Enea Bastianini (Leopard Racing) fled to pole in Moto3™ on a 1m48.806s blistering lap, breaking a streak of four consecutive pole positions for Jorge Martín (Del Conca Gresini Moto3), who finished right behind him. Third-placed Tatsuki Suzuki (SIC58 Squadra Corse) will launch from the outside of front row.
The Leopard Racing rider has a personal list of 9 pole positions in the series, but Barcelona is his first in the season. The previous one dates back from September 2016, in MotorLand Aragón. The Italian led the timesheets from the very onset with an early 1m48.891s benchmark he immediately improved in the next lap with a pole-paying time.
Jorge Martín had to settle for P2 after having tasted the pole in this very racetrack last year. His flying lap was achieved after a fall involving also Albert Arenas. Along with Bastianini, Martín was the only rider below the 1m49 mark over the weekend. Suzuki will be revisiting the front row after a P2 start in Mugello.
Ayumu Sasaki (Petronas Sprinta Racing) spearheads the second row, ahead of local rider Arón Canet (Estrella Galicia 0,0) and Japan’s Kaito Toba (Honda Team Asia). John McPhee (CIP – Green Power, 7th), Gabriel Rodrigo (RBA BOE Skull Rider, 8th), and current championship leader Marco Bezzecchi (Redox PruestelGP, 9th) will share the third row.
Niccolò Antonelli (SIC58 Squadra Corse) missed FP4 after crashing in the previous practice and dislocating his left shoulder. In a weekend marked by plenty of incidents, 8 men ended in the gravel in this practice alone. Fortunately enough, all riders are ok. Wild card rider Vicente Perez was taken to hospital after sustaining a severe closed chest injury.
Finding 19 riders within one second bears testimony to how close racing is in this series, and it clearly heralds a thrilling race for Sunday.