Xavi Vierge & Isaac Viñales deliver determined qualifying at the Sachsenring
Tech3 Racing Team rider Xavi Vierge will begin his inaugural German Grand Prix from the head of the 8th row of the grid as he seeks to seal a solid finish ahead of the summer break. In the morning practice, the young Spaniard carried on his setup work with his team whilst he gained further knowledge of the undulating and twisting Saxony circuit.
After making some steps forward, he confidently looked on to the afternoon shootout and here, he jumped straight into action. By the time the chequered flag fell, Vierge had produced a lap that was just a second from 8th on the grid in what was a highly competitive session and tomorrow he will seek to undertake a typically strong start before battling for a point scoring result.
On the other side of the Tech3 Racing Team garage, Isaac Viñales endured a tricky day as he battled the physically demanding German circuit and will kick off the 9th round of the championship from two positions behind his teammate. The Spaniard finished the highly competitive FP3 session in 24th, after continuing his efforts with setting up the Mistral 610.
When the qualifying commenced, the intermediate class rookie began his campaign as both he and his team worked to improve the feeling of his bike. The end result will see him start from the back of the 8th row, but he remains determined for a strong fight tomorrow in the 29-lap race.
Xavi Vierge
“Even though the end result is not where we want to be, we have to be pleased with the work that we have undertaken at my first qualifying experience in Germany. This morning we made a big step up from yesterday and I was able to ride a lot more comfortably. It was the same in the QP session and I managed to cut another second off my previous top time and it goes without saying that this is positive as Sachsenring is another new track for me and it’s very demanding. The most important thing that we have to remember is that with every lap and adjustment on the bike, we have progressed. Now the team will prepare another step in the same direction, which we will try in the warm up. The start of the weekend was really tough, but gradually we have improved my feeling with the Mistral 610. Tomorrow is race day, which I am sure I will enjoy, and I also have to say thanks to the sponsors and the Tech3 guys for their work.”
Isaac Viñales
“I found today to be particularly challenging and even though the team and I did our best, we struggled. I didn’t have a good feeling with the bike and I wasn’t comfortable enough to push but we did what we could. We can’t change our qualifying position now, but tonight, we’ll sit down and look at what we can adjust in order to improve. We will try a few new settings in the warm up and hopefully, this will make it possible to have a solid race.”
Source: Tech3