Aragon Grand Prix, Motorland: Bridgestone Qualifying Review
Jorge Lorenzo rode his Yamaha Factory Racing M1 to pole position today at Aragon, the Spaniard’s time of 1’49.404 placing him in an ideal position to fight for a seventh win of the season.
Repsol Honda’s Dani Pedrosa recovered well after a crash early in the session to set a best lap just 0.088 seconds behind Lorenzo to qualify in second place, while Monster Yamaha Tech 3’s Cal Crutchlow completes the front row after stopping the clocks just 0.084 seconds behind Pedrosa. Aleix Espargaro was another rider to excel on home soil, as the Power Electronics Aspar rider set a time of 1’51.082 to qualify in P11.
In qualifying all riders used the combination of soft option slicks front and rear to give themselves maximum warm-up performance and traction on a surface that still provided less than ideal grip. Tyre choice for the race is likely to see widespread use of the softer slicks on both ends of the bike, though some riders may opt for the harder front slick if temperatures are warmer tomorrow.
The riders will have a final chance to fine tune their bikes during tomorrow morning’s warm up session at 0940 local time (GMT +2) before the twenty-three lap race commences at 1400.
Bridgestone slick compounds available: Front: Soft, Medium, Extra-Hard. Rear: Medium, Hard (Asymmetric)
Bridgestone wet tyre compounds available: Soft (Main), Hard (Alternative)
Weather: FP3 – Wet. Ambient 15-16°C; Track 15-16°C (Bridgestone measurement)
QP – Dry. Ambient 17-17°C; Track 16-17°C (Bridgestone measurement)
Shinji Aoki – Manager, Bridgestone Motorsport Tyre Development Department
“After another wet session this morning the riders were finally able to take to the Aragon circuit in the dry for qualifying, although conditions were still less than favourable as track temperatures were quite cool – some twenty five degrees cooler than last year’s qualifying session. The low temperatures meant all riders preferred the softer front and rear slicks and with similar temperatures expected tomorrow, this will likely be the popular combination for the race. Some riders may assess the harder front slick in warm-up tomorrow to see if this option could provide any advantage for their particular riding style, but with the cool weather set to continue it is difficult to predict if any riders will select this option for the race.”
Source: Bridgestone Motorsport Press Release
