Repsol Moto3 riders head qualifying session. Alex Rins to start from pole for fourth time this season, followed by Alex Marquez.
Alex Rins has returned from the summer holidays on the same form as at the Grand Prix of Germany. Victor then in Sachsenring from pole, he today has added the second top spot –his, fourth of the season after those obtained at Austin, Jerez and Sachsenring. His teammate, Alex Marquez, was close behind and will start for the second time this season from the front row.
Sixth and ninth, respectively in a third practice session dominated by Maverick Viñales, Alex Rins and Alex Marquez were able to improve their setup and their performance in the qualifying session. Rins controlled the entire runout and clocked a final 1 minute, 47 seconds and 392 thousandths lap, to claim the fifth pole of his career. His previous pole positions had come at Jerez 2012 and a further four this season.
His teammate, Alex Marquez, was part of a large group at the beginning of the session, which prevented him from putting down more consistent lap times. He made the most of the final minutes of the session to stop the clock at 1’47.686 –earning second on the grid for the 11am local time Moto3 race tomorrow.
Alex Rins >> Audio
FP3 – 1:48.618, 19 laps, 80 km.
QP – 1:47.392, 18 laps, 76 km.
“This morning we did not have things clear, as we struggled a bit with finding the perfect setup. In the qualifying session we made changes to a few things with the bike settings that worked pretty well. Because of this I felt very comfortable riding and we managed to put in a time that is very good for tomorrow. The race will be tough and hard fought, because there will be many riders at the front of the field. Therefore we can not get complacent. We know we have a good pace, so we’ll see what happens.”
Alex Marquez >> Audio
FP3 – 1:48.876, 16 laps, 67 km.
QP – 1:47.686, 18 laps, 76 km.
“We had a good qualifying session today, although at first we struggled a bit to find a good feeling. Tomorrow we have to continue in this way, to continue to develop things and work in the 20-minute warm up to improve our race pace. Tyres will be important, because they play a key role in things with how much they degrade. We will try to make the right choice and see what happens at the end of race.”
