Spanish dominance at Buriram: Almansa on pole with a Moto3 record, Pini 9th, Pratama a surprise

Record rewritten and first Moto3 pole of 2026: David Almansa flies at Buriram, surprises aren’t lacking. Report and standings.

David Almansa smashes the all-time Moto3 record and forcefully takes pole position! Everything is decided in the final seconds at Buriram, with the Intact GP rider stamping his name on the first slot on the grid for the opening event of the 2026 World Championship. “Here we go again” with total Spanish domination, as shown by the top four positions, followed by an interesting surprise: Indonesian rookie Veda Pratama, impressive since FP1 and 5th for his first ever Grand Prix! Italians not shining, with Guido Pini saving the day by taking ninth on the grid. Here’s how it went.

Among the protagonists of this first session are Matteo Bertelle, who crashed without consequences in FP2 (a session dominated by the Spaniards, with Almansa on top), and rookie Rico Salmela, now at two crashes between yesterday and today. Let’s not forget yesterday’s Practices and Hakim Danish’s super save! But now it’s time to focus on the four spots that grant access to the next session, not without a few “tricks” on track. It will be the Malaysian debutant who tops this session, with a superb final lap that secures Q2 and has the team celebrating. Just a few hundredths behind is David Munoz, competing in his first GP after the femur fracture that ended his 2025 season, third is Joel Kelso, new MLav Racing signing, and rounding out the group of “advancers” is the aforementioned rookie Salmela. No glory for the Italians, as both Bertelle and Carraro miss out.

The list of 18 is complete; it’s time to attack for pole, with only Guido Pini flying the Italian flag in this session. The signs seen in FP2 are confirmed: the Spaniards raise their voices again in this second and decisive qualifying session at the Buriram circuit. Alvaro Carpe (two tenths off Rueda’s all-time record), David Almansa, Adrian Fernandez, Maximo Quiles, and even rookie Brian Uriarte are the standout riders of the session. Is that it? Absolutely not: in the final seconds Almansa unleashes and obliterates the Moto3 record with a time that earns him pole position! The final top 4 is all Spanish, and a fine surprise is the 5th place of Indonesian rookie Veda Pratama, while our Guido Pini will start tomorrow from 9th on the grid.