The Repsol Honda team riders qualify in thirteenth and twenty-first position, respectively
With cloudy skies and a still-wet track, the second day of action began at the Circuit of the Americas on Saturday. Temperatures increased as the day progressed, with the heat becoming the main protagonist of the sprint race. Joan Mir, who had qualified thirteenth, crossed the finish line twelfth, while Stefan Bradl did so in eighteenth position, having started from twenty-first.
Joan Mir began the day with a good pace during free practice. In Q1, the Repsol Honda Team rider was up into second place until the last moments, but missed out on qualifying for Q2. In the sprint race he started from thirteenth on the grid, making a good start and sticking in his group. He finished twelfth.
Stefan Bradl continued to adapt on a track that is physically demanding. In free practice he set the 20th fastest time, and in qualifying he was 21st. In his first sprint race, the German moved up the order and claimed eighteenth.
The MotoGP race will take place at 2pm local time on Sunday (9pm, CET).
Joan Mir – 12st
“The Sprint today shows us that there is still work to do, especially with being able to really ride how I want on the bike. But we are learning and improving all the time, this is the important point and what we are focusing on. It was really important to finish the Sprint today after two difficult and unlucky ones at the start. As a result, we have a better idea of what to expect tomorrow so we can prepare better. It was a really demanding race in this heat and with the conditions out on track.”
Stefan Bradl – 18st
“We arrived here with realistic expectations, and we were able to achieve what we set out to do. The Sprint is very intense, it’s what I expected and especially here it’s really demanding in this weather and with this physical track. I lost a bit of ground in the first high-speed braking, but I am not in a situation or a position to take a lot of risks. We were able to learn some good things about the bike for tomorrow and the objective is to again have another consistent race.”
