Moto3 Sepang: Insatiable champion Quiles takes pole at the last moment. Danish makes history, Bertelle sixth

The title is already in the bag, but Maximo Quiles has no intention of easing off. In qualifying for the Malaysian Grand Prix Moto3 race, the Spanish Aspar rider snatched pole with three minutes remaining, setting a 2'10"396 and knocking David Almansa off the top spot. At Sepang, Almansa had been looking to reaffirm his status as this season’s king of the single lap.

For the newly crowned world champion, this is his third pole of 2026 and the fifth of his career in the entry-level category. It comes after a difficult Friday: as we reported in Moto3 Sepang: Almansa tops the times without a tow, Bertelle into Q2, Quiles makes a mistake and finishes 11th, the Aspar rider had ended pre-qualifying outside the top ten.

His start to Q2 had been far from brilliant, too. After the first run, Quiles was only seventh, around three tenths off the pace. Meanwhile, provisional pole changed hands several times: Joel Kelso was the first to dip under the 2'11" barrier, followed by Matteo Bertelle, Alvaro Carpe and finally Almansa, who topped the times without benefiting from a tow.

On his second attempt, the Spaniard found another gear, lapping alone ahead of the group that would go on to fill the front row. Almansa, a seven-time pole-sitter this season, tried to respond on his final lap, opening with a record first sector, but ran wide over the kerb and ended up in the gravel. The Intact GP rider, second in the World Championship, will have to settle for fourth on the grid, less than two tenths off the benchmark.

Two rookies will line up alongside Quiles. Brian Uriarte, riding for Red Bull KTM Ajo, finished second, just 84 thousandths behind. Home rider Hakim Danish (MT Helmets MSI) took third, skillfully slotting into the champion’s slipstream and finishing 133 thousandths back, to the roar of the Malaysian crowd. Danish is the first Malaysian to start from the front row at his home Grand Prix since Zulfahmi Khairuddin in 2012. The front row is entirely KTM.

Almansa will start from the second row, alongside Carpe, fifth on the other Aki Ajo bike, and Bertelle, sixth on the Level Up MTA, just over four tenths off the pace. For a few moments, the rider from Veneto held provisional pole with a 2'10"844 before being bumped down the order. Kelso is seventh and the highest-placed Honda rider, ahead of Veda Pratama, who took pole at Phillip Island a week ago but was unable to make the most of it after the race was cancelled. Adrian Fernandez and David Munoz complete the top ten.

Further back, Guido Pini: after making it through Q1, the Leopard rider also suffered a crash and will start 14th, from the fifth row. Marco Morelli, another Q1 graduate, is 12th on the Aspar. It was a day to forget for Leo Rammerstorfer, who was hit by Kiattisak Singapong in Q1 and ended up in the gravel; the Austrian managed only 25th.

The race is scheduled for Sunday at 5 a.m. Italian time. Quiles will start from pole as he bids for his 11th win of the season, while Almansa will need to fight his way up from the second row to defend second place in the World Championship.

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