Italy’s Alessandro Di Persio has secured his first Yamaha FIM R3 bLU cRU World Cup pole position at the penultimate round of the season in Magny-Cours, France. Fellow title contenders Marc Vich and Eduardo Burr completed the front row.  

There were a few damp patches when the R3 riders took to the track in the morning’s Free Practice session, but the youngsters used it to gain experience with mixed weather conditions expected for Race 1 on Saturday. It was Spain’s Vich who had the early pace, setting a time +0.947 seconds faster than his rivals - this was made more impressive by the fact the 18-year-old lapped alone for the entire session. Local star Dorian Joulin placed second in the morning and Japan’s Shoma Yamane rounded out the Top 3. Title contender Gonzalo Sanchez was seventh fastest as he got to grips with the unfamiliar circuit.

In the Superpole session it was all change as Vich, who had been leading the way, lost out at the last moment to Di Persio who took over pole position by the tiny margin of just +0.017. Close behind the pair in third was Burr, +0.185 from the top. Sanchez found his feeling and finished Superpole in fifth, he is joined on the second row by Yamane and Cameron Swain.

Just 51 points separate the Top 5 in the title chase, with Sanchez and Vich split by only 10 points. Watch every moment of thrilling Race 1 action on the Yamaha Racing YouTube channel LIVE at 11:50 CET.

FULL RESULTS - R3 bLU cRU - FREE PRACTICE

FULL RESULTS - R3 bLU cRU - SUPERPOLE

Alessandro Di Persio: “It was a very difficult Superpole, it was tricky to take the slipstream and to set a fast lap. This morning I concentrated on Free Practice to try and find the best possible feeling and setup with my bike, and in the end this paid off. I managed to set a very strong lap in Superpole, and then I tried to improve it but there was a lot of wind and it wasn’t possible. However, this pole position, my first, is very nice. I think there will be a lot of riders in the main group tomorrow, and I simply plan to do my best. I’d like to say a big thank you to Yamaha and to my team AG Motorsport.”