The CFMOTO Gaviota Aspar Team rider finished sixth on his first day riding the Moto3 bike at the German circuit. Máximo Quiles will have to go through Q1 after crashing at the start of the session
The CFMOTO Gaviota Aspar Team has kicked off the final race weekend before the summer break. Marco Morelli was one of the standout riders of the day and has secured a place in tomorrow’s Q2 at Sachsenring. The Argentine finished sixth, missing out on the top five by just nine thousandths on his Moto3 debut at this circuit. Máximo Quiles had a difficult afternoon, suffering a heavy crash as soon as he took to the track and was unable to complete the session. As a result, the rider from Murcia will have to compete in Q1 for the first time this season. At the top of the timesheets, Veda Pratama was the fastest riders, just a few thousandths ahead of Joel Esteban and Eddie O’Shea, who finished second and third respectively.
The weather has given Germany a break after the harsh conditions at recent rounds, something both teams and riders have noticed since this morning’s first session. The Moto3 free practice session was Morelli’s first taste of the Moto3 bike; although he was familiar with the circuit, he had not yet ridden it on his current machine. The CFMOTO Gaviota Aspar Team rider focused on fine-tuning the set-up to give his best in the battle for a place in Saturday’s Q2. Similarly, his team-mate Máximo Quiles also had a good free practice session and, although neither finished in the top 10, both laid a solid base for the afternoon. In the second session, Morelli improved his time by more than half a second to close in on the front-runners. The Argentine faced one of the closest sessions of the year, with eight riders within a tenth of a second of each other. Ultimately, his time of 1:25.976 placed him sixth. His team-mate Máximo Quiles ended the day earlier than planned after suffering a crash before completing his first lap, which forced him to visit the medical centre to rule out any injury. The CFMOTO Gaviota Aspar Team rider returned to the pits with his team, but was unable to get back out on track and will have to go through Q1 tomorrow. The last time he did so was at last year’s Dutch Grand Prix, meaning that this Friday brought an end to his run of 22 consecutive races without having to go through Q1.
6th Marco Morelli 1:25.976 (+0.125): “Today was my first time riding a Moto3 bike on this circuit and it’s been a very productive day. I liked the track and was able to adapt well. Our aim this morning was to get a feel for the bike and work on the set-up. In the afternoon, the most important thing was to qualify straight into Q2, and I managed it – I actually felt even better than I did this morning. I feel confident about setting a fast lap time; tomorrow we’ll see where we stand in the practice race. I’m happy with the work we’ve done; there’s still a bit of room for improvement and tomorrow we’ll try to take that next small step. The important thing tomorrow will be to qualify as high up the grid as possible; I’ll be fighting to be on the first two rows of the grid.”
Máximo Quiles (no time): “This afternoon I had a very heavy crash, but we went to the medical centre and everything’s fine. I was leaning into a corner and the bike threw me off; I ended up in the gravel. I wasn’t able to complete a single lap, but I did feel good this morning. It’s the first time I’ll be in Q1 this year, but it doesn’t bother me and the good thing is that we’ll be able to do more laps. With a bit of luck, we’ll make it through to Q2; we’ll work hard to achieve that.”
