Deniz Öncü dominated the third Moto3 practice session at the Qatar GP, held this Saturday at Losail. The Turkish rider led for most of the session, which saw almost all riders set their best times.
Initially, Romano Fenati (Rivacold Snipers Team/Honda) took the lead. After being overtaken by Vicente Pérez (BOE Motorsports/KTM) and Öncü (Red Bull KTM Ajo), the experienced Italian regained the top spot on the timesheets.
However, Öncü claimed the lead once again. Although momentarily surpassed by Daniel Holgado (Red Bull KTM Tech3) around the 28-minute mark, Öncü secured the session’s top position with two fast laps at the end. David Alonso (Gaviota GasGas Aspar) finished second, improving his time late in the session to be 0.206s slower than Öncü.
Holgado took third place, ahead of the main championship contenders: Ayumu Sasaki (Liqui Moly Husqvarna IntactGP) and the championship leader, Jaume Masiá (Leopard Racing/Honda). Scott Ogden (VisionTrack Racing Team/Honda) secured the final direct spot in the second qualifying round in 14th place. Syarifuddin Azman (MT Helmets-MSi/KTM) missed out on this goal by 0.205s, finishing 15th.
Combined standings P1 + P2 + P3: