Isaac Viñales qualifies 26th, Xavi Vierge 29th at Mugello

Tech3 Racing Team rider Isaac Viñales will start the sixth round of the 2016 Moto2 World Championship at the world famous Mugello circuit, from the ninth row of the grid after a relentless effort in what was a highly competitive session today.

The young Spaniard powered through the 45-minute practice in the afternoon under gloriously sunny conditions in the Tuscan hills. He powered on and plugged away yet he was slightly limited due to pain in his upper arm. Nevertheless, he remains confident of his race rhythm and will seek to push through the field in tomorrow’s 21-lap dash.

Meanwhile, Xavi Vierge produced a tireless performance in the demanding qualifying at the meandering circuit and will begin his inaugural event at Mugello from the 10th row of the grid.

The 18-year-old Spaniard kicked off his day encouragingly as he carried on learning the track and adapting his riding style. In the afternoon session, he pushed non-stop and eventually completed the joint highest number of laps as he set his fastest on his final run.

Vierge optimistically looks towards what will be a challenging GP as he looks to continue his learning in the intermediate class.

Isaac Viñales
“Even though the end result is not where I want to end up, I am pleased with the work that the team and I undertook and the improvements that we made. We managed to solve the issues from yesterday, and I am confident in my race rhythm so I am looking forward to seeing what we can achieve tomorrow. I will try my best to go for a point scoring finish again, but no doubt, it will be tough. I had a bit of trouble with my upper arm today because my leathers were too tight and this limited me a little bit, but I will work with the Clinica Mobile staff now and for sure I will be ready to fight.”

Xavi Vierge
“Today was a really tricky day for me and I am disappointed to be starting the GP from this position, however, we will not give up and we have to stay positive. I started the day with a really good feeling and I was confident about what we could do in qualifying. However, when the field lowered their times, we tried throughout the session and we just weren’t able to post a better lap despite all of our efforts. For sure tomorrow will be a better day than today so we will remain upbeat and continue pushing in the warm up, plus it goes with saying that I will still do my absolute best in the race.”

Source: Tech3