BANKIA Aspar Squad Show Strong Opening Form At Misano
Terol, Faubel, Vázquez, Zarco, Viñales. . . a host of riders took their turn at the top of the timesheets during today’s opening free practice sessions at Misano, where as predicted the track layout lent itself to some close lap times in the 125cc class. The top ten riders are separated by a mere second, whereas for example at the last race there was seven tenths between the first and second fastest times. Intense summer heat was again a factor here as it was at Indianapolis a week ago but that proved no obstacle to BANKIA Aspar Team pair Nico Terol and Héctor Faubel, who were the fastest and most consistent riders on track.
It is no surprise to see Terol sat on top of the time sheets overnight, the Spaniard having lapped fastest in both of today’s sessions. Nico’s approach to winning the championship is to try and dominate his rivals every time they take to the track and on this occasion his toughest opposition came from within his own garage as Faubel showed further sins that he is returning to his best form. Team youngster Adrián Martín made gradual improvements to lap eighth fastest, less than a second shy of Terol’s best.
1st Nico Terol 1.44.139 (36 laps):
“We have come here to do the same job as always and to give our best on every lap. I struggled to get my pace together this afternoon but then managed to get into a consistent rhythm of low 1’44s. I am very satisfied with the bike and my feeling with it. I set a strong pace here last year so my objective is to focus on matching that, at the very least. I was set for an even faster lap at the end of this afternoon’s session until another rider got in my way but even so I still managed to improve my time. The lap times are very close here and even though my main rivals are a little behind at this stage we cannot afford to take our eye off the ball.”
2nd Héctor Faubel 1.44.333 (37 laps):
“I am very happy with the result and with my riding. We have been making quite radical changes to it since Brno and I am getting more and more comfortable. My pace is good even on a used tyre, which will be important for the race on Sunday. Hopefully things continue like this because the bike is improving and overall I feel much more comfortable. We went out this morning with the setting from Indianapolis but it didn’t work so we opened the angle of the front end of the bike a little and it made a big difference. I can brake where I want and the bike hardly moves, I can get through the corners quickly without a problem and that is very important. I am enjoying myself and the lap times are coming easily.”
8th Adrián Martín 1.45.091 (34 laps):
“I put a bit more in today and we got a lot more out. We are working hard to improve our situation and the results are coming. The bike is working well and I feel good. I am riding alone and setting some good lap times. We made a slight change to the front fork that has also helped. Hopefully we can make more improvements in the morning because it is important to be ready for qualifying.”
Source: Aspar Media
