Moto3: Ono denied home pole position after grid penalty

Japanese rider Hiroki Ono has been denied the opportunity to start his home Moto3 race from pole position tomorrow despite setting the fastest time of qualifying, after being hit with a three-place grid penalty for dangerous riding on Friday.

Instead, it’ll be Team Sky VR46 KTM rider Andrea Migno who lines up on the top spot for the first time, starting ahead of champion Brad Binder and fellow Italian Enea Bastianini.

Ono’s penalty comes as part of a clamp-down on touring in the qualifying and practice sessions for the junior class, with a raft of stricter penalties announced today for the class.

Nicolo Bulega and Lorenzo Dalla Porta will round out the second row of the grid on the other two Valentino Rossi-backed machines, with Niccolo Antonelli, Fabio Quartararo, Adam Norrodin and Philipp Oettl rounding out the top ten.

Brit John McPhee will start from 16^th, having a strong day at a track that he admits is one of his best of the season.