The Turk Deniz Öncü (KTM) took pole positionfourth of the season and eighth of her racing career, for the Moto3 Thai Grand Prix at the Chang International circuit in the town of Buriram, in which the first three finishers finished in just 58 thousandths of a second difference.
Öncü set a best time of 1:42.061, to lead the trio on the first starting line in Thailand, which will also include the Brazilian Diogo Moreira (KTM) and the Japanese Ayumu Sasaki (Husqvarna). The world leader, the Spanish Jaume Masiá (Honda) had to settle for seventh positionthird starting line.
The first classification was the strangest, with many pilots giving up a lot of time in their workshops waiting for the departure of a pilot of their interest, which meant that at the halfway point there were barely three pilots with an accredited time, among them the Spanish David Muñoz (KTM ), with 1:43.771, which came first. Second place, at that time, went to David Salvador (KTM), with a time of 1:45.388, very far from the reference times of the category, which he later reduced to 1:44.566.
The lost time could have played against the pilots, who when they decided to shoot, found that on the track it started to rain in some points of the route, which was going to further complicate the first classification for all its participants. Fortunately the rain did not fall with enough intensity to change the track conditions and that is how the Australian Joel Kelso (CFMoto) climbed to first place, with 1:42.450, followed by David Muñoz, who lowered his best personal best up to 1:42.826, with the Italian Stefano Nepa (KTM), third, and Adrián Fernández (Honda), fourth.
In the end they were the ones who moved on to the second classification, Joel Kelso, David Muñoz, Stefano Nepa and Adrián Fernández.
The Brazilian Moreira was the first leader of the second classification1:42.118 on his second lap and this time without the negative image of the drivers riding very slowly on the track or waiting from their workshops for the start of a faster opponent.
Meanwhile, the championship leader, Jaume Masiá, in his first three laps, had not been able to do more than the twelfth best time, although his closest rival, the Japanese Ayumu Sasaki, was not much better, in ninth position. . Precisely Sasaki was the first to react. to finish one thousandth behind Moreira in his fourth lap, with the Japanese Ryusei Yamanaka (Gas Gas), third.
The final minutes were going to become a authentic ‘sprint’ in which the Turkish Deniz Öncü was the first to “warn” by taking the lead with a time of 1:42.061, which in the end was the fastest in the category, while in turn twelve the Italian Riccardo crashed Rossi (Honda), without significant physical damage, but now without options.
Shortly after, Joel Kelso and the Japanese Taiyo Furusato also crashed, both in turn eight, as did Ryusei Yamanaka shortly after when he was fourth, and the world leader barely improved a few thousandths of a second his personal best time to finish seventh, which will mean he will start from the third row of the starting lineup, along with the also Spaniards Adrián Fernández (Honda) and José Antonio Rueda (KTM).
Ahead of him were Deniz Öncü, Diogo Moreira and Ayumu Sasaki on the first row, Ryusei Yamanaka, Collin Veijer and Furusato on the second, with the Spaniards David Muñoz, Daniel Holgado (KTM) and the Colombian of Spanish origin David Alonso (Gas Gas) in the fourth.