Gonzalez Secures Ninth on the Grid for the French GP

13-05-2023

Gonzalez Secures Ninth on the Grid for the French GP

Correos Prepago Yamaha VR46 Master Camp‘s Manuel Gonzalez was pushing right from the start of the perfectly sunny Grand Prix de France Moto2 Q2 session today. He had a strong first run, setting a 1‘36.354s that earned him ninth on the grid.

Correos Prepago Yamaha VR46 Master Camp‘s Manuel Gonzalez didn‘t waste a second in today‘s Moto2 Q2 session at the Le Mans Bugatti Circuit to get his hot laps in. A strong third lap ultimately earned him ninth place on the grid for tomorrow‘s Grand Prix de France.

Gonzalez‘ top-10 P2 time secured him a place in today‘s Q2. The Spanish talent went on to show great speed early on in the 15-minute session, settling into fourth place with his benchmark lap. He briefly improved to second place on his second try but was pushed down whilst he was in the pits. He continued his efforts on his second run, but he had a small moment on a fast lap and as a result didn‘t better his time. His 1‘36.354s, set on lap 3/8, saw him rank ninth in the qualifying results.

Manuel Gonzalez - P9 1‘36.354

Correos Prepago Yamaha VR46 Master Camp

"In the end it was P9 in today‘s qualifying. This position was not my objective for tomorrow‘s grid, but the third row is not bad. I was very confident I could do a good lap time, but while I was doing a fastest lap, I had a save at the exit of Turn 8, and I lost all the time I had gained. Still, I was feeling good with the bike. We need to study the data for the race. Tomorrow it will be important to have a good start."

Gelete Nieto

Correos Prepago Yamaha VR46 Master Camp, Sports Director

"The P3 started wet, so we exited with the rain tyres. We decided not to change them when the track became dry to understand how the circuit is in this type of condition.

"Manu qualified directly for the Q2. He immediately did a fast lap, then he changed the tyres, but a little slide didn‘t allow him to improve. At the time, he was right behind Alonso Lopez, who qualified second, so we have reason to think he would have gotten a good result without that little moment. But Manu will still start from the third row tomorrow, and I‘m happy with the work the team has done this weekend."