CEV Respol, Jerez – Qualifying round-up: Raffin and Noyes dominat. Valera takes first victory in KZC
The FIM CEV Repsol saw its first action today: over a hundred riders were in the hunt for a fast time to get them onto the front rows of the grid on Sunday. Working hard to get used to their new machines and teams, Quartararo in Moto3™, Raffin in Moto2™-Superstock 600 and Noyes in Superbike-SBK Privateers took pole positions. The honour of the first podium of the season has gone to Valera, winner of the first race of the KZC series held this afternoon.
In Moto3, Fabio Quartararo (FRA-Honda) completed his first appearance this season with the best time of the day as the only rider to lap under 1:47. Gabriel Rodrigo (SPA-KTM) of RBA Racing Team – led by Aleix Esparagaró – will start in second position. María Herrera (SPA-Honda) responded just as well as her teammate to the change to the Japanese machine, grabbing third position on the grid. Taking the first slot on the second row is Valentino Rossi’s protégé, Andrea Migno.
The Pons Racing team got two riders on the first row of the Moto2-Superstock 600 grid. Swiss rider Jesko Raffin (SWI-Kalex) earned pole position, with a best time of 1:44.375 set in the first morning qualifying session, while teammate Edgar Pons (SPA-Kalex) takes the third position. The Argentine Sebastián Porto (ARG-Kalex) will start from the second slot despite being the fastest in the afternoon session. Frenchman Bertin Thibaut (FRA-Yamaha) stood out among the Superstock 600 riders.
In Superbike-SBK Privateers, Kenny Noyes (USA- Kawasaki) leads the results table with a best time of 1:41.762. Dani Rivas (SPA-BMW) came in 0.442 seconds behind. Last rider on the front row is Carmelo Morales (SPA-Kawasaki), who once again is riding for Team Calvo. The outstanding Superbike privateer rider was Eeki Kuparinen (FIN-BMW).
The first race of the KZC series ended the day. Valera, Sardanyons and Jiménez, who started from the front row, ended up on the podium. Tomorrow the KZC riders will have another chance to earn points.
Sunday’s race schedule is as follows:
• 11:00 Moto3 (16 laps)
• 12:00 Superbike (17 laps)
• 13:00 Moto2/Superstock 600 (17 laps)
• 14:00 Moto3 (16 laps)
• 15:00 Kawasaki Z Cup (16 laps)
As ever, paddock entry is free on Sunday. In addition, the first FIM CEV Repsol fans at the security checkpoint on Sunday at the main entrance of the Circuit of Jerez can collect a pass to allow them to take part in the Pit Lane walk that will take place before the start of racing.
From home the racing can be enjoyed on the Movistar MotoGP channel of Movistar TV and the Energy channel of Mediaset Spain. Both channels share the signal and will broadcast the races live. In addition, five hours after the end of the event, the Movistar MotoGP channel of Movistar TV will show a repeat broadcast of the races. On Sunday, races can also be seen live on Youtube in those countries with no TV broadcasting.
Source: CEV Repsol
