Dani Holgado and David Alonso made a great start in Lusail, finishing third and ninth respectively 

The Qatar Grand Prix got off to the best possible start for the CFMOTO Inde Aspar Team riders. Dani Holgado took a strong third position after finishing just 63 thousandths of a second off the fastest rider, while David Alonso secured a direct pass into Q2 for the first time. Both riders continue to make great strides in their first season in the intermediate category and on Friday they once again demonstrated all the work they have done in previous rounds. Holgado had a quick adaptation to the Lusail track and it was reflected in his results from the first laps. The Spanish rider was very confident and improved his lap times throughout the day. Finally, Holgado took third place in the classification thanks to his 1:57.136 and closes the top 3 behind Manu González, the fastest today, and Aron Canet, who was second. 

David Alonso worked hard throughout the day to adjust the set-up and improve his riding on the Moto2 machine. The Moto3 World Champion had already finished in the top ten in the free practice and in the afternoon session he took advantage of every lap to make the most of his time. The CFMOTO Inde Aspar Team rider once again finished in the top ten of a tightly contested session, in ninth place with a time of 1:57.507, but just four tenths off the benchmark. Alonso made it through to Q2 for the first time this season and will continue to work tomorrow to make another step forward in Qatar. 

3rd Dani Holgado 1:57.136 (+0.063): “This morning I felt very good and it's strange because I usually find it difficult to adapt. I was surprised to feel fast in such a short time, but after that I knew that in the second session I would make another step forward. In the afternoon I was leading the session, but I made some mistakes. It's easy when you go at the limit. I don't want to be too happy because it's only Friday, but everything is going very well and we are getting very good results. I feel very strong, as I haven't felt for a long time. The team only asks us to have fun and to learn, to move forward. My expectations? I want to fight for the front positions. We have to set strong goals, but I know it will be difficult.”  

9th David Alonso 1:57.507 (+0.434): “The Qatar circuit is very different to Austin. A priori, this one was a bit easier because the track is designed for bigger bikes. We improved during the day and in the final session we were looking for a change that we couldn't find. We managed to find it on the last run and this allowed me to ride in a more similar style to that of the faster riders. I did a lot of laps behind these guys, which was the strategy, and I was able to learn a lot.”