Today’s qualifying sessions at the Mandalika circuit in Indonesia saw Honda’s Moto3 riders tackle hot and humid conditions, where they demonstrated good pace in front of the passionate fans.

The opening session saw Leo Rammerstorfer shine, with the SIC58 Squadra Corse rider consistently within the top-four places at a circuit that he hasn’t raced at before. The Austrian rider managed to dodge the late yellow flags and secure his second Q2 appearance of his career. 

Unfortunately a crash for GRYD Racing’s Eddie O’Shea prevented him from proceeding further, while team-mate Joel Kelso, Kittisak Singhapong (Rivacold Snipers Team) and Zen Mitani (Honda Team Asia) were also unable to secure places in Q2.

As is usual for the Moto3 championship, it took until the final moments of the Q2 session to see the full potential of each rider, with yellow flags and deleted laps for exceeding track limits making it difficult to predict the front row during the session.

At the chequered flag it was the Leopard Racing duo of Adrian Fernandez and Guido Pini who were Honda’s top challengers, as they finished with the fourth and fifth fastest lap times respectively. This will see the pair lead the second row of the grid off the line in tomorrow’s race.

Behind them on the third row will be home-hero Veda Pratama (Honda Team Asia), who will be hoping to give his fans something to cheer about at Mandalika. The Indonesian has given himself a very good chance of success by qualifying in seventh place.

Further back on the grid in tenth will be Casey O’Gorman (SIC58 Squadra Corse), who was prevented from setting a final flying lap due to a Turn 1 crash in the closing moments of the session, Jesus Rios (Rivacold Snipers Team) in 12^th place and Rammerstorfer in 17^th.

Tomorrow’s Moto3 race will be run over 20 laps of the Pertamina Mandalika International Circuit, with lights out at midday local time.