Moto3 Catalunya: Untouchable Foggia flies to pole position

Dennis Foggia stamped his authority on qualifying to claim pole for the Calatlan Grand Prix, round nine of the championship.

The Leopard rider arrived fastest after topping FP3, and while his rivals spent their time looking to move onto a different schedule or trying to gain a tow, the Italian remained confident in his own solo pace immediately setting the benchmark to beat.

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It was the #7 who challenged his own time dropping it to 1m 48.290s for the top spot on the grid.

No 'pole hound' - Foggia had not been on pole once in his career until France this year - the number seven was followed out of the pits by all for his final run, with his team-mate Suzuki right behind.

His uncertainty to take the lead over from Foggia meant his previous effort on the Honda stood as the best time of the session.

Deniz Oncu was sat in the middle of the next group to find the chequered flag, using the riders ahead to slipstream his way up to second from 16th after a well timed final run on the Red Bull KTM Tech3.

After dominating Friday practice, topping both sessions and holding the best overall time, Izan Guevara was another rider who looked comfortable solo. 

The Valresa GasGas Aspar rider went into the pits for some alterations after his first run aloowing him to fly solo on his way to collecting a late third.

That lap pushed back Lorenzo Fellon who had held the position previously after a session of consistent lapping from the SIC58 Squadra Corse rider.

Ryusei Yamanaka was the best of the riders to come through Q1. Initially circulating with Fellon and Garcia, the Jpanaese rider made sure he always had fast company to help him up to fifth on the grid.

Riccardo Rossi also came through the first qualifying sessionand was immediatley fast in Q2 as he made his extra track time count on the way to sixth for on the second SIC58 Squadra Corse bike, completing a strong day for the team.

Championship leader and Mugello winner after his GasGas team-mate was handed a last lap penalty, Sergio Garcia never quite got into gear so starts from seventh.

Kaito Toba also needed to move through Q1 and then chipped away at his time to claim eighth for CIP Green Power, finishing just ahead of his team-mate Joel Kelso.

The top ten was completed by Suzuki after he gave up on his last chance to improve.

John McPhee was the best of the Brits in eleventh for Sterilgarda Max Racing. Scott Ogden missed the beginning of the session as mechanics from both sides of the VisionTrack garage rushed to repair his bike. 

Thanking them, he exited but returned to the pits straight away, leaving it to the last minute to post a time, which was good enough for 13th and some damage limitation.

Crashes in Q2 halted progress for both Jaume Masia and Carlos Tatay. The Red Bull KTM Ajo rider had his right at the end of the session, leaving him 14th while CFMOTO’s Tatay fell moments earlier as the chequered flag was brought out leaving him 18th and last in the session.

Snipers rider Andrea Migno won the opening round and looked to have overturned his slip in form, finishing just off the podium in fourth in Mugello. The Italian was over a second off pole pace just a week later, leaving him 15th at the end of Q2.

What happened in Q1?

Q1 one started as a waiting game with only Ivan Ortola and Kaito Toba venturing out early.

It was a day of mixed fortunes for the VisionTrack Team with crashes for Scott Ogden, who was already sat in P1 and held position after hitting the paint while cruising looking for track position, and Joshua Whatley, who had been knocking seconds off his laps every session but has his best lap cancelled leaving him with no time set to line up last. 

They have three bikes this weekend as the team host wildcard rider Syarifuddin Azman, who had Elia Bartolini need to pull off a big save right in his path, ruining his best lap and leaving him 26th overall.

Mario Aji was the first rider to miss out, fifth in the session - 19th on the grid - as he failed to improve on his first fast lap so fell out of the top four.

David Munoz enjoyed a strong first grand prix in Mugello but will have work to do to race in the lead group again from 20th on the grid for BOE Motorsports.

Xavier Artigas continued his slip in form and could only manage seventh in Q1, leaving him down in 21st for CFMOTO Racing PruestelGP.

Absentees and replacements

Ayumu Sasaki misses the Catalan GP after his huge crash in Mugello. He was less hurt than previously hurt but recovery time is still needed. Deputising for him is David Salvador (16th), who previously replaced John McPhee in the Sterilgarda Husqvarna Max team.

Alberto Surra is also absent, following his fall last round with little time between races. Snipers have picked debutant Marcos Uriarte (27th) to fill in.

Diogo Moreira began practice but was well down the order in FP1. After discussions between rider and team he was declared unfit to continue due to pain in his wrist. The MT Helmets -MSI rider, who is currently the best performing rookie, picked up his injury in his last lap fall in Italy. Moreira was operated on this Tuesday and passed fit to ride at the track Friday morning.