The Power Electronics Aspar rider finished third in Barcelona. His teammate Kevin Zannoni finished eighth and will start both races from the third row

Jordi Torres has started the Catalan Grand Prix on a high note. The local rider achieved the third fastest time in the category after qualifying directly for Q2 this morning alongside his teammate Kevin Zannoni. Torres went from strength to strength and fought to get closer to the fastest time, which on this occasion was set by Eric Granado. The Brazilian rider took pole position for tomorrow's two races ahead of Lorenzo Baldassarri and the Power Electronics Aspar rider. Zannoni, meanwhile, set the eighth fastest time in the electric category's qualifying session.

The Power Electronics Aspar riders kicked off the fifth round of the MotoE World Championship on Friday. Jordi Torres and Kevin Zannoni took part in the morning practice sessions in search of a place in Q2 after two difficult weekends in Austria and Hungary. Both riders finished in the top 10 in both sessions, showing consistency and feeling positive ahead of the afternoon qualifying session. Torres also has extra motivation this weekend as he competes in his home Grand Prix. The Spanish rider improved his times in each session and fought for a place on the front row of the grid from the start of qualifying. Torres tried to complete a perfect lap in search of pole position in Barcelona, but fell just two tenths short with a time of 1:47.914. This time earned him third place, which will allow him to start from the front row of the grid for the second time this season. Meanwhile, Kevin Zannoni also avoided Q1 at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, something he had not achieved since the first round of the season at Le Mans last May. The Italian rider has regained his confidence, which was reflected in the results of all the sessions held on Friday. In the afternoon qualifying session, Zannoni tried to secure a spot on the second row, but was unable to improve on his time from the morning. The Power Electronics Aspar rider set a time of 1:48.302, which placed him on the third row, eighth.

3rd Jordi Torres 1:47.914 (+0.235): “It's very special for me to race here and to be on the front row tomorrow. The qualifying session didn't go perfectly, because in the last two laps we couldn't improve our time due to yellow flags. The important thing is that the final result is good and we have a chance to fight for the top positions tomorrow.”

8th Kevin Zannoni 1:48.302 (+0.727): “It was a difficult qualifying session, but the most positive thing is that I got back the good feeling with the bike. I'm riding fast, but in qualifying I couldn't do a perfect lap. I did two good laps, but I couldn't do my best. I think today we could have fought for the second and even the first row. We have potential for tomorrow, we're starting a little far from the top places, but we'll try to make up as many positions as possible.”