Torres and Terol in need of good run through the field for solid points finishes
Misano’s skies finally cleared today, giving the Moto2 riders some welcome dry track time. The previous practice suns had been a mix of surprises and crashes, but the dry asphalt brought the Márquez vs. Espargaró duel back into centre stage. The former took pole and the latter missed out on a final hot lap after a late crash. A curious contest awaits tomorrow, as the majority of riders have not had time to find an optimal setting due to the adverse conditions.
MAPFRE Aspar’s two riders were probably the most active in the intermediate category this afternoon. Jordi Torres and Nico Terol put in 21 laps over the course of 45 minutes, in order to find a better setup for their bikes. Torres found a way forward to qualify eighteenth, but teammate Terol found things more difficult.
Torres crashed this morning at the end of free practice, losing the front of his bike. This led to him softening his fork setting for later run-outs. Terol struggled with cornering and bike mobility, but took 24th on the grid and will look for improvements in the morning warmup tomorrow.
18th Jordi Torres 1.39.277 (21 laps): “This morning was the first dry session and I knew that there was a lot of work ahead of us. The track was a little damp and was drying out. I had a crash which told me that I needed to modify a few things on my bike. We made the changes and in the afternoon the bike worked much better. The team did a great job to solve the small problems that were coming up for us. In qualifying I improved continually, but on the final lap I made a mistake when looking for a tow and I think I should have gone it alone. We were missing three tenths for a better position, but nonetheless I am happy with my pace and for the evolution that we made today. I will give my all to continue learning in the race tomorrow.”
24th Nico Terol 1.39.804 (21 laps): “I am annoyed, because we are having a hard weekend, but we have to continue working. You can’t focus on what is difficult for us in finding a setting, rather than continue pushing to improve the feeling with the bike. I don’t know why I am not feeling comfortable, but I am finding it hard to turn the bike into the corners. We are coming off a good run of improvements, so it makes me angry that we are having so many problems here. We will look at what has happened this afternoon, then make some changes and cross our fingers for tomorrow’s warmup. The team are helping me a lot and working hard to find solutions, so we will get better sooner, rather than later.”
Source: Aspar Team Press Release
