KUALA LUMPUR: Despite having to deal with a revised circuit layout, rookie Khairul Idham Pawi did well to keep his hopes of a podium finish within grasp after securing a second row start at the Catalunya round of the Moto3 World Championships today.
Riders were given an extended 60 minute session in the final practice to adapt to the changes made to the layout in the aftermath of Luis Salom's tragic accident yesterday.
Khairul (Honda Team Asia) clocked 1:55.748s for 16th in the final practice as he learned the track but turned up the pace considerably in qualifying with his 1:54.392s securing him sixth place on the grid for tomorrows race.
It is his second highest qualifying position after securing third in Mugello, where he crashed in the final corner of the race, a fortnight ago. He had qualified seventh when he won the Argentina GP in April.
Honda teammate Hiroki Ono's 1:54.726s will see him lining up in 11th.
Drive M7 SIC Racing Team's Adam Norrodin, who clocked 1:56.063s for 21st in the final practice, will start from 25th after notching 1:55.576s.
Red Bull KTM Ajo's Brad Binder took pole on 1:54.024s. The South African is in fine form having won the last three races.
In Moto2, Hafizh Syahrin Abdullah (Petronas Raceline) equalled his best qualifying position after coming in 12th on 1:50.152s. Hafizh, who came in fifth in the race at Mugello, had also started from 12th in Argentina. Frenchman JohannZarco (AjoMotorsport) took pole on 1:49.179s.