VIÑALES COMES IN SIXTH, GAINING DIRECT ACCESS TO Q2, WHILE ESPARGARÓ IN EIGHTEENTH WILL HAVE TO BATTLE IT OUT IN Q1
The start of the Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix was blighted by poor weather conditions: the FP1 was cancelled due to driving rain, which made the asphalt unusable due to the sheer amount of water on the track. In the afternoon, weather conditions improved, enabling the practice to take place as normal on a dry track.
Despite the missed opportunity to test the new asphalt during the FP1, Maverick Viñales immediately showed his competitive spirit in the practice, remaining comfortably in the top ten. At the end of the session, the Spanish rider finished in sixth position, just three tenths of a second off the winning time, thus securing direct access to Q2.
Meanwhile, Aleix Espargaró had a more challenging day: in his last time-attack attempt, he was slowed by two yellow flags, preventing him from improving his time. Aleix finished the practice in eighteenth place, and will have to go through Q1 in order to get to Q2 and shoot for the top twelve positions on the grid.
I managed to push the bike to its limits after 10 laps, which has given us a big advantage going into Q2. The grip was good, but the bike was moving about a lot, particularly when changing direction – probably as a result of the grip being too firm. I feel in good shape for the race, in terms of pace too.
On the last time-attack attempt, I was starting to get faster, but then unfortunately I was met with two yellow flags. The bike was feeling pretty good, it was me who got off to a bit of a slow start. I’m looking forward to Saturday to be able to improve, and I’m hoping for more stable conditions.
Maverick did well – in the afternoon session alone, he felt great on the RS-GP24, which was confirmed by his pace, and the fact that he got directly through to Q2. For Aleix, on the other hand, it was a trickier day, but he’s feeling increasingly good. We’re confident for Saturday – we need to analyse the data fully, and improve the bikes so that we’re ready for the sprint.
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