Ayumu Sasaki has converted his brilliant Free Practice form into the Moto3™ pole position at the Animoca Brands Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix. The Sterilgarda Husqvarna Max rider had topped FP3 by more than three tenths of a second and while he did not enjoy the same margin come Q2, he did break Alex Marquez’s eight-year-old All Time Lap Record by clocking a time of 1:35.584. Sergio Garcia (Gaviota GASGAS Aspar Team) was the only rider within half a second of Sasaki but we have to look back to Row 3 to find World Championship leader Izan Guevara (Gaviota GASGAS Aspar Team). It is not all bad for Guevara, though – he has ‘match point’ this weekend and his nearest rival for the title, Dennis Foggia (Leopard Racing), has qualified on Row 4.

Guevara went hard early and was quickest for the first few minutes of Q2 on a 1:37.148, but Sasaki was wasting little time too. He laid down a 1:36.420 on his first flyer then broke the All Time Lap Record next time around and decided that his work was done. With a margin at the time of 0.998 seconds over the field, the Japanese rider returned to the pits and sitting out the rest of the session.

The target was set for the rest to try and chase, but Tatsuki Suzuki (Leopard Racing) was out of the running when he crashed with just over five minutes remaining. A relative flurry in the final three minutes saw Diogo Moreira (MT Helmets – MSI) go second on a 1:36.680, which was beaten when Q1 graduate Carlos Tatay (CFMoto Racing PruestelGP) set a 1:36.671, and again when Garcia set a 1:36.041 to get within 0.187 seconds of Sasaki’s almighty effort.

Then the chequered flag came out and Guevara was still only 13th until he set a 1:36.774 to jump to sixth. However, the Championship leader was pushed off Row 2 when Ivan Ortola (Angeluss MTA Team) got himself into a slipstream and broke the beam in a time of 1:36.579 to claim third position. Ortola thus joins Sasaki and Garcia on the front row, with Row 2 comprised of Tatay, Moreira, and Stefano Nepa (Angeluss MTA Team) on a 1:36.690.

Guevara will head up Row 3, alongside Deniz Öncü (Red Bull KTM Tech3) and Jaume Masia (Red Bull KTM Ajo). Row 4 is Taiyo Furusato (Honda Team Asia) from David Muñoz (BOE Motorsports) and Foggia on a 1:37.013, ahead of Daniel Holgado (Red Bull KTM Ajo), Joel Kelso (CIP Green Power), Adrian Fernandez (Red Bull KTM Tech3), Q1 pace-setter John McPhee (Sterilgarda Husqvarna Max), and Kaito Toba (CIP Green Power) in 17th. Suzuki failed to set a time and is set to start 18th, one spot up on Scott Ogden. The VisionTrack Racing Team rider missed out on an all-important top four spot in Q1 by 0.139 seconds when Tatay improved to third on his final lap of that session. Andrea Migno (Rivacold Snipers Team) qualified 23rd all told, with a tumble along the way in Q1.

History has taught us that Moto3™ at Phillip Island is unmissable, and we could also crown a Champion this weekend. Warm Up is next on Sunday at 09:00 (GMT +11), then it’s lights out at 11:00!

Moto3™ Q2 Top 10

1. Ayumu Sasaki (Sterilgarda Husqvarna Max) – 1:35.854
2. Sergio Garcia (Gaviota GASGAS Aspar Team) + 0.187
3. Ivan Ortola (Angeluss MTA Team) + 0.725
4. Carlos Tatay (CFMoto Racing PruestelGP) + 0.817
5. Diogo Moreira (MT Helmets – MSI) + 0.826
6. Stefano Nepa (Angeluss MTA Team) + 0.836
7. Izan Guevara (Gaviota GASGAS Aspar Team) + 0.920
8. Deniz Öncü (Red Bull KTM Tech3) + 0.942
9. Jaume Masia (Red Bull KTM Ajo) + 0.998
10. Taiyo Furusato (Honda Team Asia) + 1.124