Martin snares eighth Moto3 pole of 2017

Jorge Martin has claimed his eighth Moto3 pole position of 2017 as he emerged on top in qualifying for tomorrow’s Grand Prix at Phillip Island.

Martin set his best lap midway through the session, his 1:37.030s proving two tenths clear of Gabriel Rodrigo in second.

Championship leader Joan Mir will start third ahead of Juanfran Guevara, with Romano Fenati also on the second row in fifth.

Fenati’s best lap came while trailing Mir around the Phillip Island circuit in the early part of the session, much to Mir’s frustration.

Without Mir’s tow later, Fenati struggled to lap within a second of the 1:37.680s lap he set early on.

The KTM pairing of Rodrigo and Guevara also circulated together, helping the pair qualify towards the front of the grid.

Rain at the Southern Loop in the latter stages of the session saw times slow, confirming Martin’s pole position.

Australian wildcard tom Toparis qualified 31st and last with a time of 1:42.218s on his KTM.

Tomorrow’s 23-lap Moto3 race is scheduled for a 13:00 AEDT start, following a 20-minute warmup session at 10:40 tomorrow morning.

Result: Australian Moto3 Grand Prix Qualifying

Position	Rider	Team	Bike	Time
1	Jorge MARTIN	Del Conca Gresini Moto3	Honda	1m37.030s
2	Gabriel RODRIGO	RBA BOE Racing Team	KTM	1m37.248s
3	Joan MIR	Leopard Racing	Honda	1m37.411s
4	Juanfran GUEVARA	RBA BOE Racing Team	KTM	1m37.544s
5	Romano FENATI	Marinelli Rivacold Snipers	Honda	1m37.680s
6	Jules DANILO	Marinelli Rivacold Snipers	Honda	1m37.710s
7	Manuel PAGLIANI	CIP	Mahindra	1m37.713s
8	Aron CANET	Estrella Galicia 0,0	Honda	1m37.743s
9	Enea BASTIANINI	Estrella Galicia 0,0	Honda	1m37.820s
10	Tatsuki SUZUKI	SIC58 Squadra Corse	Honda	1m37.906s
11	Fabio DI GIANNANTONIO	Del Conca Gresini Moto3	Honda	1m37.949s
12	Marco BEZZECCHI	CIP	Mahindra	1m37.972s
13	Philipp OETTL	Südmetall Schedl GP Racing	KTM	1m38.044s
14	Lorenzo DALLA PORTA	Aspar Mahindra Moto3	Mahindra	1m38.068s
15	Niccolò ANTONELLI	Red Bull KTM Ajo	KTM	1m38.089s
16	Marcos RAMIREZ	Platinum Bay Real Estate	KTM	1m38.170s
17	Ayumu SASAKI	SIC Racing Team	Honda	1m38.204s
18	Darryn BINDER	Platinum Bay Real Estate	KTM	1m38.289s
19	Bo BENDSNEYDER	Red Bull KTM Ajo	KTM	1m38.293s
20	Jakub KORNFEIL	Peugeot MC Saxoprint	Peugeot	1m38.328s
21	Livio LOI	Leopard Racing	Honda	1m38.386s
22	Adam NORRODIN	SIC Racing Team	Honda	1m38.429s
23	Nicolo BULEGA	SKY Racing Team VR46	KTM	1m38.577s
24	Tony ARBOLINO	SIC58 Squadra Corse	Honda	1m38.593s
25	John MCPHEE	British Talent Team	Honda	1m38.614s
26	Andrea MIGNO	SKY Racing Team VR46	KTM	1m39.225s
27	Maria HERRERA	Aspar Mahindra Moto3	Mahindra	1m39.425s
28	Nakarin ATIRATPHUVAPAT	Honda Team Asia	Honda	1m39.895s
29	Patrik PULKKINEN	Peugeot MC Saxoprint	Peugeot	1m40.709s
30	Kaito TOBA	Honda Team Asia	Honda	1m40.895s
31	Tom TOPARIS	Cube Racing	KTM	1m42.218s