Salom happy with good qualifying and looking for another podium battle
It was clear already that Luis Salom is fast on the Sepang circuit. But to make the difference between a reasonable qualification and a good qualifying Salom needed a little help. A sensible strategy helped the Spanish rider of RW Racing GP to get to the fifth starting position on the grid for the Malaysian Grand Prix.
Threatening dark clouds hung over Sepang and therefore Salom immediately set a fast time. In a stint of four laps he put his bike on the fourth fastest time (2.16.698). “You never know with the weather here”, declared Salom. “If it starts raining, it is pouring right away. So I immediately put on the gas. The confidence was there, so it was possible.”
After a few minutes of rest and with a new tire Salom went out again for two fast laps. That session brought him to the third fastest time (2.15.766). “We decided to use another new tire because it’s hot (31 degrees in the shade, track temperature 46 degrees) and there is not much grip. That’s why we took the safe side. Then we waited until one of the fastest riders went out. In this case it was Maverick Vinales.”
With nine minutes to go Salom went out in the slipstream of his compatriot. With that bit of help he finally put down 2.14.682: good for the fifth starting position in the middle of the second row. “That’s a good. I am happy with it. I have got Terol, Faubel, Cortese and Vazquez in front of me. This is a group I can certainly keep up with in the fight for the podium.”
The start of the penultimate 125cc race is at 7:00 pm European time.
Source: RW Racing GP