Moto3: McPhee on Valencia pole as Masia misses Q2

Qualifying for the 13th round of the 2020 Moto3 World Championship took place in a gloomy Valencia, a the Ricardo Tormo circuit for the first of two races at the Spanish track. Celestino Vietti was the fastest rider entering qualifying, having been fastest in FP2 on Friday afternoon, which saw the best conditions of the weekend.

In Q1, there were some big names present, with championship contenders Jaume Masia, Albert Arenas and Ai Ogura all participating in the first session. With track conditions less than ideal – a mix of wet and dry – it was something of a lottery and with more rain arriving in the middle of the session the element of luck was increased. Ai Ogura was able to time his fastest lap to perfection to top the session just before the rain intensified, and Arenas was able to do enough to take third place, behind Gabriel Rodrigo in second place despite two crashes in one lap as he was caught out on slicks with the rain falling. In fourth place, the final transfer spot, was Dennis Foggia.

By the time Q2 got underway, the track was fully wet and it was John McPhee who was able to make the most of the conditions to take pole position. The #17 is in a tricky spot in the championship, and needs every point he can get at the minute to stay in the fight – starting from pole tomorrow gives him a chance to make up some of the ground he has lost in the races since his win in San Marino. 

Joining McPhee on the front row tomorrow will be Raul Fernandez and Celestino Vietti, despite a crash for the Italian; and behind a front row that includes two championship contenders there is a second row that does the same, with Ai Ogura starting fourth ahead of Albert Arenas, the championship leader, in fifth. Arenas goes into tomorrow’s race with 19 points over Ogura and 20 over Vietti after a couple of strong races for the #75 in Aragon. Clearly, it will be a tough race for the championship leader with three of his championship rivals starting around him – the only ones absent are Jaume Masia who failed to make it through Q1 and Tony Arbolino. The European Grand Prix could prove pivotal for this year’s Moto3 World Championship. 

Alongside Ogura and Arenas on the back of the second row will be Alonso Lopez, despite two crashes for the Spaniard; while Riccardo Rossi’s return to racing after missing Aragon due to a positive coronavirus test will get underway from seventh at the front of the third row, on which he will be joined by Carlos Tatay and Sergio Garcia, despite a major high side for the #11 from which he was thankfully able to walk away. 

Darryn Binder rounded out the top 10 in qualifying, and he will start from the front of row four alongside Kaito Toba and Gabriel Rodrigo; while Filip Salac heads up row five from Andrea Migno and Romano Fenati. The sixth row will see Dennis Foggia and Tony Arbolino start alongside Yuki Kunii who made his first Q2 appearance of the season in Valencia but finished the session at the bottom of the time sheets in 18th. 

Just missing out on Q2 was Tatsuki Suzuki in fifth in Q1 meaning the #24 will start from 19th on the grid. Joining the Japanese rider on the seventh row will be Jason Dupasquier – a crasher in Q1 – and Maximilian Kofler; while Barry Baltus will start from the front of the eighth row in 22nd, ahead of Davide Pizzoli and Stefano Nepa. 

Khairul Idham Pawi will start 25th, alongside the Red Bull KTM Tech 3 duo of Ayumu Sasaki and Deniz Oncu – another crasher in the first session – on row nine. 

Jaume Masia’s Q1 session was a disaster, as he missed the best conditions and will start from the front of the 10th row as a result, alongside Jeremy Alcoba and Ryusei Yamanaka who was thankfully cleared to ride despite a nasty crash in free practice on Friday where he ran into the back of his teammate, Sergio Garcia, and was subsequently launched over the bars. 

Behind Yamanaka in Q1 was only Niccolo Antonelli, who will start alone and the back row of the grid in 31st, after he chose wet tyres for Q1. He was in 10th place for a short period of the session before the lap time that got him there was cancelled for a yellow flag infringement.