3™ race of 2016 so far has been a classic, with Misano World Circuit ready to host another when the lights go out on Sunday at 11:00 local time (GMT+2).