Strong qualifying debut at Phillip Island – Pini shines with fourth row start, Uriarte impresses in World Championship debut
A strong debut for the two Moto3 rookies from the LIQUI MOLY Dynavolt Intact GP Team at the Australian Grand Prix: Guido Pini and Brian Uriarte braved the challenging conditions on the legendary Phillip Island Circuit and secured respectable starting positions on Saturday – Pini in row four, Uriarte in row seven.
Guido Pini put in a remarkable performance on his first outing at the 4.45-kilometer high-speed track. After finishing eighth in FP1 and a strong sixth in Practice session, the 17-year-old qualified directly for Q2 on Saturday. In the decisive 15-minute session, the Italian suffered a minor slide shortly before the end of the session but secured tenth place on the fourth row of the starting grid for Sunday's 21-lap race thanks to his personal best time of 1´34.870. Due to a stormy weather forecast, the race will take place at 12:00 p.m. local time, one hour later than initially scheduled.
Meanwhile, teammate Brian Uriarte celebrated his World Championship debut as a replacement for injured David Muñoz. The Red Bull Rookies Cup champion had to get used to the KTM in strong winds and changeable weather on Friday and was briefly slowed down by a minor crash. However, the Spaniard remained uninjured and steadily worked his way closer to the front. With a best effort in 1´36.708 – just under two seconds behind the fastest in qualifying – the 17-year-old impressively demonstrated his potential. In Q1, he narrowly missed out on a Q2 spot but left strong impressions. Highly motivated, Uriarte wants to use his first Moto3 World Championship race to gain valuable experience and further build his confidence.
Results
FP1
1 Adrian FERNANDEZ / SPA / HONDA – 1'44.461
2 Maximo QUILES / SPA / KTM – 1'44.817 (+0.356)
3 David ALMANSA / SPA / HONDA - 1´45.010 (0.549)
8 Guido PINI / ITA / KTM – 1'46.137 (+1.676)
25 Brian URIARTE / SPA / KTM - 1´54.009 (+9.548)
PR
1 David ALMANSA / SPA / HONDA – 1'34.726
2 Adrian FERNANDEZ / SPA / HONDA – 1'35.118 (+0.392)
3 Alvaro CARPE / SPA / KTM – 1'35.288 (+0.562)
6 Guido PINI/ ITA / KTM – 1'35.450 (+0.724)
25 Brian URIARTE / SPA / KTM - 1´36.708 (+1.982)
FP2
1 Joel KELSO / AUS / KTM - 1´34.985
2 Adrian FERNANDEZ / SPA / HONDA – 1'35.178 (+0.193)
3 Jose Antonio RUEDA / SPA / KTM – 1'35.197 (+0.212)
23 Guido PINI / ITA / KTM – 1'36.465 (+1.480)
25 Brian URIARTE / SPA / KTM - 1´36.682 (+1.697)
Q1
1 Matteo BERTELLE / ITA / KTM – 1'35.077
2 Nicola CARRARO/ ITA / HONDA – 1'35.348 (+0.271)
3 Marco MORELLI / ARG / HONDA – 1'35.455 (+0.378)
4 Cormac BUCHANAN / NZE / KTM – 1'35.493 (+0.416)
5 Brian URIARTE / SPA / KTM - 1´35.604 (+0.527)
Q2
1 Joel KELSO / AUS / KTM – 1'34.056
2 Jose Antonio RUEDA / SPA/ KTM – 1'34.147 (+0.091)
3 Luca LUNETTA / ITA / HONDA – 1'34.281 (+0.225)
10 Guido PINI / ITA / KTM – 1'34.870 (+0.814)
