Repsol rider finishes third in hotly contested qualifying session. Fabio Quartararo, hindered by his ankle injury, concludes twenty-ninth. Maria Herrera, improving step by step, takes twenty-sixth on the grid.
Jorge Navarro accomplished his mission for Saturday with another strong showing at Motegi, again feeling very comfortable on the Japanese track. The Repsol Moto3 rider, fourth this morning in the third free practice session, continued to improve his lap times in the afternoon qualifying session. The Spaniard slotted into second midway through the session –just behind eventual poleman Romano Fenati– and remained there until the final minutes, when he was overtaken by Miguel Oliveira. The heavy traffic on track prevented Navarro from responding in the final part of the qualifying session, but third place nevertheless puts him on the front row of the grid.
Teammate Fabio Quartararo, still recovering from an injured right ankle, set the thirty-third best time in the morning and went twenty-ninth in the afternoon qualifying session.
Maria Herrera kept up her steady improvement to set the twenty sixth fastest time, late in the qualifying session.
The Moto3 race tomorrow will start at 4am CET.
Fabio Quartararo 29th – 1:58.153, 31 laps, 149 km
“This morning was the moment in which I suffered most, because my leg was really shaking and it was very difficult to bear. The aim is to get a good pace without taking too many risks, because if I crash again the injury could get quite a lot worse. I want to thank the team because they have done a very good job. I hope it rains tomorrow, because if It does I will not have to be as aggressive and my leg will hold up better. My goal is to finish the race and I think if everything goes well, I can do that.”
Jorge Navarro 3rd – 1:56.720, 32 laps, 154 km
“We have made excellent progress throughout the weekend. We knew that because of my riding style this circuit was going to be a little harder for us, but we’ve done a great job and with each run I felt better on the bike. This morning we took a big step forward by trying a different gearbox setup, which gave me more confidence when braking. In the qualifying session I was able to keep a good pace and I was fighting for the top time. We still have to improve a little more, especially in the last sector, but tomorrow we’ll be in the fight for victory. We expect the race to be ridden in a group with at least seven or eight riders, and I think we’re ready, so let’s hope it does not rain and it could be a good day.”
María Herrera 26th – 1:57.993, 31 laps, 149 km
Yesterday I couldn’t do as well as I had wanted, and today I had to push. I lowered my times quite a lot. I improved this morning by a second and this afternoon by about six tenths, so I’m happy with the progress we’ve made. I think we aren’t starting from the position we were hoping for, but the times are very close and if we were three tenths faster we would be in fifteenth. Tomorrow we will try to make a good start and I’m sure we will enjoy ourselves.”
