Alex Rins to start from third on the grid, one row ahead of fifth-placed Alex Marquez. Maria Herrera will begin Spanish GP from sixteenth.
The second day of practice for the Spanish Grand Prix took place on Saturday at Jerez, deciding the grid for the Sunday race. Alex Rins will take off from the front row, having continued his progress to set the third best time of the qualifying session. Teammate Alex Marquez will occupy the fifth grid position, having set a time just 0.017s slower than Rins. Wildcard entry Maria Herrera will start from sixteenth, as the best non-full time rider at the Spanish circuit in the Saturday shootout.
The trio had already improved on their Friday lap times in the third free practice session this morning, and Marquez was third in the final preparation session. Rins was twelfth and Herrera 24th, but better laps were still to come in qualifying. Taking another big step forward, it was Rins who improved the most in the afternoon, setting the third fastest time of 1’46.867 –0.694s off poleman Jack Miller. 0.017s slower was Marquez, who will start from two positions lower down on the grid order in fifth. Herrera, who on her third lap out set a time of 1’47.556, was unable to improve during her 15 remaining laps. She will, however, start from sixteenth on the grid –improving on her 31st place in qualifying for the 2013 Aragon GP. The Spaniard will take off from row six for the 11am race.
Alex Rins >> AUDIO
3rd, 1:46.867, 36 laps, 159 Km
“To tell the truth, I wasn’t expecting to qualify on the front row. We have started the weekend a little better than last week in Argentina, but it has been a difficult beginning to the Grand Prix for us. We have worked a lot with the team and made some small changes, and thanks to this we have placed where we are now. I feel very comfortable, although I think that Miller is a little bit faster than us. We will try to get a good start tomorrow and latch onto him on the opening laps.”
Álex Márquez >> AUDIO
5th, 1:46.884, 35 laps, 154 Km
“We are not completely satisfied because I think that we could have improved even more, as I felt very comfortable on the bike and still had a little room to go faster. In any case, I think that a second row start is positive and we have a good bike for tomorrow –which is when the points are awarded. In practice we worked on improving our starts, because it was something we had needed to do better on after the last few Grands Prix. We will try to get off the line well and have the best race that we can. I am sure that the fans will push us a lot, so I will go out there to have fun and enjoy myself.”
María Herrera >> AUDIO
16th, 1:47.556, 36 laps, 159 Km
“In the final free practice session I found it hard to find a feeling on the bike, but we focused on tyres above everything else ahead of the race. In qualifying I used Efren Vazquez to follow lines, and immediately I got into a good position. I am very happy with the grid position, but we still need further improvement. I am more familiar with the bike every time I go out, and I am adjusting better to it. I will try for a good start tomorrow and I think that we will all have tyre wear issues, so we will need to keep calm.”
