Kent smashes lap record for pole at Mugello

Danny Kent threw down a gauntlet to the rest of the Moto3 field by storming to a dominant pole position at Mugello. Kent felt so comfortable with his time that he elected to come into the pits with two minutes remaining and forego any attempt at improving his time. It’s a classic tactic of the psychological warfare that it takes to win world titles by putting all the pressure onto his opponents and making him look incredibly confident in the closing moments of a session.

Hiroki Ono was second fastest with Romano Fenati, a notoriously bad qualifier, rounding off the front row. Fenati, who hadn’t qualified on the front row since the 2012 Misano race, will be a real challenger for the win tomorrow. The Italian won last year’s Italian Grand Prix and is always strong in front of his home crowd.

Karel Hanika was an impressive fourth to equal his career best from last year’s German round. Nicolo Antonelli and Jakub Kornfeil will start from the second row. Fabio Quartararo had a fall with five minutes remaining and the Frenchman tumbled down the timing screens to finish 13th fastest just behind Brad Binder.