Pini storms into second row of the grid at Sepang, Uriarte to start from P14 after penalty
In a thrilling Moto3 qualifying session at the Sepang International Circuit in Malaysia, LIQUI MOLY Dynavolt Intact GP riders Guido Pini and Brian Uriarte put in an impressive performance that earned them fourth and fifth place on the grid for the last overseas race of the season, although the Spaniard subsequently received a grid penalty and will therefore start from row five.
17-year-old Guido Pini showed strong improvements at the season's round 20. After finishing 18th in the first free practice session and 16th in Pactice, the Italian rider had to go through Q1 on Saturday. Prior to that, the Moto3 rookie had finished twelfth in FP2 with a personal best time of 2:10.791. In Q1, a time of 2'11.513 was enough to qualify for Q2 in second place. In the final 15-minute qualifying session, Pini immediately attacked the top positions and took second place just seconds before the end of the session. When Furusato and Almansa had a clear run in the final stages, he dropped back to fourth place – still an excellent starting position for Saturday's gruelling 15-lap race at 12:00 local time (05:00 CET).
Brian Uriarte caused a big surprise this weekend, replacing injured David Muñoz again and performing strongly right from the start at the fast Malaysian circuit. The 17-year-old finished a strong seventh in FP1, which he then significantly improved upon in Practice with a third place, securing him the direct entry into Q2. On Saturday, the KTM rider was outside the top 10 for the first time in FP2, but he did not let that deter him. In the decisive Q2, the reigning Red Bull Rookies Cup champion set his first lap time with less than five minutes on the clock and took third place with several red sectors. However, in the hectic final stages, both Intact GP riders got stuck in traffic and were unable to mount another attack, meaning that Uriarte ultimately ended up in fifth place. However, the youngster subsequently received a grid penalty for slow-riding, meaning that he will now start his second Moto3 World Championship race from P14 in fifth row.
Results
FP1
1. Angel PIQUERAS / SPA / KTM – 2'10.979
2. Jacob ROULSTONE / AUS / KTM – 2'11.031 (+0.052)
3. Joel KELSO / AUS / KTM – 2'11.085 (+0.106)
7. Brian URIARTE / SPA / KTM – 2'11.310 (+0.331)
18. Guido PINI / ITA / KTM – 2'12.174 (+1.195)
PR
1. Jose Antonio RUEDA / SPA / KTM – 2'11.152
2. Alvaro CARPE / SPA / KTM – 2'11.187 (+0.035)
3. Brian URIARTE / SPA / KTM – 2'11.202 (+0.050)
16. Guido PINI / ITA / KTM – 2'11.932 (+0.780)
FP2
1. Ryusei YAMANAKA / JPN / KTM – 2'10.160
2. David ALMANSA / SPA / HONDA – 2'10.253 (+0.093)
3. Adrian FERNANDEZ/ SPA / HONDA – 2'10.358 (+0.198)
12. Guido PINI / ITA / KTM – 2'10.791 (+0.631)
14. Brian URIARTE / SPA / KTM – 2'10.975 (+0.815)
Q1
1. Ryusei YAMANAKA / JPN / KTM – 2'11.261
2. Guido PINI / ITA / KTM – 2'11.513 (+0.252)
3. Valentin PERRONE / ARG / KTM – 2'11.703 (+0.442)
Q2
1. David ALMANSA / SPA / HONDA – 2'09.846
2. Taiyo FURUSATO / JPN / HONDA – 2'09.940 (+0.094)
3. Jose Antonio RUEDA / SPA / KTM – 2'10.076 (+0.230)
4. Guido PINI / ITA / KTM – 2'10.154 (+0.308)
5. Brian URIARTE / SPA / KTM – 2'10.239 (+0.393)
