QUALIFYING TO FORGET FOR QJMOTOR GRESINI MOTO2 IN AUSTRIA
The expectations for Manuel Gonzalez were high following a good showing in both the opening day and the morning action at Spielberg, as the Spanish rider finished sixth in the combined Practice times and was seeded directly to Q2. Despite his eagerness to do well, Gonzalez saw his front-row hopes shatter as he crashed out of turn one after setting only one quick lap. The big highside prevented him to return to action in qualifying, leaving him with a ninth place on the grid for tomorrow’s race. The feeling with his Kalex machine is still very good, meaning he will still be able to aim at a strong result in Austria.
It was a bit more of a challenging day for Albert Arenas, who was forced to go through Q1. The rider #75 did manage to make it through but he also crashed out of the session after setting the thirteenth quickest time. He will start tomorrow’s encounter from row 5, ready to bounce back.
9th – MANUEL GONZALEZ #18 (1’34.235)
“On one side, it was a positive day, because I feel good with the bike and I can sense the limit. Unfortunately a crash ruined our qualifying result; ninth place is definitely not what I was expecting. I’m still confident for tomorrow as my speed is good. It’ll be important to be smart because it’s going to be a long race, but I think we learning something today with regards to what to expect tomorrow.”
13th – ALBERT ARENAS #75 (1’34.333)
“Today we managed to turn our weekend around a bit, even though a bit late, and we paid the price of this delay today. We were strong in Q1 and managed to make it through, and in Q2 we tried a set-up adjustment which didn’t turn out to be a good one. We finished the session with a high-speed crash, fortunately without consequences for me. I did my best and I’m sorry for the team as they’ll have a lot of work to do, so I’d like to thank them. We’ll try again tomorrow.”
