MADRID, 23 Mar. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Spanish rider José Antonio Rueda (KTM) achieved pole this Saturday for the Moto3 race of the Portuguese Grand Prix, the second round of the motorcycle World Championship, after breaking the absolute track record in Portimao, ahead of the Australian Joel Kelso (KTM) and the Colombian David Alonso (CFMoto).
With an extraordinary time of 1:46.379 with the clock at zero, the Sevillian signed the first pole of his life in the last moments, which will allow him to lead the first row of the grid. “I felt pretty good with the bike. There was a lot of dust, but after the MotoGP rode on the track, the conditions improved a lot,” Rueda revealed after Q2.
His mark helped him surpass Joel Kelso by 59 thousandths, who minutes before had established the new absolute circuit record in the small category. The championship leader, Alonso, finished one tenth behind, who will complete the first starting row.
In addition, Dani Holgado (GasGas), second two weeks ago in Qatar, guaranteed himself a fourth position on the grid. Meanwhile, Iván Ortolá (KTM) will start seventh; Joel Esteban (CFMoto) will start eleventh; David Muñoz (KTM) will do thirteenth; Adrián Fernández (Honda) fifteenth and Vicente Pérez (KTM), eighteenth. Ángel Piqueras (Honda), the only Spaniard who could not advance to Q2, will start nineteenth.