Saturday at the Dutch GP was a brilliant day for Bo Bendsneyder, who took a big step forward amidst wet conditions. The Dutchman, at his home GP this weekend, led the way in FP3 and placed second in qualifying -just missing out on his first pole in the Moto3 World Championship. Tomorrow will be the first time the Red Bull KTM Ajo rider starts from the front row in the series. Teammate Niccolo Antonelli did not have such a good day, suffering two crashes in the two sessions. He will start from 25th position. Free Practice 3 was contested on completely wet track, amidst fine rain. The session did not start well for Antonelli, who crashed just past the halfway point at Turn 10. He escaped unharmed, but missed out on the rest of the session and his 2:00.797 time put him 27th. Bendsneyder experienced a better time in the wet. He did not make a single stop in the pits, and the Dutchman set an exceptional pace. He was the fastest rider in the session with a 1:57.078 time, more than half a second ahead of his nearest rival. Qualifying was also held in wet conditions, and Bendsneyder again took the initiative. He was up into third on the intitial laps, and went top midway through the grid-deciding shootout. His lead lasted until just over 2 minutes remained, when Jorge Martin managed to best his time. Bendsneyder’s 1:58.424 lap put him second on the grid for the Dutch GP. Suffering pain in his back that forced him to go to the Clinica Mobile for a check-up, Antonelli was unable to take to the track until the first quarter of an hour had elapsed. In the final stretch, when he was improving his time, the Italian suffered another crash at Turn 11. He ended the session with a best time of 2:01.855, for 25th place.
Results QP:
POS | Rider | TEAM | Fastest lap |
1 | Jorge MARTIN | Del Conca Gresini Moto3 | 1’57.595 |
2 | Bo BENDSNEYDER | Red Bull KTM Ajo | 1’58.424 |
3 | Nicolo BULEGA | SKY Racing Team VR46 | 1’59.308 |
4 | Nakarin ATIRATPHUVAPAT | Honda Team Asia | 2’00.056 |
5 | Marco BEZZECCHI | CIP | 2’00.189 |
6 | Aron CANET | Estrella Galicia 0,0 | 2’00.560 |
7 | Joan MIR | Leopard Racing | 2’00.673 |
8 | Tony ARBOLINO | SIC58 Squadra Corse | 2’00.713 |
9 | Manuel PAGLIANI | CIP | 2’00.826 |
10 | Tatsuki SUZUKI | SIC58 Squadra Corse | 2’00.926 |
11 | Adam NORRODIN | SIC Racing Team | 2’01.004 |
12 | Gabriel RODRIGO | RBA BOE Racing Team | 2’01.080 |
13 | Jakub KORNFEIL | Peugeot MC Saxoprint | 2’01.092 |
14 | Jules DANILO | Marinelli Rivacold Snipers | 2’01.125 |
15 | Romano FENATI | Marinelli Rivacold Snipers | 2’01.125 |
16 | Maria HERRERA | AGR Team | 2’01.197 |
17 | Enea BASTIANINI | Estrella Galicia 0,0 | 2’01.279 |
18 | Livio LOI | Leopard Racing | 2’01.357 |
19 | John MCPHEE | British Talent Team | 2’01.510 |
20 | Patrik PULKKINEN | Peugeot MC Saxoprint | 2’01.525 |
21 | Fabio DI GIANNANTONIO | Del Conca Gresini Moto3 | 2’01.627 |
22 | Ayumu SASAKI | SIC Racing Team | 2’01.658 |
23 | Marcos RAMIREZ | Platinum Bay Real Estate | 2’01.749 |
24 | Lorenzo DALLA PORTA | Mahindra Gaviota Aspar | 2’01.796 |
25 | Niccolò ANTONELLI | Red Bull KTM Ajo | 2’01.855 |
26 | Philipp OETTL | Südmetall Schedl GP Racing | 2’02.141 |
27 | Andrea MIGNO | SKY Racing Team VR46 | 2’02.642 |
28 | Darryn BINDER | Platinum Bay Real Estate | 2’02.767 |
29 | Ryan VAN DE LAGEMAAT | Lamotec Lagemaat Racing | 2’03.629 |
30 | Juanfran GUEVARA | RBA BOE Racing Team | 2’03.715 |
31 | Raul FERNANDEZ | Mahindra Gaviota Aspar | 2’04.397 |
32 | Kaito TOBA | Honda Team Asia | 2’05.736 |
Source: motogp.com, ajo.fi