The Qualifying session for the TVS Racing International Championship category concluded today at the Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli, Italy, for Round 5 of the 2026 FIM Asia Road Racing Championship. Portugal’s Pedrinho Matos set the benchmark with the fastest lap time to secure pole position for the upcoming races.
An early setback shook up the session when India’s Sarthak Chavan crashed on his opening lap, forcing him back into the pits and costing him valuable track time and mileage.
Seven minutes into the session, Malaysia’s Mohd Ramdan Mohd Rosli hit a top speed of 187 km/h on his third lap, clocking a blistering 1’50.761s to lead the timing sheets early. Luca Agostinelli of Vietnam maintained consistent pace throughout his early run, but his personal best of 1’50.979s left him 0.218s adrift of Ramdan.
India’s Chiranth Vishwanath, who had struggled for pace yesterday after finishing 8th and 10th in Practice 1 and Practice 2 respectively, displayed marked improvement today. He logged a 1’51.464s to temporarily break into the top five.
With four minutes left on the clock, Italian home favourite Cristian Borrelli posted a 1’50.958s to claim second position, relegating Luca to third.
However, Pedrinho Matos was not to be outdone. Reaching a top speed of 186.5 km/h, the Portuguese rider shaved crucial fractions off the benchmark, posting an unbeatable 1’50.303s to snatch pole position with just two minutes remaining.
The session ended with Pedrinho on top of the timesheets. Ramdan settled for second place with his early effort of 1’50.761s, while Cristian secured third with a 1’50.958s. Luca finished fourth with a 1’50.979s, and Chiranth lowered his lap time to 1’51.040s to round out the top five.
Pedrinho commented, “It has been an incredible day here at Misano, and securing pole position is the best possible way to head into race day. The most important thing is the massive progress we made between yesterday’s practice sessions and today’s qualifying run.”
“Yesterday we lacked a bit of confidence on certain sections of the track, but the team did an outstanding job working on the setup, and the bike felt completely dialed in today.”
“Tomorrow’s race is definitely going to be an intense, hard-fought battle from start to finish. I’m feeling confident, mentally prepared, and ready to fight with everything I have from lights out to bring home the victory for the team.”
TOP 5 FASTEST – QUALIFYING
- PEDRINHO MATOS – PORTUGAL (1’50.303s)
- MOHD RAMDAN MOHD ROSLI – MALAYSIA (1’50.761s)
- CRISTIAN BORRELLI – ITALY (1’50.958s)
- LUCA AGOSTINELLI – VIETNAM (1’50.979s)
- CHIRANTH VISHWANATH – INDIA (1’51.040s)