Upward curve for Raúl Fernández in Germany
Only the rain and a fast lap from Aron Canet prevented series leader Joan Mir from taking Moto3 pole today, with a late rain shower in the final stages of the session preventing Mir from improving on Canet’s benchmark of 1’26.688, set fifteen minutes from the end, which proved enough for the third pole position of his career. Alongside the two Spaniards on the front row will be the Italian Nicolo Bulega, with Jorge Martín, who has taken six of the nine pole positions this season, out of the race due to an injury picked up in free practice yesterday afternoon.
There was constant progression in the Mahindra Pull&Bear Aspar garage, with eighth and ninth row starts respectively for Lorenzo dalla Porta and Raúl Fernández. The Italian’s push for a better grid position was foiled by a mistake in the final sector of his last attempt, whilst the Spaniard lost crucial tenths when he ran into another rider on his best lap, which he could not make any faster than a 1’28.134. Both riders are looking to move up the order in tomorrow’s final race before the summer break.
27th Raúl Fernández 1:28.134 (16 laps):
“The final free practice went better than we expected because I was able to lower the lap time from yesterday on the hard tyre. Going into qualifying I was convinced I could set a 1’27 but the result wasn’t what we expected in the end. Anyway, we have taken a step forward and we have to keep working like this because it is all good preparation for the Junior World Championship. The rain at the end meant that we had to spend more time in the box than we would have liked and then my fast lap was spoiled by contact with another rider. Hopefully tomorrow we can be fighting to be back in the top twenty and continue to make constant improvements.”
