he CFMOTO RCB Aspar Team riders have had a great Saturday of qualifying in Malaysia, with Holgado in first place and Alonso in fourth
Dani Holgado continues to demonstrate his outstanding form at Sepang. The CFMOTO RCB Aspar Team rider was unrivalled in the Moto2 qualifying session and has once again secured pole position at the Malaysian circuit for the second consecutive year. Ángel Piqueras, who finished second, was half a second off Holgado’s time, whilst Izan Guevara was third, six tenths behind. David Alonso took a big step forward on Saturday and, after getting through Q1, finished fourth, just five thousandths off the front row.
The CFMOTO RCB Aspar Team has had a great Saturday at the Sepang circuit. Dani Holgado and David Alonso have had the opportunity to thoroughly prepare for Sunday’s race, in which tyre wear will once again play a significant role. The morning session was particularly significant for the Colombian rider, who overcame the problems he’d experienced the previous day and was able to take a step forward to be more competitive in Q1. After getting through the first qualifying session, David Alonso battled for the top positions on the starting grid in Q2 and set a personal best of 2:03.491, despite the high temperatures the riders faced during qualifying. This result placed him fourth, just five thousandths off third place. Meanwhile, Dani Holgado maintained a pace that was difficult for the rest of his rivals to match. The Spaniard demonstrated his strong affinity with this circuit and went from strength to strength, improving his times and coming close to his own track record, which he missed by 17 thousandths. His time, 2:02.875, was the only one under 2:03 and secured him his second pole position of the season.
1st Dani Holgado 2:02.875: “I’m very happy with the pole position and the time I’ve set. It came as a surprise because the track isn’t in the best condition – it’s worse than last year – and, what’s more, the tyre was different too. There isn’t the same grip, yet we’ve managed a similar time, so we’ve got reason to be pleased. This morning, during the race simulation, we saw that the tyre degrades very quickly; we’ll see how that plays out in the race and it’ll be an unknown factor for everyone. It’s 17 laps; it’ll feel like a long race because there’ll be a lot of tyre wear. I don’t think the fastest rider will win, but rather the one who manages each lap best. I’m going to try to prepare as well as I can for tomorrow.”
4th David Alonso 2:03.491 (+0.616): “After how yesterday went, this morning we saw what was holding me back. We were able to pinpoint it and worked on it: sometimes the solution is better, and sometimes not so good, but at least we had a clear direction. I managed to have a good session on the worn tyre, and I’ve also taken a step forward on the new tyre. In qualifying I continued to improve in some areas, so I feel ready to fight in tomorrow’s race.”
