MotoGP 2013 – Round Eight – Sachsenring
— Bradl first in front of home crowd as Lorenzo out after crash
An eventful day of track action came to a close at the Sachsenring on the first day of the eni Motorrad Grand Prix Deutschland with local favourite Stefan Bradl topping the timesheets for LCR Honda MotoGP. Yamaha Factory Racing’s Jorge Lorenzo suffered another heavy accident in the afternoon session, landing on his injured shoulder, unfortunately putting him out of the Germany race and possibly the next.
Bradl’s Friday-topping lap time came in the form of a 1’22.030, with Lorenzo ending the day second overall from Repsol Honda Team’s Dani Pedrosa and their respective teammates Valentino Rossi and Marc Marquez. Completing the top eight were Monster Yamaha Tech 3’s Cal Crutchlow, Ducati Team’s Nicky Hayden – who experienced a late crash at Turn 3, which followed a pair of earlier off-track moments – and Power Electronics Aspar’s Aleix Espargaro, the leading CRT runner.
The most significant happening of the day came just oven ten minutes into the afternoon session. Having broken his left collarbone at Assen only 15 days earlier, Lorenzo lost control exiting Turn 10 and landed heavily on his already damaged shoulder. The session was briefly stopped as the stricken Yamaha M1 was lying in the middle of Turn 11, while the World Champion was checked over.
Only three and a half minutes after the restart, Crutchlow suffered his second crash of the day – and both had come at the rapid Turn 11. When he was sliding down the track, several pieces of gravel became trapped inside his right glove, which had to be removed by the medical staff at the Clinica Mobile and the wounds cleaned up. He has been declared fit to ride tomorrow. In the morning, Ducati Team’s Andrea Dovizioso and Energy T.I. Pramac Racing’s Andrea Iannone had gone down at the same corner. For Dovizioso the crash meant that he wrote off his only GP13 “Evolution” chassis, having to revert back to the regular GP13 for the rest of the weekend.
Cardion AB Motoracing’s Karel Abraham was struck down with flu and fever and for that reason did not take part in the afternoon period, whereas Hiroshi Aoyama was back in action with Avintia Blusens for the first time since his hand-injuring crash on the Saturday of the Catalan Grand Prix. In Practice 2, GO&FUN Honda Gresini’s Bryan Staring added his name to the list of fallers.
Practice Results
1 Stefan Bradl 1’22.030 GER HONDA LCR Honda MotoGP
2 Dani Pedrosa 1’22.239 SPA HONDA Repsol Honda Team
3 Marc Marquez 1’22.251 SPA HONDA Repsol Honda Team
4 Jorge Lorenzo 1’22.252 SPA YAMAHA Yamaha Factory Racing
5 Valentino Rossi 1’22.395 ITA YAMAHA Yamaha Factory Racing
6 Nicky Hayden 1’22.572 USA DUCATI Ducati Team
7 Aleix Espargaro 1’22.763 SPA ART Power Electronics Aspar
8 Andrea Dovizioso 1’22.850 ITA DUCATI Ducati Team
9 Alvaro Bautista 1’22.976 SPA HONDA Go & Fun Honda Gresini
10 Andrea Iannone 1’23.008 ITA DUCATI Energy T.I. Pramac Racing Team
11 Bradley Smith 1’23.040 GBR YAMAHA Monster Yamaha Tech 3
12 Randy De Puniet 1’23.255 FRA SUZUKI Suzuki Test Team
13 Michele Pirro 1’23.491 ITA DUCATI Ignite Pramac Racing Team
14 Yonny Hernandez 1’23.524 COL PBM Paul Bird Motorsport
15 Hector Barbera 1’23.627 SPA FTR Avintia Blusens
16 Michael Laverty 1’23.636 GBR PBM Paul Bird Motorsport
17 Danilo Petrucci 1’23.866 ITA IODA-SUTER Came IodaRacing Project
18 Colin Edwards 1’23.911 USA FTR-KAWASAKI NGM Mobile Forward Racing
19 Cal Crutchlow 1’23.932 GBR YAMAHA Monster Yamaha Tech 3
20 Claudio Corti 1’24.078 ITA FTR-KAWASAKI NGM Mobile Forward Racing
21 Hiroshi Aoyama 1’24.647 JAP FTR Avintia Blusens
22 Bryan Staring 1’24.862 AUS FTR-HONDA Go & Fun Honda Gresini
23 Lukas Pesek 1’25.568 CZE IODA-SUTER Came IodaRacing Project
24 Karel Abraham DNS CZE ART Cardion AB Motoracing
Moto2™
Moto2™ championship leader Scott Redding set the pace as proceedings continued in Germany on Friday at the eni Motorrad Grand Prix Deutschland at the Sachsenring. The Marc VDS Racing Team rider set the quickest time in Free Practice 2, heading up the timesheets from NGM Mobile Forward Racing’s Alex de Angelis and Tuenti HP 40’s Pol Espargaro, who had led the first session earlier in the day.
Redding reduced the quickest time of the day to 1’25.152, leading De Angelis by just over one tenth of a second ahead of the San Marino rider’s MotoGP™ class outing at Laguna Seca next weekend. Espargaro and Came IodaRacing Project’s Johann Zarco also ended the day within two tenths of a second of the leader, with Mika Kallio next up to ensure Marc VDS riders are bookending the top five.
Desguaces La Torre Maptaq’s Xavier Simeon made a good start to his weekend by putting his Kalex in sixth, ahead of Technomag carXpert’s Randy Krummenacher and Interwetten-Paddock’s Tom Luthi. Italtrans Racing Team’s Julian Simon will be pleased to have put his bike in ninth, while NGM’s Simone Corsi will hope to claw back some positions on his teammate in second.
Simon’s teammate, Takaaki Nakagami ended the day in 14th, after getting on his bike for the first time since breaking his collarbone in Assen. He stated that he was not in pain or discomfort, and put his result purely down to set-up issues.
Moto3™
Alex Rins and Estrella Galicia 0,0 set the pace on the first day of Moto3™ practice for the eni Motorrad Grand Prix Deutschland at the Sachsenring. This went further underneath the previous best lap from 2012, as Luis Salom and Efren Vazquez finished second and third for Red Bull KTM Ajo and Mahindra Racing, respectively.
With Maverick Viñales’ leading Sachsenring lap of last season having been 1’28.159, Rins established the overall best lap of Friday by posting 1’27.208. This was a full three tenths of a second quicker than championship leader Salom, who had topped the opening session in the morning. Behind Vazquez, who recovered from a fall to finish third, the top five was completed by Ongetta-Centro Seta’s Isaac Viñales and Team Calvo’s younger cousin Maverick.
Niklas Ajo was further down the order than is usually the case, ending the day in 30th place after sustaining a small fracture to his right wrist in a morning crash. Further fallers in the afternoon period were Kiefer Racing’s Toni Finsterbusch, Redox RW Racing GP’s Jakub Kornfeil and Ongetta-Centro Seta’s Matteo Ferrari, while San Carlo Team Italia’s Romano Fenati was forced to stop with a broken chain.
Arthur Sissis – “It was not a bad first day to this Grand Prix. In fact, I think from now on I will like this circuit a little more. In the first session I was pretty fast and I got some good times, and I found a quick pace right from the start of the session. Over the next 40 minutes we made some changes on the bike to try things out, but it has not given us a better feeling than we had in the morning session. So tomorrow we’ll switch back to the settings from the first practice session and I think we will go better.”
— LCR Honda Report
Stefan Bradl has high expectations heaped on him by an excited home crowd and in today’s first day of practices at Sachsenring circuit the German talent gave to his local fans something to celebrate for as he topped the timesheets ahead Pedrosa and Marquez (1’22.030). The Bavarian rider made full use of his Honda RC213V at the 3.671Km race track where last year he finished a strong fifth.
Stefan: “Obviously it’s a great feeling to be the first in the timesheets on Friday and this the best way to start your home Grand Prix. Actually I immediately felt comfortable with the bike this morning and, with a few adjustments, it has been even better in the afternoon. I am fast with both bikes (with short or long swing-arm regulations) and we are pretty convinced about the tyres we are going to use. So the overall package is good, I am in a good form and it’s nice to feel the support of your local fans”.
— Yamaha Racing
Motorrad Grand Prix Deutschland following a high speed crash this afternoon in the second of the day’s free practice sessions. Reigning World Champion Lorenzo had been the fastest rider of the morning session, despite still recovering from surgery just two weeks ago on a collarbone injury sustained in practice for the Assen TT.
The afternoon session had started well with the Mallorcan flying straight into the top of the time sheets with a 1’22.047 second lap. The success was to be short-lived however as less than ten minutes in Lorenzo suffered a huge high-side crash, falling heavily onto the injured shoulder. He was taken immediately to the medical centre for x-rays where it was revealed he had damaged the plate inserted in surgery just two weeks ago. As a result the decision has been made to withdraw from this weekend’s Grand Prix. Lorenzo will fly home to Barcelona this evening and will undergo surgery tomorrow to repair any damage.
Team mate Valentino Rossi carried his confidence from his race win in Assen two weeks ago to the morning session and was quickly up to pace and a serious contender in the top group of riders, wrapping in third just 0.194 seconds from Lorenzo in first. The afternoon saw a more complex session for the Italian as the team worked through a number of different settings and tyre choices to get the best out of the YZR-M1 as the track temperature increased. Rossi completed the first day in fourth position in the combined times just 0.2 of a second from the front.
Jorge Lorenzo 2nd / 1’22.047 / 22 laps
“I have decided to go home and recover after today’s crash at Sachsenring. I prefer to focus on surgery to fix the plate that was unfortunately bent during the crash. I will try to recover and be back as soon as possible.”
Valentino Rossi 4th / 1’22.241 / 38 laps
“At the end it’s a positive day for us, the practices were not so bad. Our pace and lap time was good and we are not so far from the front. This afternoon we had some difficulties when we tried some different things on the bike, the harder front tyre and some different settings. It looks like when the track has more temperature it gives us more problems, especially after some laps, so to ride the bike at the limit is more difficult. We have to work on the setting to improve our pace to stay with the front. Anyway we are not so far. Five or six riders have good pace so it will be interesting tomorrow.”
Wilco Zeelenberg – Yamaha Factory Racing Team Manager
“Second practice here in Sachsenring has gone wrong like in Assen. This morning fastest and this afternoon a fast crash on maybe the second or third lap. Again he has hit the left shoulder and the plate has been bent. It’s obviously very painful so we need to consider and step by step decide what the plan is for the coming days.”
Massimo Meregalli – Yamaha Factory Racing Team Director
“Following from such a strong performance in Assen this is not how we wanted to start the Sachsenring weekend. Unfortunately Jorge has further complicated the injury to his shoulder in this afternoon’s crash so will need to return home for surgery tomorrow. We are very sorry to see him leave us however he has his full team support and we know he will come back fighting as soon as it is physically possible. It was good to see Vale start today with the same promise and pace we saw in Assen. We have some issues to work through to find the best set up to cope with warmer temperatures at the track but we are confident he will be a key protagonist on Sunday.”
Doctor Enric Cáceres – Member of the Immediate Intervention Dexeus to MotoGP
“The diagnosis after the fall is that the osteosynthesis material is bent in the middle. The screws of the proximal and distal have endured but Jorge will need a new intervention to re-attach the clavicle, because the plate has been curved slightly.”
Difficult start to Sachsenring weekend for Crutchlow and Smith
The start of the eni Motorrad Grand Prix Deutschland today proved to be a difficult one for the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team, with Cal Crutchlow and Bradley Smith unable to break into the top 10 on an incident-packed opening day of practice. Smith found the tight and twisty Sachsenring layout, which is dominated by left-hand corners, a tough physical challenge for his recovering left wrist injury.
The scaphoid bone he damaged in a crash last month in Mugello is still not back to 100% strength and it was tested to the limit today, with the extra stress placed on the left side of his body only adding to the challenge of getting accustomed to the German venue on his Yamaha YZR-M1 machine.
Gradually building up his pace and confidence in cool and cloudy conditions this morning, Smith was able to lap almost 0.7s faster in warmer weather for FP2 and climb from 15th to 11th in the rankings. The 22-year-old’s impressive pace of 1.23.040 was just over 0.1s away from the top 10 and less than 0.5s outside of the top six and on combined times he finished in an encouraging 12th position.
Crutchlow’s bid to secure a fourth podium of 2013 got off to a tough start, the on form British rider suffering two fast crashes today. This morning’s FP1 had only a few seconds to run when Crutchlow crashed heavily at the first corner while he was attempting to improve on sixth position. Shaken but not stirred in that incident, the 27-year-old then fell again in FP2 at the Sachsenring’s famous Turn 11, which is a super-fast left-hander with a downhill blind entry taken flat-out in fourth gear.
Crutchlow was able to walk away from the high-speed crash but he underwent checks on a suspected left arm injury before X-rays confirmed he had escaped any serious damage. He did suffer numerous cuts and abrasions to his hands and arms in the second crash but nothing that will prevent him from participating in tomorrow’s action.
Bradley Smith 11th 1.23.040 – 24 laps
“It was a positive day. The Sachsenring is a very physical track, especially for the left side of the body, but it is not giving me too much of a problem. That is great because it proves all the hard work with my physiotherapist back in the UK has paid off with my wrist. It is not at 100% but it is much better than in Assen and I can ride with less discomfort and pain. I’m a bit disappointed not to be inside the top 10 but I felt I didn’t quite put the best lap together today, so I am sure we can improve for tomorrow. We have a clear direction to improve the setting I have no doubt my Monster Yamaha Tech 3 crew will improve our package for tomorrow. I am feeling confident and excited to improve tomorrow.”
— Ducati Report
As was the case for many of the MotoGP riders on the event-filled first day of the German Grand Prix, Nicky Hayden and Andrea Dovizioso both suffered falls on their way to seventh and ninth places, respectively, in the combined times of the first two free-practice sessions.
The Italian’s fall came early during FP1 in the fast turn 11, damaging the one example of the updated frame that he had at his disposal and thus forcing him to revert to the standard version. Hayden’s FP2 fall, which occurred in the slower turn 3, was much less costly, and the American is generally pleased with his pace. Both riders are optimistic that with adjustments to their Desmosedici GP13 race bikes, they’ll be able to improve upon their lap times tomorrow.
Nicky Hayden – Ducati Team, 7th (1:22.572)
“I’ve had a pretty good pace today, especially compared to Assen. For my fast lap, a half-second from the front is a lot on this short track, but my ideal time is a couple of tenths better. When it’s difficult to put heat in the front tyre, turn 11 is tough for everybody, especially us. We’ve made a couple of little improvements during the day, but we need to sort out a few more things with the bike. In particular, I’ve had a couple of big moments when the rear to let go too aggressively. I also had a small crash in the slow turn 3, where the front folded with no warning. Anyway, our pace is certainly better than it has been, and we’ll see what we can come up with for tomorrow.”
Andrea Dovizioso – Ducati Team, 9th (1:22.850)
“We’d have liked to do some tests with the new frame, but unfortunately, it was bent in my crash—and there were many of those here today. That means we can’t use it, and instead we have to run the one we’ve used all season. It’s tough here, as this track is always strange. You have to be really smooth, and the bike needs to be able to change direction easily, which is difficult for us. We’re a bit closer to the front, and I think we can improve a bit, although not a lot because we can’t take wide lines like the others and pick the bike up on the exits. Still, if we respect our bike’s characteristics and take tight lines, maybe we can improve by a couple of tenths, and here, a couple of tenths makes a difference over thirty laps.”
— Repsol HRC
Repsol Honda riders Dani Pedrosa and Marc Marquez have enjoyed a productive first day at the GP of Germany. Track conditions weren’t very good in this morning’s cold FP1 session – only 15ºC with a track temperature of 21ºC, both Dani and Marc opted to use the soft compound front and rear Bridgestone tyres. On his last exit, Marc used a hard front tyre and improved his time slightly.
In the afternoon the sun appeared and the ambient temperature rose to 21ºC and the track to 37ºC, and both riders chose to run the whole session with the hard front tyre. Dani spent some laps with the hard rear tyre but unsurprisingly posted his fastest time on the soft option with 1’22.239 on his final lap of 25. Marc, visiting Sachsenring for the first time on a MotoGP machine, remained on the soft rear for the whole session and was just 0.012 off Dani with 1’22.251 on lap 19 of 23.
Dani Pedrosa 2nd 1’22.239
“Today we focused on tyres, in order to find out what the ideal choice will be for Sunday’s race and lately we have had some problems with the compounds being a little harder than normal. I had time to test all the options and in general things went well. However, tomorrow we have to find a slightly better setup for cornering. As for Jorge, let’s see how his condition is before commenting -we still don’t know details. At the moment it doesn’t look good for him, so I wish him well”
Marc Marquez 3rd 1’22.251
“The day has been very positive and I’m very happy with how practice has gone so far, as I have been slowly improving. From the start I felt very comfortable – with it being a smaller circuit, the speed isn’t so different compared to when you’re riding a Moto2 bike. Of course, you reach your braking markers quicker and you have to use new references, but it isn’t that different to other circuits. This helps me to adapt a little more quickly. We have been working hard, but there are still some places on the track where I have to improve, be more consistent and find a good setup. Tomorrow we will try to continue in the same way, just as focused. I am sorry to see Jorge suffer another big crash, we wait to hear news and I send him my best wishes”
— Bridgestone Report
Bridgestone slick compounds available: Front: Soft & Hard. Rear: Soft, Medium & Hard (Asymmetric)
Bridgestone wet tyre compounds available: Soft (Main), Hard (Alternative)
Weather: FP1 – Dry. Ambient 16-17°C; Track 21-24°C (Bridgestone measurement)
FP2 – Dry. Ambient 21-24°C; Track 36-41°C (Bridgestone measurement)
LCR Honda’s Stefan Bradl delighted his legion of German fans at Sachsenring by topping Friday practice with a benchmark lap time of 1’22.030 in this afternoon’s Free Practice 2 session.
Bradl set the best time of the day on the combination of the softer rear and harder front slick to narrowly beat Yamaha Factory Racing’s Jorge Lorenzo’s – who set his best time in the morning FP1 session – by 0.017 seconds. Third quickest today was Repsol Honda’s Dani Pedrosa who stopped the clocks with a 1’22.221 to finish within two-tenths of Bradl. Power Electronics Aspar’s Aleix Espargaro again set the pace among the CRT pack, finishing eighth overall with a time of 1’22.641.
Ambient temperatures varied greatly today as cloud cover in the morning kept track temperatures low in FP1 before the sun emerged for FP2 to boost track temperatures to a peak of 41°C. The cool temperatures in the morning resulted in all riders using the softer rear slick options and only two riders evaluating the harder front slick option. As track temperatures increased for FP2, riders were able to evaluate both the harder front and rear slick options, although no clear picture on tyre choice for the race has emerged at this stage.
Warm and mainly fine conditions are expected tomorrow, though there is a slight chance of rain. The next MotoGP session is scheduled to start at 0955 local time tomorrow (GMT +2).
Shinji Aoki – Manager, Bridgestone Motorsport Tyre Development Department
“Today’s weather conditions were typical for this circuit, with early cloud cover keeping temperatures low before the sun came out in the afternoon. The cool track in FP1 meant most riders used softer slicks front and rear, before many riders switched to the harder front option when track temperatures increased in FP2. Today’s practice sessions showed how the layout of this circuit is so challenging as a few riders got caught out at turn eleven which is the first right-hand corner after a long sequence of left-hand turns. The chain of left-handed corners means the right shoulder of the tyres cool down substantially before the entry of turn eleven, which necessitates a precise approach by the riders. The lap times today were quite good – even in the cold FP1 session – with many riders lapping close to race lap record pace. If the weather stays dry, I think as teams refine their setup and track conditions improve we will see a very quick pace in qualifying tomorrow.”
— Marc VDS Report
It was Scott Redding’s name at the top of the timesheet, with Marc VDS teammate, Mika Kallio, just three tenths back in fifth, after the opening day of practice ahead of the German Grand Prix at the Sachsenring.
It was Redding and Pol Espargaro – first and second in the Moto2 championship standings – who set the pace this morning, with the Spaniard taking the honours by just 0.095s at the end of the 45-minute session. The two championship rivals were at it again this afternoon, but this time it was Redding who dipped below the current lap record to claim the top spot, with eventually Espargaro relegated to third by Alex De Angelis.
Mika Kallio completed race distance runs on the harder option front and rear tyres in both free practice sessions today, before tweaking the rear suspension settings and switching to the softer option Dunlop slicks for his final run this afternoon. The improvement was immediate, with the 30-year-old Finn going half a second faster to claim fifth position on the provisional grid.
At just 3.6km in length the Sachsenring is the shortest circuit on the Moto2 calendar, which meant that times were closer than ever in the hotly contested Moto2 class. Just half a second separated Nico Terol in 13th from Redding in first.
Livio Loi made a solid start to his German Grand Prix weekend at the Sachsenring. The 16-year-old Belgian finished this morning’s opening Moto3 free practice session in 20th position, but improved his lap time by almost a second this afternoon to move up to 16th on the timesheet.
Scott Redding #45: 1st – 1’25.152
“I was pretty happy with the bike set-up this morning, so we only changed a few minor things for this afternoon’s session. I had a good feeling with the bike, so I spent some time on the harder option front tyre, as we’re not sure the softer option will be the best choice for the race here. I wasn’t really pushing for a lap, but instead working to get a good feeling with the bike for the race. With less traffic this afternoon I could maybe have strung some laps together and taken a few more tenths off my time, but my only clean lap came right at the end when I set my fastest time. It’s always good to be on the pace from the start of the weekend, so it’s been a pretty good day overall.”
Mika Kallio #36: 5th – 1’25.458
“We came here with a plan for free practice, and I’m happy to say it seems to have worked well. This morning we used just one set of the harder option tyres, on which I did a lot of laps. I was pretty happy with the consistency of my lap times, even if the position wasn’t so good. This afternoon we started again on the harder option tyres, running near race distance on my first exit, before switching to the softer option front and rear towards the end of the session. We also made a small change to the rear suspension, which improved traction on the rear. Here at the Sachsenring you’re opening the gas almost full, still with a lot of lean angle, so this change made for a big improvement. Tomorrow morning we will run on the softer option tyres, to see which is our preferred option for qualifying and the race.”
Livio Loi #11: 16th – 1’28.992
“I had two good practice sessions today and I think we’re back in the line now. I was able to improve my lap time with each exit to run inside the top ten during the early part of this afternoon’s session, but missed out a little when we opted to try the softer option tyre on my last run. For me it didn’t work as well as the harder tyre, so I was unable to improve my lap time and dropped down the order as others went faster. But it’s all looking good for tomorrow.”
Michael Bartholemy: Team Principal
“Overall it’s been a good day for the Marc VDS Racing Team here at the Sachsenring. Scott has been on lap record pace from the first free practice, ending the opening day at the top of the timesheet and ahead of his main championship rival. Mika was consistently quick over near race distance on the harder option tyres, while a slight change in set-up meant he was then able to go half a second faster on the softer tyres this afternoon. If Scott and Mika can continue in the same way tomorrow then there’s a good chance we could see both of them qualify on the front row of the grid. Livio had two solid sessions today, lapping consistently and rebuilding his confidence in the bike after two difficult races. He is confident of further improvements tomorrow, but he also needs to remain realistic with his goals for both qualifying and the race. If he can qualify top 20 and finish in the points on Sunday, then we’ll be happy.”
— Red Bull Rookies
Jorge Martin set a blistering pace in the first qualifying session for the Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup round at the Sachsenring. The 15-year-old Spaniard held pole even though Cup leader, Karel Hanika, the 17-year-old Czech and a back-to-form Scott Deroue, the 17-year-old Dutchman came very close in the second session.
“I’m so happy with that,” said Martin. “That’s my first pole and it feels great. We had so many problems in the free practice this morning but the technical guys did a fantastic job to sort out the suspension and it was such a pleasure to ride in the afternoon.”
“For the second session we just made another slight change and it was a little better still but the rear tyre was quite worn and I just wanted to concentrate on setting my own pace and doing consistent good laps like I want to in the race tomorrow,” concluded Martin who got within two tenths of his first session mark.
Hanika was only slightly quicker than Martin in Q2 and still 0.172 from the pole. “The race is tomorrow,” stated the blond who was fastest all through pre season testing and had pole for the first three race events. “I knew after the first session that we had to improve the bike a bit and I had to find something myself. We did a little of both and improved the bike through the session but by the end the rear tyre was spent and I was still struggling a little when pushing the front really hard. That’s OK, I think it will be a great race.”
Completing the front row did not make Deroue ecstatic. “I’m happy but not at the same time,” he explained. “I am happy to be running at the front again, we struggled so much early in the year and Assen was a big turnaround. Now I am to the front again but it is still not perfect, step by step we are getting the bike to the way I like it but we are not quite there yet, hopefully we will be close enough tomorrow to race for the win.”
Heading the second row, 15-year-old Spaniard Diego Perez had no such problems. “The bike really has been great this afternoon I really enjoyed riding it and I’m looking forward to the race tomorrow. I am determined to get on the podium.”
With the top four places taken by the more experienced Rookies it was down to Joan Mir to be the fastest of the first year teens. “That’s my best qualifying so far and to be honest I’m surprised, I didn’t think I was going that fast and I don’t know why,” admitted the 15-year-old Spaniard. “I had a lot of fun and the bike was pretty good, we could still get it working a little better but I’m so happy to be towards the front and I can’t wait for the race.”
Olly Simpson completes Row 2 and the 15-year-old Australian said he felt quite at home. “We have a few tracks in Australia that rise and fall like this and have corners that all flow together so I was really enjoying it from the start. It’s a great track, quite difficult to learn but it’s working out OK and we made a few improvements to the bike that also helped.”