CEV Repsol, Valencia: Qualifying report
The official qualifying sessions of the penultimate round of the season were held today at the Valencia circuit, with Quartararo in Moto3™, Syahrin in Moto2™, Morales in Stock Extreme and Mateos in the Kawasaki Z Cup as the protagonists of the day’s racing. Today’s sharp drop in temperatures in Cheste made things tough for the riders.
Fabio Quartararo (FRA-FTR) and María Herrera (SPA-KTM) were the fastest riders in each of the Moto3 qualifying groups, first place finally being taken by the Frenchman. The rider from Toledo came next, a bare 19 thousandths of a second ahead of rider Alejandro Medina (SPA-KTM) who takes the last slot on the front row of the grid tomorrow. Behind and making up the second row of the grid will be Hafiq Azmi (MAL-KTM), Andrea Migno (ITA-FTR) and Remy Gardner (AUS-KTM). Exceptionally, due to the overwhelming numbers of riders registering, there was a 9-lap last chance race to decide positions 41-44 on the grid.
As in the first race of the season, Hafizh Syahrin (MAL-Kalex) will start from pole position in Moto2, followed by current leader of the category, Román Ramos (SPA-Ariane), who finished 0.751 seconds behind. The riders will be joined on the front row of the grid by the newcomer to the championship, Sebastián Porto (ARG-Kalex). The Argentine, now riding for TSR Motorsports after being absent from the international circuits for a number of years, has chosen the CEV Repsol to show his champion’s grit. Following the top three was Alex Mariñelarena (SPA-Kalex), less than a second behind the pole position rider, despite the recent fracture of his left hand. The quickest Superstock 600 rider was Abián Santana (SPA-Yamaha).
In Stock Extreme, the current champion of the class Carmelo Morales (SPA-Kawasaki) was the only one to lap under one minute 34 seconds, a time which has given him the first position this season. Together with the Team Calvo rider on the front row will be Xavier Forés (SPA-Ducati) and Iván Silva (SPA-BMW Motorrad). American rider Kenny Noyes heads the second row, followed by Venezuelan Robertini Pietri (VEN-Kawasaki). The fastest rider in the Spanish Stock Extreme Cup was Francisco Alviz (SPA-Kawasaki).
The run of pole positions continues for the Kawasaki Z Cup rider Alexander Mateos, who has notched up a pole slot for the third time this season. He is followed by Pere Llorens, with Francisco Valera completing the front row. Tomorrow we will see the crowning of the Kawasaki Z Cup Champion 2013.
The Moto3, Moto2 and Stock Extreme will be shown live within Spain on Energy TV or online at mitele.es
Source: CEV Repsol
