MADRID, 29 Jun. (EUROPA PRESS) –
Spanish rider Ángel Piqueras (Honda) took pole position in Moto3 this Saturday at the Dutch Grand Prix, the eighth round of the World Championship, in a Q2 in which the leader, Colombian David Alonso (CFMoto), could only manage thirteenth, two places ahead of his closest rival, Dani Holgado (GasGas).
The 17-year-old from Requena thus achieved his first pole position in his eighth race in the World Championship, all ahead of the Japanese Taiyo Furusato (Honda) and the great dominator of the weekend, the Dutchman Collin Veijer (Husqvarna).
Veijer, who dominated on Friday, started leading Q2 at Assen, but only a few minutes into the session he crashed after losing control of his bike at the chicane. He never went out on track again, but his time of 1:40.055 on his first attempt became the benchmark to beat until the final seconds.
With several drivers running in red, it was Piqueras who managed to get the upper hand by clocking a great 1:39.746, while Furusato moved up to second place, leaving Veijer third at the back of the grid.
For his part, Iván Ortolá (KTM) secured fourth place on the grid, while José Antonio Rueda (KTM), Adrián Fernández (Honda) and Joel Esteban (CFMoto) will start seventh, eighth and ninth, respectively. David Muñoz (KTM) will start eleventh, David Almansa (Honda), eighteenth and Xabi Zurutuza (KTM), who did not make it past Q1, will start twenty-first.
More disappointing were the performances of the top two in the drivers’ standings; Alonso, who has dominated the pole position fights this season, achieved a modest best time of 1:45.933, which only earned him thirteenth. Despite everything, he will start ahead of Holgado, who will have to fight back from fifteenth place.