Repsol rider takes second place in the Qatar GP, after fighting for victory right up to the finish line. A crash for Alonso López ends the rookie’s race when competing for eleventh place.
Only 23 thousandths of a second separated Arón Canet from his first victory of the year, as he and compatriot Jorge Martín crossed the line almost side-by-side.
The pair had ridden by themselves for practically the entire race, having broken away from the pack.
The fastest lap of the race -2:06.373- was set by Canet on Lap 4, whilst he climbed up the order to catch the leaders.
Alonso López was having a positive debut until his crash on Lap 11. Starting from twenty-second position on the grid, the Repsol rider was up into fourteenth after overtaking seven rivals by the end of Lap 1.
ARÓN CANET | 2nd + 0.023
“The race was quite tough, because I didn’t start well and that forced me to fight back to catch the front group with Martin and Bastianini. All three of us rode together very well, until Bastianini crashed in front of me, and that made me lose some time. I was able to recover the distance between Martin and myself, and I decided to stay behind him, because he had a good pace. I was waiting to overtake him on the home straight, as that was the best strategy. When we tried it, there was a headwind and it was not possible, but we have taken 20 points and that’s what’s important.”
ALONSO LÓPEZ | Not classified
“It was very exciting to be on the starting grid and I was surprised because I didn’t feel nervous. During the weekend I had a bit of trouble getting on the pace, but in the warm up we found an improvement for the setup that helped us with that. I concentrated on making a very good start and I was in a good spot between the first and second corner, gaining many positions. I was forcing things a bit on the brakes and, when trying to overtake another rider, he closed us off. His front wheel touched me and I crashed. I’m happy with the weekend, because we gained experience and we were able to learn a new circuit. In the FIM CEV Repsol I had very tough rivals, like Foggia and Masia, and in the group in which I rode today the level was similar -although I think that riding with the frontrunners will be a little more difficult.”
