Veda Pratama stunned the Moto3 world by clinching his maiden pole position at Phillip Island, marking a historic first for an Indonesian rider in the category. Riding for Honda Team Asia, Pratama emerged from Q1 and capitalised on his late track position during his final flying lap to secure a blistering 1:35.299. Using the riders ahead as pacing markers, he edged out reigning world champion Maximo Quiles by a razor-thin margin of just 0.021 seconds. Quiles had earlier dominated the wet FP2 session, making Pratama’s achievement all the more remarkable.

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Local favourite Joel Kelso, who had dominated much of the qualifying session, secured the third spot on the front row despite a late collision. Kelso was rear-ended by Rico Salmela at Turn 4 during the final moments but managed to stay upright and preserve his impressive position. Meanwhile, Joel Esteban also endured contact during his run when Ryusei Yamanaka failed to see him approaching and raised his leg to turn, causing a collision. Undeterred, Esteban improved his lap time and claimed fourth place, with Eddie O’Shea rounding out the top five after progressing from Q1.

The session took a cruel turn for David Almansa, who was climbing the order and had reached fourth fastest before a fall amid intensifying rain pushed him down to 11th on the grid. Brian Uriarte, the pole sitter from last week’s Indonesian round, ended up 14th, trailing behind teammate Alvaro Carpe in 12th and Valentin Perrone in 13th. Perrone is set to serve a long lap penalty for assisting Marianos Nikolis after a crash during practice.

The unpredictable conditions added drama to the qualifying, but it was Pratama’s tactical brilliance and composure under pressure that rewrote the record books. His breakthrough pole at Phillip Island not only highlights his emerging talent but also signals a new chapter for Indonesian motorsport on the world stage.