Moto3: Canet steals debut pole at the flag

Moto3 rookie Aron Canet has stolen his first ever world championship pole position from reigning champion Brad Binder right at the last possible opportunity of his debut season, sneaking in a fast lap in the dying seconds of qualifying for the final race of 2016.

Taking the top spot despite struggling with injuries to his hand sustained, he says that despite the strong qualifying position, however, his goal for tomorrow will be a top ten finish.

But Binder has less to worry about him in second, joined on the front row by a surprise result from Hiroki Ono.

“The pole position has been very close. I lost about four laps during the qualifying session, just because some riders were waiting around. In the end, I told myself that I had to go for it on my own, give it everything and see what I was capable of doing. On the penultimate lap I was able to ride completely by myself and set a 1:39.2, which is a really fast time.

“We took a step forward with the bike in qualifying, and that gives me a lot of confidence ahead of the race. Tomorrow we will try to win, I have nothing to lose and it will be my last race before moving up to Moto2, so I will try to achieve the best possible result and move up to the intermediate class happy.”

Nicolo Bulega heads up the second row, ahead of yesterday’s fastest man Juanfran Guevara and Niccolo Antonelli.