Dani Holgado, who finished third on Friday, will compete in Q2 in the hunt for a place on the front row of the grid, whilst David Alonso will have to go through Q1
Dani Holgado and David Alonso have got off to a good start at the Malaysian Grand Prix after being two of the fastest riders in free practice. However, the afternoon session proved a real challenge for the Moto2 riders due to the high temperatures and lack of grip. The championship leader, Manu González, was the fastest rider on Friday at Sepang, followed by Alonso López, second by one-tenth of a second, and Holgado, third by two-tenths. The Spaniard will be fighting for the top positions on the starting grid in Malaysia, whilst his team-mate David Alonso, who finished eighteenth today, will be forced to compete in Q1.
The Sepang International Circuit is one of those venues where every lap is a challenge. The CFMOTO RCB Aspar Team has started the weekend on a very positive note, which was reflected in the free practice results: Alonso was second and Holgado third, both with exactly the same time (2:04.568). In the afternoon, track conditions, combined with the heat and humidity, made it difficult for the riders to finish in the top fourteen. Dani Holgado continued to feature near the top of the timesheets and improved on his morning times, although they are still some way off the track record he set himself last year. Thanks to a time of 2:03.943, the Spaniard finished third, two tenths of a second behind the fastest rider. Meanwhile, David Alonso noticed a lack of grip when cornering, which made riding difficult and prevented him from improving on his morning times. Despite feeling good in the morning, Alonso was unable to achieve his goal and his time of 2:04.768 was the eighteenth-fastest of the day. As a result, he will have to go through Q1 tomorrow and finish in the top four if he is to be in contention for a place at the front of the starting grid at Sepang.
3rd Dani Holgado 2:03.943 (+0.206): “Here in Malaysia, it’s always tricky to get everything perfect. I’ve been competitive, finishing in the top 3 in both sessions. I’m happy because I have the speed, but I need to improve my feeling on the bike; I struggle to maintain a consistent pace when pushing to the limit, and I end up making mistakes too easily. I think everyone will improve tomorrow, and we’ll be able to go faster. I don’t feel 100% comfortable yet, but you have to adapt to the circumstances as quickly as possible. Tomorrow morning, I’ll do a race simulation to see how the tyres behave—so far, we’ve only managed eleven consecutive laps. We’ll try to make some adjustments to improve. In qualifying, I’m aiming for a strong result because it’s important to have a good starting position for the race, especially for the first two corners, which are very tight.”
18th David Alonso 2:04.768 (+1.031): “That’s a wrap on the first day in Malaysia. I started off quite well this morning, but it was a bit tougher this afternoon with the heat. The track surface isn’t in the best condition, but that’s the same for everyone. We need to figure out how to get good grip when the temperatures are very high, as that will help me go faster in the middle of the corner. We have some work to do so we can take another step forward tomorrow and make it through Q1.”
