Terol Targets Victory From Estoril Pole
The 125cc riders were able to ride in both wet and dry conditions today, with this morning’s final free practice taking place under the rain but the track largely dry, if slippery, for qualifying in the afternoon. A puddle in the apex of turn one caused several riders to crash but for those who stayed on board it was impossible to keep pace with BANKIA Aspar rider Nico Terol, who has dominated every session so far this weekend. Sandro Cortese and Miguel Oliveira were the closest riders to him although even they were over seven tenths adrift, Terol’s team-mate Héctor Faubel qualifying fourth.
Terol is therefore a clear current favourite for the win tomorrow and providing the rain stays away everything points to an escape attempt by the Spaniard. Faubel is currently a second off the pace of his team-mate although his feeling with the bike improved compared to yesterday and he feels capable of putting up a strong fight for a podium position. Fourth place was not quite enough to meet his objective of a front row start, which wasn’t helped by heavy traffic on track towards the end of the session. Adrián Martín continued his good work this weekend, improving his lap times and reducing the gap to Terol. The youngster is confident of a good result after qualifying tenth.
1st Nico Terol 1.46.556 (17 laps):
“Qualifying went really well. The conditions were quite critical so to have set the fastest time gives me a real confidence boost. We have continued working in the same way as yesterday because the bike was already working well and I was able to set a strong pace again. The team are doing a brilliant job and they’ve given me a competitive bike. I am happy to be on pole and I hope the race is in the dry because my feeling in those conditions is much better and the racing is always more fun. I will give everything to try and win the race but we have to be cautious because there are always surprises.”
4th Héctor Faubel 1.47.600 (19 laps):
“It was a shame we couldn’t get more out of qualifying because the bike is running better but I came up against a lot of traffic. I pushed hard this morning to close the gap to Nico in the wet and it was a positive session. It may not look like it on the time sheets but I am convinced we are closer to him than we were yesterday, I just couldn’t get a clean lap in. I have qualified fourth which does not reflect our potential but I am not worried. I will give everything tomorrow to stay with the lead group and put up a fight. Our most realistic objective right now is the podium rather than the win because Nico is looking so strong.”
10th Adrián Martín 1.48.639 (17 laps):
“I would have liked to make up one more position and get on the third row – we were just a step away – but I am happy with our performance. I am following the advice of Gino and Jorge and tried to follow some other riders to improve. Things are going quite well for me this weekend and I am comfortable. I’m starting tenth and with a good start I can get into a fast group, so that is my intention. I did a long run during practice to get ready for the race and if it is dry I’ll look to follow some stronger riders again.”
Source: Aspar Media
