Valencia Moto3: Antonelli takes surprise poll as title fight rages

Niccolo Antonelli has taken his maiden pole position at Valencia ahead of tomorrow’s final Moto3 race of the season, but behind him the title battle rages on between Jack Miller and Alex Marquez.

Miller looked set to snatch the number one spot from the Italian in the closing stages, but his fast lap fell apart, leaving him only 0.07 back at the chequered flag. However it was still good enough for second and, more importantly, gave him a potentially crucial leg up over Marquez.

The Spaniard will start from third, 0.3 back on Miller, after crashing out at the two third distance point of the session. His countryman Isaac Vinales heads row two, ahead of Marquez’s teammate Alex Rins and Miller’s teammate Karol Hanika.

Nikolas Ajo will start from seventh on the Husqvarna, ahead of Scottish Honda rider John McPhee and Efren Vasquez, while Juanfran Guevara just kept Danny Kent out of the top ten.