Aron Canet smashed the opposition in qualifying for the Aragon Grand Prix, taking pole by over seven tenths and putting himself in the perfect position to try and claw back some ground in the Championship fight as points leader Lorenzo Dalla Porta starts 12th.
Joining Canet on the front row were two stunning performers: rookie Ai Ogura (Honda Team Asia) took second and his third front row of the season, with recently-crowned Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup Champion and wildcard Carlos Tatay (Fundacion Andreas Perez 77) taking third in only his second Grand Prix appearance.
Despite rain that interupted FP3, the skies were dry by the time the lightweight class headed out for qualifying, and Canet was one of those in Q1 looking to move through. The Spaniard did just that, a tenth off Dennis Foggia (Sky Racing Team VR46), who topped the session, with the two joined by Tatay and rookie Celestino Vietti (Sky Racing Team VR46).
Once into Q2, Canet pulled the pin. 11 minutes into the session the Spaniard set his searing lap that put him over a second clear, and it seemed like pole position could already be a done deal. Ultimately, it was, as the final flurry of times didn’t see too much drama.
Ogura and Tatay were able to make up some ground – a few tenths – but the man second in the standings was in another postcode on Saturday afternoon. For Ogura, however, it’s a third front row of the season, and for Tatay an impressive first…just a week after the Spaniard wrapped up the 2019 Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup crown.
Behind the three distinct stories on the front row, Jakub Kornfeil (Redox PrüstelGP) also impressed as the Czech veteran heads up Row 2, joined by Vietti and a good showing from Alonso Lopez (Estrella Galicia 0,0) for his best ever qualifying.
Tony Arbolino (VNE Snipers) was one man to lose out in the latter stages as he got pushed down to seventh, just ahead of Misano winner Tatsuki Suzuki (SIC58 Squadra Corse). John McPhee (Petronas Sprinta Racing) completes the third row.
Ayumu Sasaki is just behind his Petronas Sprinta Racing teammate in tenth, ahead of Q1-topping Dennis Foggia. Championship leader Dalla Porta starts alongside his compatriot in P12. Albert Arenas (Gaviota Angel Nieto Team), Gabriel Rodrigo (Kömmerling Gresini Moto3) and Jaume Masia (WWR) lock out the fastest fifteen in qualifying.
Technical, challenging and with a long, long straight for slipstreaming, MotorLand Aragon has created some classic Moto3™ races. Tune in for another on Sunday at the slightly later time of 11:20 (GMT +2), with Canet looking to strike back on home turf.
Qualifying results – Top 3:
1 – Aron Canet (SPA – KTM) 1’58.197
2 – Ai Ogura (JPN – Honda) +0.701
3 – Carlos Tatay (SPA – KTM) +0.786