Repsol rider makes the most of dry track to put down best time in qualifying. Rins and Oliveira place tenth and eleventh at Silverstone.
The starting grid for the Moto3 British Grand Prix was decided this Saturday afternoon, and it was Repsol rider Maverick Viñales who took the top spot by almost two-tenths of a second. Fellow Repsol competitors Álex Rins and Miguel Oliveira placed tenth and eleventh, respectively.
Weather conditions continued to play a big part at Silverstone but, although there was a constant threat of rain, the track remained dry for both practice and qualifying for the Moto3 class. Sandro Cortese was fastest in the morning, closely followed by Viñales and Oliveira, second and third. Álex Rins had a good run to take sixth.
In the final minutes of the session, Miguel Oliveira and Álex Rins suffered crashes. The Portuguese rider hit the brakes too hard on turn 17 and locked up the front, unable to prevent a tumble. Rins slid when spots of rain had begun to fall at the end of the session, sliding out on the final chicane —turn 16.
Both riders were able to go out for qualifying session on fixed bikes. In that session, Viñales defied the strong wind to put himself on pole, ahead of Efren Vázquez —who had used Viñales for a tow. The Repsol rider then upped his pace and ensured first place on the grid for the third time in succession. It is his sixth pole in the World Championship.
On their first visit to Silverstone, Álex Rins and Miguel Oliveira will both occupy spots on the fourth row for tomorrow’s race. The duo clocked the tenth and eleventh best times in qualifying, respectively. Both had problems with the strong wind at the British track, needing to look for a tow in order to complete a decent lap. That meant a repeat of the familiar sight of riders waiting for competitors to pass, with the side effect of an over-abundance of traffic on track.
Maverick Viñales >> Audio
FP3 – 2:18.022, 14 laps, 83 km.
QP – 2:16.187, 14 laps, 83 km.
“That was a very positive session, because I felt comfortable in difficult conditions. We were able to ride in the dry and hope that things are the same tomorrow. With this wind and with the track being so long, we have more difficulties to face than normal. We got a fast lap in at the right moment. I am very happy to be back on pole at the circuit where I did so for the first time in my career last year. I feel good about tomorrow and I am focused. It will be a tough race contested in a group, very difficult to escape from the other Moto3 riders. We will see what happens.”
Miguel Oliveira >> Audio
FP3 – 2:18.208, 10 laps, 59 km.
QP – 2:18.090, 15 laps, 89 km.
“Things went well in the morning. We continued with our work in the afternoon, although things became more difficult towards the end of the session when everyone was looking for someone to latch onto. We went out to try and make the most of the new tyre, but it was hard to get a solo ride and it was so windy. In any case, I think that we have the pace to be up at the front.Silverstone is a very long track, so we need to get a good start and get amongst the front group on the opening lap. This will be an important factor to bear in mind. We have been able to work a lot on our settings, as two dry sessions are sufficient to analyse different configurations.”
Álex Rins >> Audio
FP3 – 2:18.562, 15 laps, 89 km.
QP – 2:17.908, 14 laps, 83 km.
“That wasn’t all bad, to tell the truth. We had improved on our best time from the morning practice session just one lap into qualifying, then I managed to put in my fastest lap on my first stint with soft tyres. There were too many people looking for a tow in qualifying. We need a little more pace to be up at the front, but this is a circuit to which we have adapted quickly and I think that we can have a good race.It will be a little trickier if it rains, although the asphalt maintains an acceptable amount of grip. We still need to improve our pace in the wet, but if the race is dry then we can be part of that second group.”
