Simon happy with front row start and aiming for victory

The top three from Indianapolis – Toni Elias, Julian Simón and Scott Redding look set to repeat their podium dominance at Misano tomorrow after controlling proceedings in qualifying this afternoon. Italian riders are sure to launch a bid for glory at their home circuit and the tight chicane at the end of the main straight is sure to see some action as 39 riders jostle for position when the lights go out at 12:15.

Mapfre Aspar rider Julián Simón continued an excellent run of form that has seen him move to the sharp end of the Moto2 World Championship, the Spaniard qualifying third fastest. His best lap was his 20th of 21 and was just three tenths short of pole but his pace throughout the session suggests that he has the speed to run at the front over 26 laps tomorrow. Mike Di Meglio was forced to combat the worsening effects of tonsillitis and a rising temperature today. The Frenchman also suffered a problem with his rear brake during the session but still managed to qualified nineteenth fastest and is targeting a return to the points-scoring positions.

3rd Julián Simón 1.39.280 (21 laps): “I am happy with the result because we have met with our primary objective, which is to qualify on the front row. It will be a tight start tomorrow so it’s important to be starting from third on the grid. I would have liked to put up a stronger challenge for pole because we had the pace this morning but I struggled more in the afternoon. We tried the harder rear tyre but it hasn’t worked well for us here so we went back to the softer option and a softer shock. As soon as we made the changes I got back on the pace but we ran out of time to set a better lap. Anyway, I’m satisfied with how we worked. Tomorrow we’ll have to watch out for Elías, Redding and the Italians, who I am sure will be up front. I’ll be using the hard front and the soft rear for the race – we know they’ll go race distance because I did 28 laps on them this morning at a good pace. My objective is to go for the win but above all run at the front and continue to learn about this category.”

Source: Mapfre Aspar Team