Espargaro fastest Spaniard in Moto2 on opening day

Pol Espargaró was the fastest Spaniard in the Moto2 class on the opening day of the Australian Grand Prix which takes place at the spectacular Phillip Island circuit. The HP Tuenti Racing rider has set the eleventh-fastest time, only 0.7 seconds away from the provisional pole position, set by Germany’s Stefan Bradl.
Polyccio could have been higher if it wasn’t for a mistake in the final sector of his last lap, which dropped him from 0.2 to 0.7 seconds behind Alex De Angelis who was 0.4 seconds behind the lead. The day was marked by crashes of the two title contenders, Marc Marquez and Stefan Bradl, with the second one of the Spaniard looking horrifying, but escaping injury.

11. Pol Espargaró, 1.35.181
“During this first day at Phillip Island we have steadily improved and could have been higher in the ranking if I hadn’t made a mistake in the last sector of my last lap. In the third sector I was 0.2 behind the pole and in T4 I lost four tenths, relegating me to eleventh place when I could have been in the first two rows. We didn’t start too bad and I’m confident for tomorrow, but because we are so close in laptimes it will be crucial to use the lap and not make mistakes, to avoid being in the middle of the grid and poised for an accident like in Motegi. I believe I can achieve a good result and score lots of points in the first of the three final races of my first season in Moto2.”

Source: HP Tuenti