Pair take third and fourth on the grid for Czech GP, with Maria Herrera thirty-second.
Saturday was a positive day for Repsol riders Jorge Navarro and Fabio Quartararo. In a crazy qualifying session, with heavy traffic making it very difficult to set a clean lap, the pair found space to shoot to the front and second row.
In the morning practice session, both proved to be capable of riding with the frontrunners. Quartararo was 3 tenths off the top spot in second, with Navarro sixth and 7 tenths down. Maria Herrera, who continued improving her times in every session, finished twenty-eighth.
In the qualifying session, heavy traffic on track looking for an important slipstream made things tough. Navarro and Quartararo were patient and waited for their moment. Four minutes from the end of the session, Navarro set his fastest time on lap 13 of his 15 completed. Pole position was snatched from him in the last minute, as he was overtaken by Niccolo Antonelli and Danny Kent. Third on the grid, he took a spot on the front row with a lap 0.115s quicker than fourth-placed Quartararo.
Herrera, was caught up in the traffic during qualifying, concluding the session thirty-second.
Fabio Quartararo
4th – 2:07.815, 30 laps, 162 km
“The most positive thing is that, unlike yesterday when we were lagging behind, today we changed the suspension setup and gearing and I felt much better. Yesterday I found it hard to get into the 2:10s and this morning it was much easier to set a 2:07 by myself, with a good pace. In the afternoon I felt the same on the bike, although the conditions were much worse, but I managed to set a very good lap. Despite another rider getting in my way and having to abort a lap, the most important thing is that we have a good pace for the race tomorrow.”
Jorge Navarro
3rd – 2:07.700. 30 laps, 162 km
“It was a difficult qualifying session. Everyone knows that slipstreams are very important here and there was a lot of traffic. On my first run I put on new tyres, although not the compound that I like the most. Nevertheless, I found a good feeling quickly. On the second run I had a little scare and I focused more on getting a good pace than on setting fast times. On the last stint I was able to complete a good lap, which was almost perfect, although it was a shame that in the last sector I had to avoid a lot of riders waiting for a tow. I’m happy, because so far it’s been a good weekend for us. We are improving session after session, which is important, and we have a good pace for tomorrow. I hope to have a good race; it will be hard, run in a group and very hot.”
Maria Herrera
32nd – 2:09.724, 27 laps, 146 km
“Today things did not go the way I wanted. Yesterday I crashed in the first free practice, and since then we have had to work against the clock to make up for lost time. I couldn’t find a good slipstream in the qualifying session – something very important on a track that I am finding hard. I don’t have a good pace riding alone. There was also a lot of traffic and on all my fast laps I came up against riders who were waiting. Tomorrow I hope to make a good start and fight in a group, learning a lot.”
