Gonzalez and Nozane Push to P10 and P25 in Phillip Island Moto2 Qualifying
Gonzalez and Nozane Push to P10 and P25 in Phillip Island Moto2 Qualifying
Correos Prepago Yamaha VR46 Master Camp‘s Manuel Gonzalez and Kohta Nozane gave it their all at the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit during today‘s Moto2 qualifying sessions. They secured 10th and 25th place respectively on the grid for tomorrow‘s Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix Moto2 Race.
Correos Prepago Yamaha VR46 Master Camp‘s Manuel Gonzalez took part in today‘s Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix Moto2 Q2 session and pushed to 10th place on the grid. Kohta Nozane participated in Q1 and will start tomorrow‘s Race from 25th position.
Gonzalez‘ benchmark lap put him in fourth place. Unable to improve on lap 3, he headed back to the pits. He found himself in eighth when he started his second run. The Spaniard was relegated to 13th as the times were dropping with five minutes left on the clock. He responded with a 1‘32.954s on lap 6/8, which earned him tenth place on the grid.
Nozane was pushing from the start of Q1. The Japanese rider‘s initial attempt had him in eighth place after all riders had completed their first flying lap. He bettered his time to a 1'33.940s on his second try, climbing up to seventh before the pace quickened. The number-5 rider completed six more laps but didn‘t find an improvement. He wrapped up the session in eleventh place. His effort earns him 25th place on the grid for tomorrow‘s Race.
The Correos Prepago Yamaha VR46 Master Camp duo will be back in action tomorrow for Warm Up at 08:40–08:50 local track time (GMT +11) and at 11:15 for the Race.
Manuel Gonzalez
Correos Prepago Yamaha VR46 Master Camp
"It hasn‘t been the Saturday we expected. All day I didn‘t have the good feeling needed to go fast, and I struggled to do better in Q2, so we‘ll start from P10. The slipstream is very important here, so in the Race it will be easier when you go behind faster riders. But we need to find something better in the set-up to fight for higher positions."
Kohta Nozane
Correos Prepago Yamaha VR46 Master Camp
"I had some difficulties in P3, I didn‘t have a good pace. During my first two laps in qualifying, I made a good lap time, but I still missed something. If it rains tomorrow, I think I can do a good Race. If it‘s windy as well, it will be difficult though. Anyway, I‘ll keep pushing, and I thank my team for their work."
Gelete Nieto
Correos Prepago Yamaha VR46 Master Camp, Sports Director
"We expected more from this qualifying. A P10 is not enough for us anymore. Manu can do better. He was not confident with his bike; it wasn‘t easy to ride. At this track, it‘s not as important as at other tracks to qualify at the front, so we are still confident for tomorrow‘s Race if the weather allows us to ride.
"Kohta improved a lot compared to yesterday and to this morning. He‘s more confident with the bike and with his riding style. Tomorrow it will be important for him to stay with a rider group and to finish the Race."
