The Gaviota GASGAS Aspar rider will start the Australian Grand Prix from eighth place. Yamanaka will do it from sixteenth

Ayumu Sasaki has taken the pole position at the Australian Grand Prix and will lead the front row of the grid for the second year in a row at Phillip Island. The Japanese rider had arrived to qualifying on a high after being quickest in the combined timesheets and will look to set his pace tomorrow and break away from the rest of the field. Local hero, Joel Kelso, will begin from second, while Stefano Nepa, who makes his debut on the front row this season, will start from third. On a day in which strong wind is expected, the rest of the main title contenders will start from further back. Dani Holgado will begin from eleventh, while Jaume Masià will do it from thirteenth. Both riders will try to move up quickly to follow the front group and fight for podium positions. Tomorrow's race will be held at 10.00 am (local time).

Gaviota GASGAS Aspar rider David Alonso will start the Australian Grand Prix from eighth position. The Colombian has been close to repeat on the front row, but an incident in the final part of Q2 and an improvement in the times of his rivals on the last lap have prevented him from a better grid position in his debut at Phillip Island. Despite this, the Colombian has worked well on his race pace and is confident of being able to fight with the front group. His teammate Ryusei Yamanaka has arrived to the qualifying session after taking part in Q1. The Japanese was riding with confidence, but in Q2 he has not been able to improve his time and tomorrow he will start from sixteenth position.

8th David Alonso 1:37.146 (+0.607): “Today I was more adapted to the circuit. I have done a good last free practice and I have been able to get directly into Q2. In qualifying we were in second position, but I have had an incident when I have put on the new tyres and I couldn't do a good lap. Tomorrow we start from eighth and we are ready for the race.”

16th Ryusei Yamanaka 1:37.661 (+1.122): “I'm happy because I have been able to get into Q2, but it has been a difficult session for me. A lot of riders have started to wait on track and I couldn’t do a good lap. I have not improved my time from Q1, but I think we can do a good race tomorrow.”