Alonso and Holgado were unable to challenge for a top-three spot in qualifying and will aim to move up the field tomorrow from sixth and tenth on the grid respectively
The changing track conditions have affected the day’s proceedings for the CFMOTO Inde Aspar Team. David Alonso and Dani Holgado did not feel comfortable riding during qualifying and will have to fight their way up from sixth and tenth on the grid respectively tomorrow. As was the case yesterday, Filip Salac continues to dominate the intermediate class and has secured pole position in Austria ahead of class leader Manu González, who finished second. Alex Escrig will complete the front row in third place.
Just as in Moto3, the Moto2 free practice session was also held in wet conditions. Dani Holgado and David Alonso completed just a couple of laps to check the track conditions and returned to the garage to avoid taking any risks. In the afternoon, Q2 took place on a dry track but with temperatures still somewhat low. Both riders had secured their places in the battle for pole position yesterday, but the timed session did not go as expected at the Red Bull Ring. Alonso and Holgado struggled to ride the bike with the same ease as yesterday, which prevented them from improving their times. The Colombian set his fastest time on the penultimate lap – the sixth-fastest of the session – and finished just a couple of tenths of a second off the front row. Meanwhile, his team-mate Holgado managed to improve his personal best on the final lap, but it was not enough to get him into the front rows either, and he will start tenth tomorrow.
6th David Alonso 1:32.754 (+0.373): “We’re ready for the race. We went out for the qualifying session and, for some reason, the bike was unrideable; there was a lot of vibration, and it was impossible to take left-hand corners properly. I changed tires, and everything went back to normal. I missed out on putting together a cleaner lap, and I also made a mistake at the end that cost me time. Otherwise, I could have improved by a few tenths. Still, considering how the session started, it’s a good starting position.”
10th Dani Holgado 1:32.892 (+0.511): “The feeling during qualifying was a bit strange; I didn’t quite feel right. Now it’s time to work with the team to prepare for the race as best we can. We’re starting from tenth place; we’ll try to pull off some great overtaking moves so we can enjoy the race.”
