The CFMOTO Azul Marino Aspar rider was once again the fastest on Friday for the second consecutive weekend in a session marked by numerous crashes. Dani Holgado, in fifth place, will also advance to Q2
David Alonso has confirmed the strong form he showed at the last Grand Prix and topped the Moto2 timesheets at Assen this Friday. The CFMOTO Azul Marino Aspar Team rider was the fastest on a day when high temperatures affected riding conditions. The intermediate class leader, Manu González, was unable to beat the Colombian’s time by nine thousandths and finished second, while Tony Arbolino was third, also just a few thousandths behind Alonso. Dani Holgado will also be in contention for pole position tomorrow after finishing in fifth place.
The CFMOTO Azul Marino Aspar Team faced very challenging conditions at the start of the Dutch Grand Prix. David Alonso and Dani Holgado worked hard to quickly adapt to one of the most technical circuits on the calendar and finished the day’s first session in second and eighth place respectively. Following a promising morning, the afternoon session was the decisive moment to secure a spot among the top fourteen and guarantee both riders’ advancement to Q2. However, Friday’s extremely high temperatures—highly unusual for the Netherlands—combined with a lack of track grip, led to numerous crashes during the session, which even forced a short interruption in Practice. David Alonso proved that last weekend’s strong results were no fluke and once again emerged as one of the most consistent riders. Although he was unable to improve on his morning times, his 1:36.154 placed him at the top of the Moto2 standings. Meanwhile, Dani Holgado was one of the riders who completed the most laps on the Dutch circuit during the afternoon session. With a total of 22 laps completed, the Spaniard worked on his pace and focused on avoiding any mistakes that could lead to a crash. In the final minutes, he set his best time, 1:36.318, which put him in fifth place, just one-tenth of a second behind Alonso.
1st David Alonso 1:36.154: “There were a lot of crashes today; at one point the track was very tricky and it was really difficult to ride in the heat. If you took it easy, you set a good time, but if you pushed hard, you ended up with the same time or worse. It was tricky to manage, but I could read the track well in these conditions. The high temperatures mean the engine runs less efficiently, and that makes you lose a few tenths on the straight. What’s more, there was also less grip and it was tricky to trust the rear tyre. You have to try and give it your all in every situation. Tomorrow morning everything will look great, but in qualifying everything will change quite a lot. First, I want to work on my pace and high-speed cornering: these are key to putting in a good lap and I want to be more consistent in that regard. In the afternoon, we’ll have to switch to ‘high-temperature’ mode to survive. I’ll have to stick to the sections where I’m strong and, in the others, try to lose as little time as possible. If I manage to take pole at Assen, it’ll be a great joy, because it’s not my best circuit, but if I don’t manage it, I’ll try to finish as high as possible because it’ll give me a boost for the race.”
5th Dani Holgado 1:36.318 (+0.164): “It’s been a fairly positive start, especially given the work we’ve done in the second session. I felt really good and we’ve taken a big step forward, particularly in terms of how things feel when riding. We need to keep working because tomorrow will be a very important day. All the riders are very close together; I’ve been impressed by just how tight the field is. That means we have to work really hard to set a fast lap and be as quick as possible lap after lap. I’m really motivated to keep developing as a rider. Let’s go for it.”
