The qualifiers for the Catalunya World Championship Grand Prix race have just concluded. On the Montmeló track, Sergio García (MT Helmets-MSI/Boscoscuro) in Moto2™ and Iván Ortolá (MT Helmets-MSI/KTM) in Moto3™ were the fastest riders and they will start from pole position tomorrow in the races for their respective categories.
Whereas in Moto2™, García was the fastest throughout the day on Saturday from P2, in Moto3™, all the sessions were dominated by David Alonso (CFMOTO Gaviota Aspar Team/CFMOTO) who, however, in qualifying, was unable to capitalise on the experience of these two days, finishing sixth.
In both categories, the soft rear solutions were the absolute protagonists of the day, whereas for the front, the riders are still uncertain about their choices, but they will be fundamental for the race because if, on one hand, the soft SC1 solutions have demonstrated better peak performance, on the other hand, they are also less consistent in terms of duration as compared with the hard ones.
Fast lap times with soft compounds, harder front tyres better for the race
“On a demanding track like this one, both the Moto2™ and the Moto3™ riders were extremely fast straight away. Just look at how they had already set the new all-time track record in free practice on Friday for the respective categories and then they progressively improved on them in the subsequent sessions. In Moto2™, the lap record was improved on by more than 1 second, and in Moto3™, it was actually 1 and a half seconds. Considering the fact that this track does not offer much grip, the soft rear solutions, so the SC0 in Moto2™ and the SC1 in Moto3™, have been the most used so far and they will likely continue to be in the race as well, because they are able to compensate for the asphalt’s low grip. For the front tyres, however, it is a different story. On the flying lap, or in the short run, the SC1 soft solution guarantees an advantage in terms of performance, which is why it was the most used in qualifying today. But we are well aware that this track puts especially the front tyres to a hard test, so we believe that the best choice for the races tomorrow will be to bet on the hardest front solutions, which are less subject to wear and able to ensure more consistent performance over the distance. Those who wish to opt for the SC1 front instead can do so, as long as they are aware that they will have to manage tyre wear well, especially in the finale.”
Moto2™
· The previous all-time track record, set by Remy Gardner in 2021, was broken by all the frame manufacturers. As early as in the free practice sessions on Friday morning, held with 23°C asphalt temperatures, Manuel Gonzalez (QJMOTOR Gresini Moto2/Kalex) set the new record in 1’42.860, then broken again by Jorge Navarro (KLINT Forward Factory Team/Forward) in P1, with 40°C asphalt and a time of 1’42.807, and then it was broken again in P2 on Saturday morning by Sergio García (MT Helmets-MSI/Boscoscuro) in 1’41.917. In each case, the riders were using the soft SC0 rear.
· In qualifying, Sergio García (MT Helmets-MSI/Boscoscuro) further improved on the record time set in P2, taking pole position for the Catalunya Grand Prix with a time of 1’41.894. Coming in behind him were Fermín Aldeguer (MB Conveyors SpeedUp/Boscoscuro) and Celestino Vietti (Red Bull KTM Ajo/Kalex). To do their best respective times, all three riders used the soft SC0 rear solution combined with the soft SC1 front for García and Aldeguer and the medium SC2 for Vietti.
Moto3™
· Iván Ortolá (MT Helmets-MSI/KTM) was the fastest in qualifying with a time of 1’46.749, so he will start from pole position in the race tomorrow. Behind him were Collin Veijer (Liqui Moly Husqvarna Intact GP/Husqvarna) with a time of 1’46.768 and Jose Antonio Rueda (Red Bull KTM Ajo/KTM) to complete the front row thanks to a time of 1.47.011. The first and second place riders used the medium SC2 front and the soft SC1 rear, whereas the third-place rider went with the SC1 on both the front and the rear. Hard luck for David Alonso (CFMOTO Gaviota Aspar Team/CFMOTO), only sixth after being the fastest rider in all the previous sessions throughout the weekend.
· Like in Moto2™, in the lower class, the riders were extremely fast from Friday’s free practice sessions. In FP, David Alonso broke the track record with a time of 1’46.838, improving by almost 8 tenths on the previous record set in 2021 by Gabriel Rodrigo. Alonso was also the fastest in P1 and P2, setting the new track record with a time of 1’46.111 in the latter using medium SC2 compound tyres on both the front and the rear. |
