Torres Qualifies Impressive 14th, Moreno Debuts 31st On Phillip Island Grid
The thick black clouds that hung over the Phillip Island circuit throughout this afternoon finally gave way just a few laps into the final session of the day as light showers provided an unwelcome interruption to qualifying practice for the Moto2 class. It led to a chaotic session that saw the riders in and out of their pit garages until a dry spell five minutes from the end finally gave them the opportunity to push for a quick lap time. Alex De Angelis timed his run the best, clocking pole position ahead of Mike Di Meglio and Yuki Takahasi.
MAPFRE Aspar Team rider Jordi Torres is targeting his first points in the Moto2 World Championship after qualifying inside the top fifteen for the second successive race. The Spaniard has taken a big leap forward in his adaptation to the class in recent weeks and he is keen to confirm his good form in tomorrow’s race. Despite limited track time this afternoon around a circuit he only rode for the first time yesterday, Torres put together an impressive lap to qualify fourteenth fastest amongst an extremely competitive field. His team-mate Iván Moreno is preparing to make his debut in the class from 31st on the grid.
14th Jordi Torres 1.35.519 (12 laps):
“I have been struggling all weekend to hold my line in the long corners and we didn’t get much time to work on it this afternoon because of the conditions. It kept raining and then stopping so we just had to play our cards at the end. The set-up changes turned out to be positive and we made up some good positions. When you hang it out on the last lap and it works out, it gives you a real boost in morale. As usual the team are doing an amazing job and we have been able to solve every problem, which gives me extra motivation to play my part. I will be starting from fourteenth on the grid and that gives me the belief that I can run at the front. The goal is to start well, improve from there and start scoring some points. Tomorrow is as good a day as any!”
31st Iván Moreno 1.37.414 (10 laps):
“With the wind and the cool conditions we took things carefully today and after making a couple of changes the bike felt good. It was a strange session today and the rain didn’t allow us to work properly, otherwise I think we would have made much bigger improvements. On my last lap there was a lot of doubt about whether the track was dry or not and I had a couple of moments. If I can get a good start tomorrow and hang on to the group in front of me it could be a fun race. The lap times are close and even though we are a little way back we have room to improve.”
Source: Aspar Media
