- Pol Espargaro recovers from two falls in Q1 and a grid position of 23rd to blast past eight riders and reach 16th in the 13-lap shootout.
- Augusto Fernandez continues his pattern of relentless improvement during the GP weekend but hits a rear tire traction glitch during the Sprint and finishes 19th.
- 6th position in the Moto3™ quali means the second row for GASGAS Aspar Team’s David Alonso while Jake Dixon takes 14th in Moto2™.
Sun, blue sky, sea air: welcome to the Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli, and a flat, fast, curvy and grippy racetrack full of San Marino coastline flavor. GASGAS were keen for more MotoGP impact for the second Grand Prix in a row and the penultimate race to take place on European soil this season. Large groups of fans soaked up temperatures that touched 30 degrees and almost 90 Fahrenheit but the Adriatic asphalt offered bucketloads of traction and a complete contrast to the conditions in Barcelona last weekend.
In Q1 Fernandez was half a second from making the cut and classified 7th (giving him 17th on the grid). Espargaro, so close to Q2 entry after missing out by 0.024 of a second on Friday, pushed to the limit and beyond; suffering two crashes, one at Turn 2 and another at Turn 12 that left him without a flying lap. He lined-up on the back of the grid but with even more motivation to make ground and positions on the gas.
The 13-lap Sprint saw Pol in a typically combative mood. He barreled up to the top fifteen and was in touching distance of the group battling for the fringe of the top ten when the checkered flag came out. His starting spot on the grid is not ideal but #44 has the speed and most-certainly the approach to make serious ground on Sunday. Fernandez went into the Sprint with a good feeling from Free Practice 2 but was limited in his options due to a lack of rear wheel grip that the team want to rectify for the full 27-lap rush tomorrow.
Pol Espargaro, 23rd in qualifying, 16th in the Sprint: “Overall, a difficult day. This morning I believed I had the speed to go out of Q1 but made two big mistakes. I started the Sprint from last place but I could recover a lot of positions to 15th and had the group in front to be on the edge of P11-P10, so, tomorrow let’s see if I can repeat these first laps and go for it in the race.”
Augusto Fernandez, 17th in qualifying, 19th in the Sprint: “I expected to be a bit better because I felt good in practice this morning and I made a huge step from yesterday and the lap-time was competitive. I was happy and wanted another step forwards in the Sprint but actually went a bit backwards in terms of feeling. I had very low grip on the rear tire and we need to analyze why. Hopefully we can fix it and make that step tomorrow.”
Nicolas Goyon, GASGAS Factory Racing Tech3 Team Manager: “Quite a tough weekend for the team so far. Pol missed Q2 by 0.024 yesterday and suffered a double crash in Q1 which meant he couldn’t do a lap and ended-up last; that’s not an advantage! Even so, he did an OK race and managed to overtake eight riders to be P16 but feels he could have done more. This gives us some hope for tomorrow. Augusto qualified in 19th which is not his best of the season and suffered a lack of grip but he’s confident the race tomorrow will be better because he has a good feeling here.”
Results Qualifying MotoGP Gran Premio Red Bull di San Marino e della Riviera di Rimini
1. Jorge Martin (ESP) Ducati 1:30.390
2. Marco Bezzecchi (ITA) Ducati +0.397
3. Francesco Bagnaia (ITA) Ducati +0.436
17. Augusto Fernandez (ESP) GASGAS Factory Racing Tech3 1:31.678 (Q1)
23. Pol Espargaro (ESP) GASGAS Factory Racing Tech3 1:32.140 (Q1)
Results MotoGP Sprint Gran Premio Red Bull di San Marino e della Riviera di Rimini
1. Jorge Martin (ESP) Ducati 19:58.785
2. Marco Bezzecchi (ITA) Ducati +1.445
3. Francesco Bagnaia (ITA) Ducati +4.582
16. Pol Espargaro (ESP) GASGAS Factory Racing Tech3 +17.451
19. Augusto Fernandez (ESP) GASGAS Factory Racing Tech3 +20.403
Moto3 and Moto2
David Alonso raised hopes in the GASGAS Aspar Team Moto3 pitbox. The rookie and breakout star of the championship this season used the group ‘dynamic’ of Q2 and the final blast for Pole Position laps to positive effect. The teenager was less than half a second from P1 and his 6th place means he sits squarely in the middle of the second row. Ryusei Yamanaka will fire-up the #6 GASGAS from 15th for the 20 laps on Sunday morning.
Jake Dixon made a late charge to achieve a lap good enough for Q2 and the Brit raised his game to attack the final session. Some poor luck at the outset meant Jake was hovering in 14th before a fast crash into Turn 13 ended his efforts. Izan Guevara almost made it out of Q1 and will be 19th on the grid: a ‘PB’ during his rookie season so far.
Gran Premio Red Bull di San Marino e della Riviera di Rimini MotoGP photographs can be found HERE
Results Qualifying Moto3 Gran Premio Red Bull di San Marino e della Riviera di Rimini
1. Jaume Masia (ESP) Honda 1:41.638
2. Ayumu Sasaki (JPN) Husqvarna +0.243
3. Kaito Toba (JPN) Honda +0.262
6. David Alonso (COL) GASGAS Aspar Team +0.420
15. Ryusei Yamanaka (JPN) GASGAS Aspar Team +1.019
Results Qualifying Moto2 Gran Premio Red Bull di San Marino e della Riviera di Rimini
1. Celestino Vietti (ITA) 1:36.201
2. Pedro Acosta (ESP) +0.080
3. Manuel Gonzalez (ESP) +0.220
14. Jake Dixon (GBR) GASGAS Aspar Team +0.688
19. Izan Guevara (ESP) GASGAS Aspar Team 1:36.859 (Q1)
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