The starting grid for the last 125cc race of the year is ready to go, after a qualifying session in which Marc Márquez finished fourth. The Repsol rider kept the pace, in spite of the strong wind that continued to lash the Ricardo Tormo Circuit today, making the front row of the starting grid. The rest of the Repsol riders also had a good session, and will start from the third row, in the case of Redding and Rabat -ninth and eleventh, respectively-, and the fifth, in the case of Cameron Beaubier.
In the free practice held this morning, Márquez was unable to climb further than tenth position, due to problems getting his KTM in the correct position when going into the turns of the tight Valencian track. But at lunchtime, the Repsol rider went on the track determined to qualify in a good position, and from the start he picked up a strong pace that allowed him to clock up some of the best times in the category. Finally, Márquez finished 519 milliseconds off Julián Simón, who took pole position.
The session was equally positive for the BQR team riders Scott Redding and Esteve Rabat. The Repsol riders pushed their performance a step forward in Valencia, riding consistently and clocking up times within the top ten in the category. Redding, who went off the track in the second turn in the middle of the session, and fell in the sixth with barely a minute to go, lost a place in the second row in the last minute. He will start ninth, two in front of Rabat, who finished 73 milliseconds later.
For Cameron Beaubier, today’s qualifying has been his best of the season, finishing in seventeenth position, 1 second and 351 milliseconds off the best time. The Repsol rider had quite a few problems with the strong wind that mainly affected the end of the straight, as he had difficulties getting his bike in the right position when entering the first turn and the right turn before the big left, which lead to the end of the circuit.
Marc Márquez, 1’41.991 sec, 38 laps, 152 km. >> Audio
“It went better than I expected, because considering how the morning went, my aim was to fight for the second row. But I went out on the track determined, I gained confidence and that was important today, because it was so windy that if you’re not, you won’t go fast. Starting fourth, from the front row is really good, so we’ll see if I can get a good start and be in the front group. I think that Julián Simón is very strong and could break away from the group, and we’ll try and be as far out in front as possible, with the idea of finishing the race. If we finish in the first five, I’ll be happy.”
Esteve Rabat, 1’42.307 sec, 35 laps, 140 km. >> Audio
“It was really windy and also cold this morning. The temperature went up a little in the afternoon, but you could really feel the wind in some of the turns. We started well, but towards the end of the session we had more problems. There were a lot of people on the track and I couldn’t do a good lap to improve a little more. Anyway, I think that finishing eleventh is good because I’ll start from the third row and I’m happy with how we are finishing the season. We’ll try to catch on to the front group and fight hard.”
Scott Redding, 1’42.233 sec, 34 laps, 136 km. >> Audio
“It went well. From this morning, the changes we made due to the wind and both the engine and the wheelbase set up worked correctly. We worked a bit harder. The wind is very strong and when you brake, it pushes you hard. I had a little fall in turn six; although I took it like I always do -without braking too much-, when I released the brakes, the front wheel lost grip. Anyway, I think that we have a good set up for the race, at least for three quarters of it, because for many laps we even tried a tyre that went well. ”
Cameron Beaubier, 1’42.823 sec, 38 laps, 152 km. >> Audio
“I felt quite comfortable this morning -happy with the set up of the bike- and we didn’t have to change the settings much because yesterday the feeling was good. In the qualifying, it was very windy and you could really feel it in various turns, but in the end, I finished seventeenth. I’m satisfied, because what’s more, the difference between me and the leader is not as big as usual.”
