Simon qualifies on front row despite early struggles

Day two at Motorland saw the Moto2 riders continue to find their way around the new circuit, the gap narrowing at the top as they battled it out for grid positions this afternoon with the front five rows separated by just a second. Mapfre Aspar rider Julian Simón qualified as the best Spaniard in fourth place behind Andrea Iannone, Alex De Angelis and Scott Redding. Both sessions were run in dry conditions today although tyre wear has been harsh, making the choice of rubber crucial ahead of tomorrow’s race.

Simón lost his way slightly this morning after making some clutch modifications but he was quickly back on the pace in the afternoon and built towards a 1’55.364 two laps from the end, which was just two tenths off pole and good enough for a front row start in fourth.

4th Julián Simón 1.55.364 (18 laps): “Even though we struggled to get on the pace this morning I’m happy overall. We tried a variety of clutch settings and I lost my focus a little but in the afternoon I was back to my best. The top four riders are very close and I think it could be a great batte at the front tomorrow. It will be hard to make a break because of the long straight so I hope my pace is good enough to keep me up there to the end. It would be great to win at home but I’m not going to worry about that – it would be nice just to be on the podium in front of these fans. We have done a good job so far and if I get a good start tomorrow we can be fighting for the win.”

Source: Mapfre Aspar Team