Top ten Qatar qualifying for Joan Mir

 In Moto3, News

joan-mir

Qualifying for the Moto3 Grand Prix at the Losail International Circuit on Qatar took place this evening as the three Leopard Racing riders looked to make an impact on the grid ahead of the race tomorrow with young Spaniard Joan Mir taking the tenth spot on the grid.

Teammate Fabio Quartararo took third place on the grid for the Qatar Grand Prix with a best time of 2’06″399. The Frenchman ended the official qualifying session in fourth position, but gained the front row due to the penalty imposed on the South African rider Brad Binder.

In the early stages of the session it was Fabio Quartararo and Joan Mir that lead the way while teammate Andrea Locatelli lapped just shy of the leading two riders times, themselves split by just +0.154s.

With 18 minutes to go, Quartararo ran off track twice but fortunately without incident.The session saw major rivals Niccolò Antonelli and Jorge Navarro both fall without injury. In the last moments of the 40 minute session, Joan Mir tried to go for broke in his lap but could not avoid contact with his teammate Andrea Locatelli.

Fortunately the Italian managed to stay in the saddle despite damage to the bike and damaged gear. The Italian managed to secure a decent 20th place start for tomorrow’s race, within 1” of compatriot Romano Fenati who took the second pole position of his career as the chequered flag ended the session.

Tomorrow at 15:50 local time (GMT +3) will see the Warm Up session for the cadet category before the first race of the 2016 season of the Moto3 World Championship at 18:00.

#36 Joan MIR – 10th (2’06.728):
“I’m happy because we found a good set-up, in the first outing and was immediately fast. We tried for another time but at that moment the wind got up so we tried a soft tyre and made a small change to the rear and immediately felt at ease. We had a good first part to qualifying (10 thousandths from pole) but when I arrived in traffic I was pushing hard and I fell down. I apologize to Andrea for ruining his flying lap. We must however be positive and keep morale high for tomorrow.”

Source: Leopard Racing

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