Moto3™ - Australian Grand Prix: championship leader Luis Salom will start from pole position

Moto3™ championship leader Luis Salom will start from pole position for the Tissot Australian Grand Prix at Phillip Island. Joining the Red Bull KTM Ajo rider on the front row will be Jonas Folger and Efren Vazquez, with Salom’s championship rivals Maverick Viñales and Alex Rins fourth and fifth.

Pole for Salom is his fourth of the season and second in succession, ending of run of four different pole-sitters from the previous four events. It came in the form of 1’36.890, serving as a huge confidence boost as the Mallorcan already carries a 14-point lead over Rins and a 26-point margin over Viñales.

Despite being injured in a highside crash in the San Marino Grand Prix in mid-September, Folger continues to deliver solid performances and the Mapfre Aspar Team Moto3 rider will be lining up on the front row for the fourth time in 2013, whereas Mahindra Racing’s Vazquez went third on his final lap, just as teammate Miguel Oliveira crashed out of the session. On Row 2, Viñales (Team Calvo) and Rins (Estrella Galicia 0,0) may be required to work together should they hope to overhaul Salom at the forefront of the race.

In fact, Rins is sandwiched by the Viñales name on the second row, as Maverick’s elder cousin Isaac (Ongetta-Centro Seta) will line up sixth. Celebrating a career-best qualifying result, Team Calvo’s Ana Carrasco achieved seventh position to make it six Spaniards in the top seven places, joined on Row 3 by the crashed Oliveira and Ajo’s Zulfahmi Khairuddin, who escaped both a fall and a lurid off-track moment on the exit of the final corner. Leading Australian representative Jack Miller will start tenth for Caretta Technology – RTG, with compatriot Arthur Sissis 16th for Ajo.

Moto3™ Qualifying Practice Classification 1- Luis Salom SPA KTM 1:36.890 2- Jonas Folger GER Kalex KTM +0.378 3- Efren Vazquez SPA Mahindra +0.402