Iván Ortolá achieved his second consecutive pole position in the Moto3 World Championship this Saturday. The qualifying session at the Red Bull Ring did not feature a new lap record, unlike the previous sessions, and the championship leader missed out on the front row of the grid.
The Q1 had a single leader from start to finish; Taiyo Furusato (Honda Team Asia), who, despite improving on his penultimate lap, achieved a time on his first attempt that would secure him the top spot at the end. Adrián Fernández (Leopard Racing/Honda) also made his way to second place early, finishing 0.329s slower than the Japanese rider.
The other two qualifying positions were decided in the last three minutes. Tatsuki Suzuki (Liqui Moly Husqvarna Intact GP) secured third place, with Luca Lunetta (SIC58 Squadra Corse/Honda) fourth thanks to his final lap, beating Nicola Carraro by 0.051s after Carraro from LevelUp-MTA had held a top-four position for much of Q1.
Daniel Holgado (Red Bull GasGas Tech3) led Q2 after the first five minutes, with José Antonio Rueda (Red Bull KTM Ajo) in second. However, Rueda soon took the lead, with Ortolá (MT Helmets-MSi/KTM) in second… before Holgado reacted and retook the top spot. David Alonso (CFMOTO Gaviota Aspar) moved into third.
After pit stops midway through the session, Joel Kelso (BOE Motorsports/KTM) showed that his morning speed was no fluke, moving to the lead. Collin Veijer (Liqui Moly Husqvarna Intact GP) climbed to second shortly after, while Rueda crashed, losing the chance to challenge for the top spot.
Determined to secure a front-row start, Holgado moved up to third. However, near the end, Ortolá set a lap time of 1m40.057s, achieving his second consecutive pole position and beating Kelso by 0.143s. The Australian finished qualifying with a small fall in Turn 2. Veijer took third, completing the front row, with Holgado in fourth, Rueda in fifth, and Alonso in sixth, forming the second row.
Results:
Second pole in a row for @IvanOrtola48 in #Moto3 ⚡️⚡️@joelkelso66 misses out after crashing out at the end, @CollinVeijer95 completes the front row ahead of tomorrow ✅#AustrianGP 🇦🇹 pic.twitter.com/Yoivd5uFbf
— MotoGP™🏁 (@MotoGP) August 17, 2024
