SENSATIONAL MARTIN TAKES POLE NUMBER EIGHT OF 2017 AT PHILLIP ISLAND
Jorge Martin has sealed the eighth pole position of the season at Phillip Island today, after yet another stellar performance in qualifying, which saw the rider of Team Del Conca Gresini Moto3 heading the Moto3 World Championship field courtesy a 1’37.030secs lap-time.
Despite track conditions being very different compared to the opening day of the Australian GP, the 19-year-old from Madrid was able to quickly get up to speed as he ended up second in Free Practice 3, before almost making it under the 1’36secs barrier with a time that was enough for him to earn the very front spot on the grid for tomorrow’s 23-lap encounter of the quarter-litre class of MotoGP.
Fabio Di Giannantonio’s eleventh place cannot be considered in a negative way given yesterday’s poor performance by the Italian. ‘Diggia’, who is racing at the Island for the second time in his career, will line up on row four with the goal to defend his fourth place in the standings.
With some great anticipation in the air, the third-last race of the 2017 Moto3 World Championship will get underway tomorrow at 13:00 local time (GMT +11).
1st– JORGE MARTIN #88
“We’ve made a big step forwards. Yesterday we were a bit lost, but in today’s session I was quick, especially with used tyres which is a great thing ahead of the race. Obviously I’m really happy with my eighth pole of the year and we will surely try to get a good start in the race: the idea will be to try and pull away, but we need to stay calm and focused because it’s going to be a long race.”
11th – FABIO DI GIANNANTONIO #21
“I’m very happy with how today went. I lapped on my own for the most part and that’s really important. The bike has improved a lot compared to yesterday, even though it was still moving a bit too much at the rear. There’s still some time to work on it and if we can fine tune the package a little I think we’ll be ready for a great race.”
