ARENAS ON FRONT ROW AFTER QATARI QUALIFYING
A third position that leaves a sweet taste in Albert Arenas’s mouth the one that the standard bearer of Team QJMOTOR Gresini Moto2 was able to secure in today’s qualifying at Lusail. After a challenging Practice2 session, the rider #75 was forced to go through Q1 – with the rest of the day looking more challenging than expected. Then, the turnaround: with a 1’57.652secs lap-time, he made it through and then made the difference also in Q2, with the third quickest lap-time of the session in 1’57.025secs.
It was a super positive day also for Manuel Gonzalez, who was seeded directly to Q2 after finishing seventh in the second practice session. He then put together a strong lap-time on his own in 1’57.027s, only 0.002 seconds shy of his teammate’s. He will therefore line-up on the fourth spot of the grid for tomorrow’s race, ready to battle for the top positions. The opening race of the 2024 Moto2 World Championship will get underway at 18:15 (GMT +3).
3rd – ALBERT ARENAS #75 (1’57.025s)
“I’m very happy, this front row is the result of all the hard work done during these months. Honestly it was kind of an unexpected one, too, as I couldn’t managed to always be as explosive during testing and in the first sessions in Qatar. We worked a lot on the race pace, though, and to try to find the best feeling with the bike; today it was time to push, and we managed to do so. Surely we can still further improve in some areas of the bike, but it’ll be nice to do it together. We will do our best tomorrow to put together a consistent race, riding well and laying a solid foundation for the season.”
4th – MANUEL GONZALEZ #18 (1’57.027s)
“First Saturday of the season, and it was surely a good one. We did a good job with the team: I wasn’t able to put together the perfect lap in qualifying but fourth place, being the first race, is definitely a good starting position. The feeling with the bike is good and I have a set-up that will allow us to enjoy the whole race with a good rear tyre. Our goal is to finish on the podium and I want to achieve it in my first race with Team Gresini!”
