SALAČ WITHIN PROVISIONAL Q2 POSITIONS AFTER DAY ONE AT SEPANG
Free Practice – #MalaysianGP The opening day of action at the Sepang International Circuit, the venue hosting the penultimate round of the 2022 MotoGP season, turned out to be quite an eventful one: after a first dry session in the morning, red flags were deployed during FP2 due to heavy rain – only ten minutes after the start.
Despite the unfavorable weather, Filip Salač managed to take a spot inside the top 14, which means he holds a provisional direct admission to Q2. The rider #12 was 14th in the combined times of today’s sessions courtesy of a 2’08.589 lap-time set during FP1 – a time he set with the harder rear-tyre option. Salač also had a great feeling in wet conditions as he was among the fastest riders on track.
Alessandro Zaccone had a challenging start to the weekend, as he rode for the first time today on the Malaysian track. FP1 were not enough for the Italian rider to get to know the inside-outs of the track and find the best feeling in dry conditions – while FP2 did not allow him to improve his time. He currently sits 25th and 1.5secs shy of the top 14.
14th – FILIP SALAČ #12 (2’08.589)
“It was a positive day: we set our quickest time in FP1 with hard tires. Then in FP2 it started to rain right when I had found a good feeling with the new tyre – so I wasn’t able to improve. I’m still happy because I was among the quickest riders in wet conditions. Now we need to think about tomorrow: it’ll be key to get a direct admission to Q2 and have fun!”
25th – ALESSANDRO ZACCONE #61 (2’10.142)
“This is my first time at this track and I must say I really like it a lot. Unfortunately, one dry session wasn’t enough to find the right feeling; I need to be out there more to find the rhythm and keep working on the set-up – this is why I’d like FP3 to be dry. FP2 were compromised by a little fault in the rear tyre that prevented my from understanding my true level in wet conditions. We’ll do our best to improve tomorrow and make a good jump in the timesheets: I really like the track and I’m ready to have fun.”
