Jordi Torres & Nico Terol aiming for Valencia podiums after strong Qualifying
The Valencia circuit was buzzing for the second day of the GP, with the Moto2 riders battling on track for grid positions on Saturday afternoon.
The standings leader and Moto2 World Champion, Pol Espargaró, is excelling himself, topping all sessions of the Grand Prix so far. The Catalan left the rest of the grid 0.3s behind, registering a brilliant 1’34.957, and therefore has the advantage over the rest of the field in the intermediate category, but tomorrow it will be difficult to escape at the front.
Torres, Terol, De Angelis, Corsi … there are several riders looking strong this weekend and competition will be fierce for the last race win of 2013.
The MAPFRE Aspar riders received a very special visit today in their box, with Valencia CF footballer Míchel paying them a visit. He seems to have brought them good luck as the morning free practice concluded with Torres and Terol second and third.
They went into QP feeling good and were towards the top for most of the session, with Jordi registering a 1’35.352 on lap 13 to earn third place on the grid. With his excellent pace he will be one of the favorites for the podium tomorrow.
Nico Terol also demonstrated a decent pace and good feeling on the bike ahead of the race. He surely would have been on the front row, but traffic on his last lap prevented him from improving from sixth. The MAPFRE Aspar riders are both happy with their bikes and ready for battle in their home race.
3rd Jordi Torres 1’35.352 (22 laps):
“The two practice sessions were very positive today and thanks to that I had a good feeling. I have a good pace so we’re ready to race race tomorrow. Today we gained a lot of confidence in the front end, now it is much more stable and when I push the bike responds perfectly. In the QP we were strong, but with last new tyre we had some chattering. The front wheel was moving a lot when braking. Despite this issue I am very pleased because today we’ve done a great job and qualified in the top three. We have a very positive feeling for the race tomorrow, and today my foot has not bothered me at all, so let’s try to take advantage of all that for a podium. I have to be clever at the start to keep my position and to fight throughout the race in the lead group.”
6th Nico Terol 1’35.363 (20 laps):
“I am very happy with my performance and the team’s work today. We did a great job in the qualifying session, which allowed us to stay amongst the top positions even on old tyres. In the penultimate lap, when I put on the soft tire, I got a low 1’35 consistent pace, but in the end the front end started to chatter a lot so I had to return to the box to change it. Then I pushed hard on the final lap, and improve in the first two sectors, but in the third sector, I got stuck in traffic and I lost four tenths. It was a shame because I think we could have got on the front row. Anyway I’m relaxed because we have very good pace and I am sure that tomorrow we can make a fantastic race. The bike has improved a lot, I’m ready to fight tomorrow.”
Source: Aspar Media
