Portuguese rider to start from second row in sixth, after a qualifying session in which Viñales was eighth, Rins sixteenth and Álex Márquez nineteenth.
At a new circuit for him, Phillip Island, one of the most difficult of the season, Miguel Oliveira is enjoying a great weekend of practice. He placed sixth in qualifying today. Maverick Viñales will start one row back in eighth, after a tight session in which Álex Rins and Álex Márquez took sixteenth and nineteenth, respectively.
Rins, Oliveira and Viñales had been in the top ten in the morning session. The current leader of the Rookie of the Year standings, Rins, was seventh on the timesheet, 6 tenths off Sandro Cortese at the top. 0.190 back, teammate Miguel Oliveira was eighth. Viñales was 9 tenths off the German in tenth and Álex Márquez was nineteenth.
Despite being one of the most beautiful circuits on the calendar, with its landscapes, rises and falls and linked corners, Phillip Island is never an easy appointment. And even less so for rookies, as they have to learn a fast track full of blind Álex Rins proved this with a crash in the qualifying session after losing grip on a bump. He could continue, but a little over a quarter of an hour remained and it started to rain slightly. Few riders managed to lower their times from then on and Sandro Cortese took pole position, with Miguel Oliveira sixth, nine tenths back, after stopping the clock at 1’39.262.
Just a few thousandths of a second separated him from Maverick Viñales, who will start from eighth after claiming a time of 1’39.387. Álex Rins, who was able to continue riding after his crash, was not far behind, but with 16 riders within a second of one another he was relegated to the sixth row. He will start one row ahead of Álex Márquez, who will take off from nineteenth.
Maverick Viñales >> Audio
FP3 – 1:39.741, 20 laps, 89 km.
QP- 1:39.287, 13 laps, 58 km.
“This was a difficult session because of the changing weather conditions. Eventually we qualified in a position a little far back, but this is a circuit where you can overtake well and a good first lap we can get into the top group. I think it’s all very even, Cortese is a step ahead, but we will try to be there with him. I think I’m strong, but there are still some things to improve, so we’ll see what we can do tomorrow. With so many straights, this track is difficult for us, but tomorrow we will try our best to make everything possible. I’m happy because I’m back riding and finding a good feeling on the bike.”
Miguel Oliveira >> Audio
FP3 – 1:39.605, 19 laps, 86 km.
QP- 1:39.262, 15 laps, 67 km.
“Today was a difficult day, but in the end we were able to achieve our goal, which was to have the bike ready for the race tomorrow. The first session was a little quieter than qualifying, as in the afternoon it rained at the beginning and towards the end, affecting our times. Faced with this situation we decided to go out as soon as possible to make a quick time. Here we been working well and I am comfortable on the bike, so tomorrow I hope to make a good start and reach the front group, where I hope to be for the whole race.”
Álex Rins >> Audio
FP3 – 1:39.415, 20 laps, 89 km.
QP- 1:39.649, 16 laps, 71 km.
“We went quickly at the start of qualifying because there were spots of rain, but I ran off track at a braking point and wasn’t able to make the most of my hot lap –in which I was putting in a good time. Then I went back out with new tyres, but I had a small crash at turn nine, where I am having the most difficulty at this track. We will start far back tomorrow, so we have to make a good start, move up and have a good race.”
Álex Márquez >> Audio
FP3 – 1:39.753, 21 laps, 93 km.
QP – 1:40.336, 15 laps, 67 km.
“Today was a difficult day. The crash yesterday made us miss an entire practice and that put us up against it today. I haven’t managed to feel good on the bike, so tomorrow we will have a lot of work to do in the warm up. I don’t know what we can aim for in the race; we don’t have much pace but I will try to learn and gain experience at this track, the we’ll see how we end up.”
