Second and fourth row start for Almansa and Uriarte in Assen

David Almansa seamlessly continued his strong level of performance at the Dutch Grand Prix and was once again among the fastest riders on track. Although his impressive streak of three consecutive pole positions came to an end with sixth place on the second row today, he still sees himself in an excellent starting position for the race. Substitute rider Marcos Uriarte also impressively confirmed his clear uphill trend, securing a spot on the fourth row with an eleventh-place finish in Q2.

The heat wave across Europe also has the northern Netherlands firmly in its grip this weekend. Extremely high temperatures are taking their toll on everyone. Not only are the riders struggling with overheated bikes, but the crews also have to perform at their best under these challenging conditions.

David Almansa confirmed once again in Assen, being in great shape by securing second place on Friday morning and confidently earning a direct spot in Q2 that afternoon. Free Practice 2 on Saturday morning was primarily focused on preparing for the race. With consistently strong lap times, the 20-year-old Spanish rider finished in twelfth place, boosting his confidence ahead of qualifying, where his attempt to set a super-fast lap didn’t quite pay off. Nevertheless, sixth on the grid in the second row is a promising starting position either. 

Following his encouraging performances last weekend in Brno, the team's Moto3 KTM machine — previously ridden by injured David Muñoz — was once again entrusted to his compatriot Marcos Uriarte. The 21-year-old rider justified the trust placed in him with steady improvements in performance and picked up right where he left off this weekend. With a ninth-place finish in Friday’s Practice session — just a few hundredths of a second behind his teammate Almansa — Uriarte qualified directly for Q2, which he finished in eleventh place on Saturday shortly after lunch break, meaning he will start the race from the fourth row of the grid.

The season’s tenth race at the historic TT Circuit gets underway on Sunday at 11:00 a.m.

Moto3™ Qualifying Results:
1 Maximo QULIES / SPA / CFMOTO Gaviota Aspar Team / KTM / 1´40.130
2 Joel KELSO / AUS / GRYD Racing / Honda / 1´40.155 +0.025
3 Brian URIARTE / SPA / Red Bull KTM Ajo / KTM / 1´40.430 +0.300
…
6 #22 David ALMANSA / SPA / LIQUI MOLY Dynavolt Intact GP / KTM / 1´40.615 +0.485
11 #88 Marcos URIARTE / SPA / LIQUI MOLY Dynavolt Intact GP / KTM / 1´40.787 +0.657