Salom unfazed by chaotic weather and qualifies fifth for team’s home Grand Prix
Dry – wet – dry: it was typical TT-weather. For Luis Salom is didn’t matter what kind of weather is was. The Spanish rider for RW Racing GP is quick under all circumstances. He put in the fifth time in qualifying with his Aprilia in TVM-colors, although it wasn’t easy. ,,I didn’t ride on the limit,” Salom smiled. ,,Maybe I could have gone a bit faster, but it was too dangerous, too tricky. I didn’t want to take the risk of crashing. I prefer fifth over the graveltrap.”
In qualifying Salom was more than a second faster than in the extended free practice in the morning, while the circumstances were more difficult in the afternoon. In the morning it was dry, but cooler. Because the track was still wet in the beginning crew chief Hans Spaan, who was on pole position in Assen as a rider himself three times, send Salom out on a ‘wet setting’. It dried quickly so the Spaniard was on soft suspension in the dry. Nonetheless he put in the seventh time. ,,Maybe that is why it seemed so easy in the afternoon session,” he thought. ,,I already had an extra hard training with the wrong suspension setting.”
It proved even more how well Salom is under all circumstances. No excuses from him about weather, wet or dry. “Of course not: the weather and the circumstances are the same for all of us.'” Therefore it doesn’t matter to him what the circumstances for the race are, as long as it is stable. “Or completely wet, or completely dry or no weather at all.”
The 125 is warming up at 8.40 (local time). The race, 22 laps, starts at 12.00.
Source: RW Racing GP