Front row start for Almansa; Muñoz in Row 6

The LIQUI MOLY Dynavolt Intact GP Moto3 team once again showed its fighting spirit in qualifying for the Indonesian Grand Prix. David Almansa missed pole position by just 0.087 seconds and secured the second spot on the starting grid. Teammate David Muñoz fought his way up to 14th place after having to go through Q1 but will have to start the race from the sixth row.

For David Almansa, who is currently second in the championship standings, it was a perfect start to round 17 of the season at the small island of Lombok, east of Bali. The 20-year-old Spanish rider dominated both Friday’s session, setting the fastest lap time in each. On Saturday morning, during the second free practice session, he was in second place, behind only championship leader Maximo Quiles.

In Q2, early in the afternoon, Almansa set out on his final lap in sweltering heat with a clear track ahead of him and was on pace for the fastest time after the first sector. After less-than-perfect runs through the second and third sectors of the more than 4-kilometer-long track, he was able to make up time in the final sector, but in the end, Almansa fell 0.087 seconds short of pole position.

Almansa will start Sunday's race from second place on the front row, while his rival in the battle for the title, Maximo Quiles, will have to make up some ground starting from sixth place on the second row.

For David Muñoz, the trip to the Mandalika International Circuit at the Indonesian island marked a return to the very place where his string of injuries began a year ago with a crash during the race. The courageous 20-year-old rider from Seville put all that behind him, however, and once again showed in an improved shape during his third race weekend after a long hiatus, even though the subtropical conditions are brutal.

Muñoz finished 15th in Friday’s Practice session. He was just 0.009 seconds short of a spot among the top 14, which would have meant direct advancement to Q2. After finishing eighth in the second free practice session, Muñoz made it clear that Q1 shouldn’t pose too much of a challenge, and he confirmed this by finishing third. In Q2, he ultimately secured 14th place. Due to a grid penalty, Muñoz will start the race from 17th on the grid, in row six.

The Moto3 race in Indonesia is scheduled to start at 12:00 p.m., which means early Sunday morning at 6:00 a.m. CEST in Europe.

Moto3™ Qualifying Results:
1 Brian URIARTE / SPA / Red Bull KTM Ajo / KTM / 1´36.861
2 #22 David ALMANSA / SPA / LIQUI MOLY Dynavolt Intact GP / KTM / 1´36.948 +0.087
3 Alvaro CARPE / SPA / Red Bull KTM Ajo / KTM / 1´56.647 +0.075
…
14 #64 David MUÑOZ / SPA / LIQUI MOLY Dynavolt Intact GP / KTM / 1´37.841 +0.980