Moto3: Masterful Martin takes ninth pole of the season

Jorge Martin has once again displayed a masterclass in qualifying performance to line up first for his home race at tomorrow’s Aragon Grand Prix, after a blistering lap despite heavy traffic. Plagued at every turn by riders trying to follow him, the Spaniard was able to save the best to last and deliver a knockout lap in the final seconds to demote Jaume Masia and Enea Bastianini.

Marinelli Snipers Team rider Tony Arbolino grabbed fourth to seal his best grid slot since taking pole in Argentina, with Dennis Foggia continuing his good form this weekend to start from the middle of the second row. Championship protagonist Marco Bezzecchi, meanwhile, led the session before the final flurry of times came in and the Italian slipped down the order slightly, but only to the outside of the second row in sixth.

Niccolo Antonelli set the seventh quickest time, but the Italian has a 12-place grid penalty for irresponsible riding in FP3. This means Gabriel Rodrigo will start from seventh after heading the timesheets by over three tenths early on, with Aron Canet and Fabio Di Giannantonio joining him on the third row in eighth and ninth, respectively.

Next up was Adam Norrodin, with Marcos Ramirez a thousandth slower and Jakub Kornfeil only a further two thousandths in arrears. Nicolo Bulega and Albert Arenas completed the fastest fifteen, also split by just two thousandths of a second.

Brit John McPhee had a disastrous qualifying session to come home 23^rd, after a number of close calls with fellow riders saw him almost fall – something made doubly frustrating after strong pace in FP3.