Third row start for Xavi VIerge in Americas GP
The Circuit of The Americas is not easy to tame, but the Dynavolt Intact GP riders Xavi Vierge and Marcel Schrötter did not do a bad job on Saturday of the Texas-GP weekend, securing grid positions seven and eight.
Under cloudy skies and with a light drizzle in some sections of the COTA, the last free practice session of the Moto2 class took place on Saturday morning, which ended in ninth position for Xavi Vierge and the eleventh place for Marcel Schrötter.
Fortunately, during Qualifying, which started at 15:05, it remained dry in spite of the dark clouds and the riders of the 600cc bikes were free to go time hunting.
After Xavi Vierge, pole setter of the Argentina GP, had found a good rhythm on the difficult track, he picked up a new set of tyres for a final attack when he was in sixth position. Especially after the first three sectors it seemed as he was on his best way to the front row. In the end, however, he unfortunately lost time in the last sector of the 20-corner-long course. The Spaniard was happy about his seventh place on the grid after the weekend has not been easy, especially on Friday.
For both Kalex riders, the positions seven and eight in the third row are their best grid positions in Austin so far! On Sunday, the weather forecast predicts much sunnier conditions for the 18-lap race.
Xavi Vierge:
“I am really happy because this weekend has been so difficult. It’s a difficult track for me. I think we’ve made a good step forward in Qualifying and not just for one lap but for the whole rhythm, which is important for the race. We will still need to improve a little bit more. In the first three sectors I am quite good but I lose a lot in the fourth sector. We need to check all the data and riding style to find a little improvement on the bike, so we can try to stay with the front group tomorrow. We will for sure try a few more things in the warm-up. We need to keep calm and analyze everything well because the warm-up is the only time left for changes. We can always make a step forward but also a step back. The bike is pretty good at the moment and close to the top, so we need to make sure any changes are for the better. We will work hard this afternoon to make that important step for tomorrow.”
