Máximo Quiles has kicked off the weekend in Australia in third place, one tenth off the pace
The new Moto3 World Champion remains fully motivated and was once again one of the fastest riders in the class on Friday. Máximo Quiles set the third-fastest time at Phillip Island, one tenth behind the fastest, and led the morning’s free practice session. In the afternoon, the CFMOTO Gaviota Aspar Team rider was pipped only by Álvaro Carpe, who finished first, and local rider Joel Kelso, who came second. Marco Morelli continues to struggle on a day marked by strong winds and will have to compete in Q1.
The CFMOTO Gaviota Aspar Team has kicked off the final Grand Prix to be held at Phillip Island keen to keep adding good results to their tally. Máximo Quiles is making his debut as World Champion after achieving the season’s main objective in the last race, but he hasn’t let up for that reason and took to the track this morning to lead the timesheets from the very first laps. After a tyre change, the Spaniard continued to improve his times and finished the free practice as the fastest rider. In the afternoon, he continued working to prepare for a weekend in which weather conditions are expected to play a significant role. The CFMOTO Gaviota Aspar Team rider set his best time on the penultimate lap, a 1:35.423 that placed him in third. His team-mate Marco Morelli continues to struggle to regain his confidence, although Friday’s conditions did not make things easy for him: the characteristic wind at the Australian circuit makes riding difficult and forces riders to be even more vigilant to avoid an unexpected crash. In the afternoon, Morelli lapped almost a second faster than in the morning session, but this improvement was not enough to secure a place among the top fourteen. With a time of 1:36.637, he’ll have to get through Q1 tomorrow if he wants to join Quiles in the battle for the front positions on the starting grid.
3rd Máximo Quiles 1:35.423 (+0.131): “This circuit has some very fast corners, so the better you’re positioned on the bike, the faster you can ride. I’m not that tall, but even so I struggle a bit, and I’ve ended up tired because I’m constantly tense. You’re riding at 200 kilometres per hour and you have to be very focused to avoid crashing. I don’t feel any different now that I’m champion; the only things that have changed are the Akrapovic exhausts, which now have gold detailing, and a few other bits and pieces. I’m still the same person and everything’s just as it was. I’ve done my job and, if the conditions stay dry tomorrow and on Sunday, the set-up is already sorted. But I don’t think that’ll be the case, so tomorrow we’ll have to prepare ourselves for the rain. We rode in wet conditions last year and I really enjoyed it. It’s a new challenge, so it’ll be entertaining and we’ll have to push hard.”
21st Marco Morelli 1:36.637 (+1.345): “Everything was a bit of a struggle for me today. I couldn’t quite adapt to the windy conditions on the circuit, which meant the bike was moving around more. I didn’t know how to counteract this, and it was a difficult day. We need to keep working to improve the set-up and my riding tomorrow. We’ll see what the weather conditions are like tomorrow, as they can change. We’ll have to adapt to whatever comes our way.”
