ALEIX JUST MISSES Q2 AND HAS TO SETTLE FOR THE FIFTH ROW
SIXTH ROW FOR ANDREA IANNONE
In motorsports, thousandths of seconds make the difference. This is no common place. Just analyse the performance today by Aleix Espargaró: in a frenetic FP3 session, the Aprilia rider missed a spot in the top 10 (which would have sent him straight through to Q2) by 78 thousandths. Then, in Q1, it was a difference of just 99 thousandths that denied Aleix access to the final qualifying session for the second time. His fourteenth place at the end of the day translates into the fifth row for a race which promises to be rather treacherous in terms of tyre wear if the weather remains as predicted.
Andrea Iannone will start from three spots farther back on the grid after working hard preparing for the race to make up the time lost yesterday. The Italian rider proved to be rather competitive in the first two sectors, whereas he seems to have some limitations on the second half of the track.
ALEIX ESPARGARÒ
“Today was not exactly a super day. We are lacking traction and, especially with used tyres, this costs us a lot in acceleration. I expected to be able to go straight through to Q2, but a technical problem in FP3 kept me from going out with the bike I preferred. Then, in FP4, the conditions were anything but easy, with some damp sections which certainly didn’t simplify matters. In Q1 I gave it everything, just missing going through by a tenth, but it was the most we could do today.”
ANDREA IANNONE
“Unfortunately, this is a track that does not hide our limitations, so we need to face a reality that is not very easy. In the first two sectors performance is good, whereas the second half of the track gives us some trouble. We tested rather different setups and we still have some things to test tomorrow. We’ll keep trying to improve.”
