Zarco and Syahrin to Launch Thai GP from Third and Sixth Row

Monster Yamaha Tech3 star Johann Zarco displayed a strong performance in today’s third Free Practice and progressed to ninth on his last lap to clinch a direct Q2 entry at the Chang International Circuit. In Qualifying the fast Frenchman cut off 0.95 seconds from his fastest lap on Friday and ensured a start from the third row for the first ever Thailand Grand Prix at 14.00 local time (9.00 CET) on Sunday.

Likewise Hafizh Syahrin made a huge step in FP3 this this morning, braking the 1:32′ mark to improve by 1.042 seconds compared to the first session on Friday. In Qualifying this afternoon, he lowered his lap time by further 0.330 seconds and eventually found himself in eighth place, missing out on Q2 by only 0.478 seconds. The Malaysian rookie aims to work further towards the race in Warm Up tomorrow morning in order to bring home some important championship points again.

Johann Zarco

Position: 8th – Time: 1’30.471 – Laps: 8

“P8 is ok. Again, I’m just three tenths from the top guys. It’s super close! Maybe I could do one tenth better in Qualifying, the bike was responding well and an even better lap would have been possible, but it’s always difficult. About the race, it’s a track I like, so I hope I can enjoy. I wish that I can be competitive with used tyres, because that’s our weak point at the moment, but anyway, my feeling here is better than in the last two races. We have to take it easy. With the heat it’s going to be a difficult race, so I want to keep good energy and fight until the end to have a good result.”

Hafizh Syahrin

Position: 18th – Time: 1’31.389 – Laps: 8

“I was able to improve my lap time from the winter test, but it was still not enough today. We keep working hard and we’re definitely on a positive way, I just need to work step by step, as it’s not easy in this category. So, I try to keep pushing hard and work even better and I hope we can do something for tomorrow’s race.”

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