WIND HALTS TEAM KÖMMERLING’S PROGRESS IN AUSTRALIA
Inclement weather was the absolute protagonist in the second day of action at Phillip Island, the wonderful location hosting the 16thevent of the MotoGP World Championship. Team Kömmerling Gresini Moto3 suffered the strong winds and – especially this morning – opted for a safe approach to the session, with Rossi out on track for only nine laps and Rodrigo not leaving the team’s pit-box.
Riccardo Rossi had to endure a qualifying session that had it all: oil on track halfway through the session, which led to a red flag situation, rain and wind… The choice of a wet set-up did not pay off for the Italian, with the track that dried up way too quickly – meaning the #54 will start tomorrow from the 25thplace on the grid.
Gabri Rodrigo– who got access to Q2 yesterday – had a hard time in getting up to speed with only 15 minutes of track-time in such different conditions compared to Friday’s free practice. The 11thplace gives hope for tomorrow – weather permitting. The race will get underway at 11:00 local time! (GMT+11)
11th– GABRI RODRIGO #19
Today’s conditions were a bit risky so we decided not to hit the track in FP3. I needed a few more laps in qualifying to find the track’s limits with that wind… In the end fourth row is not an amazing result, but not a terrible one either considering I’m still not 100%. Today was important not to take any risk and finish with a decent result. Let’s hope for better conditions tomorrow, and we’ll give our best as always.”
25th– RICCARDO ROSSI #54
“It’s been an unusual journey which was marked by a lot of wind this morning. Then in Q1 everything happened: first dry track, then oil on track, then wet conditions. When we got back on track after the red flag with wet settings, the track dried up very quickly, so it was impossible to fight for a spot in Q2.”
