Elias and Terol equal season-best qualifying results
Of the riders looking to upset the Spaniards at Montmeló, Thomas Luthi –twice yesterday- and Scott Redding had asserted their authority on the Moto2 timesheets before qualifying on Saturday. In the end, home favourite Marc Márquez took the best time in a hot session to settle the grid for the Catalan Grand Prix, ahead of Pol Espargaró and Luthi. Only two tenths of a second separated them in a competitive run for pole, with action guaranteed on race day.
The MAPFRE Aspar team continue to find their way in the Moto2 series, and today Toni Elías and Nico Terol took another step forward. Both riders equalled their previous best qualifying performance of the season (recorded at Estoril), in qualifying at Montmeló. Elías was eighth, nine tenths off pole and affected by heavy traffic. He hopes to catch the leading riders tomorrow and stick with them as he makes the most of the slipstreaming opportunities available. Teammate Terol placed fifteenth, 1.2 off the top, and gained confidence after cutting out some of the chatter that had adversely affected him in previous sessions. After wrestling the front end issue under control, the Spaniard hopes to finish the weekend in positive fashion in what should be an extremely tough race.
8th Toni Elías 1.47.107 (16 laps): “I am happy, because today we repeated my best qualifying result of the year to date. I will be starting from row three, which I consider to be positive. Our aim is not the third row, but I think that it is at least a step forward. To be honest, I think that we are still lacking a little pace, so I hope to latch onto the lead group and catch their slipstream. We have some time this evening to analyse what has happened up to now, as we need to find two or three tenths. This isn’t going to be an easy race, as there is the heat and a lot of really strong riders to contend with. We saw this at the end of qualifying when there was a lot of traffic and I ran off track at a fast part of the circuit. Thankfully that was only a scare. I want to focus on the race now and hope to get a good result at home.”
15th Nico Terol 1.47.468 (20 laps): “Today went better as it progressed. We made some notable solutions to our front end chatter issue and, thanks to the work of the team, I have gained confidence that allows me to brake harder. Despite all this, however, we still need to improve a little more. I am happier than I was yesterday, and I believe that we have found a good pace. I could maybe have put a bit more into getting a fast lap, but I am happy with how much more secure and confident I feel. In general the bike was working well, but the conditions made things more tricky because of all the slide that it produced. In the end, fifteenth is the same as my previous qualifying best from Estoril. I will try to get a quick start tomorrow and then try and keep my pace high. I hope to take a good result for my home race.”
Source: Aspar Team
