Rins on pole for final dash

Heading into the 17th and final round of the Moto3™ campaign, just five points cover Salom (Red Bull KTM Ajo), Viñales (Team Calvo) and Rins (Estrella Galicia 0,0) atop the championship standings, meaning a race win for any of the front-row starters will seal the 2013 title regardless of their rivals’ positions. On Saturday, despite Salom having topped two of the three practice sessions, Rins topped the qualifying timesheets with his best effort of 1’39.459. ‘Best of the rest’ behind the championship top three was Jonas Folger for Mapfre Aspar Team Moto3, while Jack Miller (Caretta Technology – RTG) and Niccolo Antonelli (GO&FUN Honda Gresini) completed the second row. Rins’ teammate Alex Marquez will line up seventh and could play a role in the championship fight should he run at the front of the race, while the top ten on the grid will be rounded out by Ongetta-Rivacold’s Alexis Masbou, Salom’s teammate Zulfahmi Khairuddin and Efren Vazquez on the first of the Mahindra Racing machines. There was a crash for Vazquez’s teammate Miguel Oliveira with four minutes remaining in the session, while Hyuga Watanabe also hit trouble when he lost control of his La Fonte Tascaracing bike at the final corner. Qualifying was not without misfortune for Florian Alt (Kiefer Racing) either; he will start at the back of the grid after a crash.