Qualifying, Sachsenring: Three rookies ahead of Quiles, Uriarte takes first pole

Things were already exciting even before Q2 in the smallest World Championship class. After a botched free practice session on Friday, the dominant championship leader Maximo Quiles found himself back in the first qualifying session. There, the Aspar team’s rough diamond put in a flawless performance. Just ahead of Honda rider Adrian Fernandez and behind Casey O’Gorman, Quiles clocked the second-fastest lap time. The fourth qualifying spot was secured by another young Spaniard, Adrian Cruces.

The Austrian Leo Rammerstorfer had briefly caused a stir. In FP2 on Saturday morning, he took the SIC-Honda to 7th place. In Q1, he again managed 7th place, which means 21st on the grid for Sunday’s race. It was nonetheless the Mühlviertel rider’s best qualifying result since the Brazilian Grand Prix.

Meanwhile, the mood at Liqui Moly Dynavolt Intact GP was subdued – as none of the German team’s Moto3 riders took to the track in Q2. Stand-in rider Marcos Uriarte had failed to qualify, and David Almansa, in consultation with his team, had decided not to compete due to illness. The World Championship bronze medallist had already missed Friday’s sessions; he tried to take part in FP2 but then withdrew.

In excellent conditions, the battle for the best starting positions got underway at 1.10 pm. With lap times in the low 1:25s, the action was intense right from the start. Rookies Brian Uriarte and Marco Morelli initially set the pace. Quiles was shown in 6th place after the first flurry of laps. Honda’s rising star Veda Pratama, who had set the fastest time on Friday, initially sat in 13th place, 0.8 seconds off the pace.

WM-Leader Maximo Quiles kam über das Q1 und stellte Startplatz 4 sicher

Foto: Gold & Goose

Towards the middle of the 15-minute Q2 session, things quietened down briefly, before the battle for the best starting positions resumed on fresh tyres. Even though the Sachsenring doesn’t have any long straights, the riders tried to spur each other on to set the fastest time. Brian Uriarte, however, rode solo. Last year’s Rookies’ Cup winner was the first Moto3 rider to break the 1:25 mark. Uriarte narrowly missed the lap record, which was under threat several times in the final minutes.

However, Carpe, Morelli and Maximo Quiles all failed to break it. Quiles moved up to fourth place, but KTM Ajo rider Brian Uriarte held on to first place. In the final minute, there was another flurry of fast laps. Quiles got caught up in traffic and had to settle for fourth place on the grid. Noteworthy: Hakim Danish became yet another rookie to secure a place on the front row. Rico Salmela, in sixth place, also demonstrated just how strong the newcomers are in 2026.