Alessandro Di Persio (ARCO MotoR University Team) will line up on pole position ahead of the final round of the 2025 FIM Yamaha R3 BLU CRU World Cup at Circuito Estoril.

The young Italian, who clinched the 2025 title last time out at MotorLand Aragon, claimed his third pole position start of the season in today’s Superpole session, breaking the R3 lap record with an impressive time of 1'54.861s.

The 2025 World Cup champion was a man on a mission throughout the opening day of action on Portuguese soil. Despite settling the score and taking championship victory two weeks ago, he remains on the hunt to end the year on a high.

Joining him on the front row is Japanese rider and second-place championship contender, Teppei Kugawa (BLU CRU Yamaha Racing Japan) and Brazilian Aymon Bocanegra (Yamaha AD78 FIM Latinoamerica), also possessing high hopes for the final round of the year.

The front three riders heading up tomorrow’s charge were separated by just 0.293 seconds in Friday’s scorching Superpole session – guaranteed to make for an exciting charge to the chequered flag in Race 1 tomorrow.

The remaining second-place contenders, Arai Agaska (BLU CRU Yamaha Racing Indonesia), Chris Clark (BGR Smrz Racing), and Mario Salles (Yamaha AD78 FIM Latinoamerica) are set to continue the battle for runner-up spot in the championship this weekend.

Agaska and Salles are set to line-up in fifth and sixth respectively for tomorrow’s opening race, with Clark going from further back in sixteenth with two long lap penalties to complete due to irresponsible riding during today’s Superpole.

Alessandro Di Persio, ARCO MotoR University Team, said: “It feels great to secure my third pole position start of the season at Estoril. I’m really happy with my performance throughout the opening day, the Yamaha R3 feels great to ride, and I’ve found a really comfortable feeling for tomorrow. I’d like to say a big thank you to my team, ARCO MotoR University Team, and the Yamaha BLU CRU staff for the bike and opportunity. Now, we’ll focus on Race 1 and see what we can achieve.”