Gonzalez Takes Third-Row Starting Position in COTA Qualifying

15-04-2023

Gonzalez Takes Third-Row Starting Position in COTA Qualifying

Correos Prepago Yamaha VR46 Master Camp‘s Manuel Gonzalez had a solid Saturday at the Grand Prix of The Americas. He secured 9th place on the grid. Soichiro Minamimoto found a solid time improvement on his second day of riding at the Circuit of The Americas. He will start tomorrow‘s race from P29.

Correos Prepago Yamaha VR46 Master Camp‘s Manuel Gonzalez gave it his all in today‘s Moto2 Q2 session. The talented Spaniard put his best foot forward. His strong first hot lap secured 9th place on the grid. For Soichiro Minamimoto it wasn‘t easy getting the hang of the Circuit of The Americas, but he continued to make steady progress. He will start tomorrow‘s race from 29th position.

Gonzalez‘ confidence grew on the second day of riding in Austin. He showed it by putting in a 2‘09.927s benchmark lap for fourth place in Q2. However, many fast laps from rivals came in during the second half of the 15-minute shoot-out. Unable to retaliate, he was pushed to ninth place. This qualifying result puts him on the third row of the grid for Sunday‘s race.

Minamimoto used Day 2 at COTA to gain further Moto2 experience. He took part in Q1 and knew every lap would matter at this long track. He was briefly in eighth position in the early stages but then gradually was relegated to 15th. He didn‘t better his position but did set a 2‘14.058s, on lap 4/7, his best time of the weekend so far. He will start the race from P29 on the grid.

Manuel Gonzalez - P9 2‘09.927

Correos Prepago Yamaha VR46 Master Camp

"It‘s been a pretty good Saturday for the team and me. We improved a lot from yesterday, and I‘m satisfied. Starting from ninth position on the American grid is not bad, considering the difficulty of this circuit. I‘m confident I can do a good race tomorrow, battling for a better result!"

Soichiro Minamimoto - P29 2‘14.058

Correos Prepago Yamaha VR46 Master Camp

"Lap by lap, I could understand better how to ride the Moto2 bike on this difficult track. It was not enough to achieve a good result for tomorrow‘s grid, but I hope to do a great start and follow the group."

Gelete Nieto

Correos Prepago Yamaha VR46 Master Camp, Sports Director

"We are very satisfied about Manu‘s result today. He qualified ninth, 0.495s from pole. Tomorrow‘s race will be difficult, but he will do his maximum to fight with the front riders. The rest of this afternoon and evening, we will continue our work in the garage, trying to improve further for tomorrow's Texan rodeo.

"Soichiro is doing a good job at this difficult track. He always finds a way to improve during the sessions. He completed many laps, he‘s a hard worker. Like in Argentina, his goal for Sunday is to finish the race and gain more experience."