Moto3 Qatar: Quiles takes pole despite two crashes; the final duel with Almansa never materializes

Two crashes over the weekend did not stop Maximo Quiles. The 2026 Moto3 World Champion claimed pole position for the Qatar Grand Prix with a time of 2'02"288, just shy of the Lusail lap record, ahead of David Almansa and Brian Uriarte. But the real story is what didn’t happen: the head-to-head showdown between the two fastest riders on their final attempt never materialized because the top three left the pits too late.

The Spaniard from the Aspar team began Q2 aiming to ride alone, without anyone in his slipstream. On his first flying lap, he stopped the clock at 2'03"025, with David Munoz and Adrian Fernandez’s Honda behind him. On their second attempts, Almansa and Alvaro Carpe put him under pressure, but Quiles immediately responded with the time that would earn him pole.

The Intact GP rider, world runner-up and a specialist over a single lap with the best qualifying record in the field, reached the third sector just one thousandth behind. In the final meters, however, he lost a tenth. Carpe was then more than half a second back, while Fernandez, in sixth, was already a full second off the pace.

With a lap lasting just over two minutes, timing is crucial. Quiles, Almansa and Carpe all left the pit lane too late and were unable to complete one final attempt. Their gamble still paid off: the large group that made it across the line improved, but not enough to dislodge the top two. Uriarte, third in the World Championship standings, was the only rider to make it onto the front row. The second row will be made up of Carpe, Munoz and Fernandez.

Friday had not been straightforward for Quiles. After dominating FP1, he suffered a heavy crash on the session’s final lap. In the afternoon, however, he beat Almansa in the practice session that determined entry to Q2. Munoz also crashed in FP1, stopping after fewer than three laps, as did Matteo Bertelle, who was forced to miss the rest of the weekend with a broken hand. South African rider Kgopotso Mononyane also made his debut at Lusail, replacing the injured Cormac Buchanan.

The title is already his, but Quiles heads into the race with pole position and the feeling that he still has more to give. Almansa will try to spoil his celebrations from the same row of the grid.

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