Differing fortunes for Moncayo and Oliveira in Jerez qualifying

The home Grand Prix has not been easy for Alberto Moncayo so far. Various difficulties during practice kept him from reaching his usual level and the qualifying has not been an exception. After a few warm-up laps the rider from Cadiz came back in the box to make some adjustments, but when he returned to the track the bike stopped, making it impossible for Alberto to continue his work. The transfer of rider and machine back to the garage plus the preparation of the bike to get back on track took up most of the qualifying time. But despite that Moncayo made the best of the six minutes he had left and set a time of 1’49 .247 which was enough for 10th place on the grid.

Miguel Oliveira, who debuts this season in the 125cc world championship, knew that at the Circuito de Jerez he could give a great performance, something he confirmed all throughout today’s sessions. Miguel made great progress over the weekend, setting the third fastest time overall in free practice.
During qualifying, with somewhat less favorable weather conditions, Miguel returned to fight with the fastest riders of the category, setting a laptime which allows him to start from 8th position on the grid.

ALBERTO MONCAYO 10 ° (1’49 .247)
“The qualifying has been really difficult. The bike improved compared to previous practice sessions, but when it stopped running we lost a lot of time. Despite that we achieved tenth place which is not too bad. This forces us to do a good start tomorrow, but I think we still have a good chance to do well. Now we depend a bit more on the other riders than I’d like, but we are at home and I hope tomorrow this will be working in my favour.”

MIGUEL OLIVEIRA 8 ° (1’48 .825)
“The session went quite well. Even though we could not repeat the third position of the last free practice, we came very close to my best laptime and have improved the bike a little. During these days I’ve focused a lot on practicung and improving my start and I hope to get a good start to be with the front runners from the beginning. There’s a chance of rain for tomorrow and this can change so much. I trust in the setting of the team for wet races and I think even in wet conditions, although we can have a good race, my goal should be to finish, whatever happens.”

Source: Team Machado