Moto3™: Binder remains fastest, no FP3 improvements made

A windy Losail International Circuit saw the Moto3™ riders, led by Dupasquier, go two seconds slower than FP2

Windy conditions at the Losail International Circuit, coupled with blistering sun, meant the Moto3™ World Championship riders weren’t able to get anywhere near their Tissot Grand Prix of Doha FP2 times. This means last week’s polesitter and third place finisher Darryn Binder (Petronas Sprinta Racing) leads the way with a 2:04.781, 0.040s ahead of Sergio Garcia (GASGAS Gaviota Aspar) and 0.112s clear of Gabriel Rodrigo (Indonesian Racing Gresini Moto3).

The big news heading into Saturday’s action is seven riders, including the aforementioned Garcia, will be starting from pitlane after being adjudged to “riding slow and causing a disturbance between Turns 15 and 16” in FP2 yesterday.

Fourth fastest after Free Practice, John McPhee (Petronas Sprinta Racing), isn’t one of those riders penalised as the Scotsman and Tatsuki Suzuki (SIC58 Squadra Corse) sail straight into Q2 in P4 and P5 respectively. World Championship leader Jaume Masia (Red Bull KTM Ajo) and rookie Izan Guevara (GASGAS Gaviota Aspar) also head into Q2 without any issues, as does eighth place Jeremy Alcoba (Indonesian Racing Gresini Moto3).

The next three riders on the timesheets do face pitlane starts though. Qatar GP podium finisher Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM Ajo) is ninth but won’t be anywhere near pole position on Sunday, neither will Romano Fenati (Sterilgarda Max Racing Team) and Stefano Nepa (BOE Owlride). 10th and 11th for the Italian duo, but they faced the wrath of Race Direction.

Ryusei Yamanaka (CarXpert PrüstelGP), Kaito Toba (CIP Green Power) and Niccolo Antonelli (Avintia Esponsorama Moto3) are the other three riders who are heading straight into Q2, a good day for the trio on Friday.

Moto3™ qualifying kicks off at 17:30 local time (GMT+3), tune in to see who claims pole position for Sunday’s Round 2 in Doha!  

Top 10 combined:
1. Darryn Binder (Petronas Sprinta Racing) – 2:04.781
2. Sergio Garcia (GASGAS Gaviota Aspar) + 0.040
3. Gabriel Rodrigo (Indonesian Racing Gresini Moto3) + 0.112
4. John McPhee (Petronas Sprinta Racing) + 0.187
5. Tatsuki Suzuki (SIC58 Squadra Corse) + 0.242
6. Jaume Masia (Red Bull KTM Ajo) + 0.297
7. Izan Guevara (GASGAS Gaviota Aspar) + 0.323
8. Jeremy Alcoba (Indonesian Racing Gresini Moto3) + 0.362
9. Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM Ajo) + 0.388
10. Romano Fenati (Sterilgarda Max Racing Team) + 0.490

CLICK HERE FOR THE FULL RESULTS!

Every practice session, qualifying battle and race, exclusive interviews, historic races and so much more fantastic content: this is VideoPass!