Alex Rins takes second row start in Argentina, Luis Salom 18th on grid

Alex Rins, the surprising rookie thanks to his excellent performances in his debut in Moto2, has scored the fifth fastest time during Saturday’s qualifying practice at the Termas de Río Hondo Circuit (Argentina).

Rins completed flawlessly the expected program for the sessions, improving his lap times each time he got out. He improved two seconds in FP2 and another one during the third session. In the afternoon, temperatures raised notably and that made it difficult for all the riders to improve.

Rins will start from the fifth position in the grid, from where he will defend the leadership he reached last week at The Américas Circuit (Austin), where he accomplished his first podium. This fifth place is the best starting position for the rookie, that started from ninth in Losail and eighth in Austin.

The day was harder for his team mate Luis Salom, who wasn’t able to solve the problems with the back tyre’s grip, so he couldn’t ride like he would have liked to. The Majorcan will have to make the most of the last practice, Sunday’s warm up, in order to be able to find a set up that helps him climb positions during the 23-lap race.

5th ALEX RINS 1:43.364
“We’ve improved notably each time we’ve gone out in the track. I’m very happy with the work we’re doing in the box and I feel comfortable with the bike. At this track the times are being so tight so we expect tomorrow’s race to be very tough. We have to keep working and make the most of tomorrow’s last session to make last minute adjustments in the bike. During tomorrow’s race I’m hoping to be with the top guys from the start, since in the last two races I wasn’t able to be there for one reason or another”.

18th LUIS SALOM 1:44.051
“In the morning we had grip problems. We’ve worked to solve them for the afternoon, but we didn’t achieve the grip I needed to be fast enough. Tomorrow’s race won’t be easy because I will start from far behind. I hope I can improve my position and finish in the points, because in this start of the season we haven’t scored any points yet. I hope to work with the team this afternoon to improve a bit and move forward tomorrow”.

Source: Pons Racing