RODRIGO SIXTH IN QUALIFYING DESPITE LAP RECORD IN JEREZ
Team Kömmerling Gresini Moto3 enjoyed a positive Saturday at Jerez de la Frontera, with Gabriel Rodrigo in great form. The Argentine rider managed to rewrite the outright Moto3 lap record of the Andalusian track in the morning free practice session (1’45.745s) before claiming a sixth-place #SpanishGP qualifying in the afternoon – as his performance was partially affected by windy conditions.
A mistake a turn 7 during his last – and only – quick lap attempt with soft tyres prevented him from sealing a front-row start – and maybe something better – but the rider #19 can still count on a very competitive race pace.
It was a more challenging day for Riccardo Rossi, who despite finishing third in FP1 yesterday had to go through Q1; his quick lap attempt was ruined by a crash involving several riders ahead of him. The Italian was eventually 27th at the chequered flag.
6th – GABRI RODRIGO #19
“There was a little buit of wind in the afternoon and the fastest laps usually come in the morning here. I did two outings in Q2: the first one with hard tyres allowed me to get on to the second row, while the second outing was about taking pole position on soft tyres. I was lapping on the same times as in the morning but at turn 7 I tucked the front and there was nothing I could do. I’m very fast lapping on my own so I think we can have a great race tomorrow. It will be important to save the tyres as this can have a big impact in the second half of the race. The goal is to be on the podium.”
27th – RICCARDO ROSSI #54
“This morning we lapped on used tyres ahead of the race. In Q1 then some riders crashed ahead of me and ruined my quick lap, as I felt I could have been at least half a second quicker at the end. I like the S tyre better, but we’ll see how warm up and I hope tomorrow’s temperature will be sort of half way between today and yesterday.”
