After missing the previous GP weekend at COTA, Yamaha VR46 Master Camp Team’s Keminth Kubo made an impressive comeback to the Moto2 World Championship. Even the trickiest of conditions at the difficult Autódromo Internacional do Algarve couldn’t hold him back. He secured 12th place in the FP2 and combined results. Manuel Gonzalez wasn’t able to make the progress he had in mind. He ended the first day in 26th place in the combined FP timesheets.
Ominous looking clouds were already looming above the track as Kubo arrived at the pit box for the first time since the Argentina GP. He could hardly wait to start riding again, but sudden rain right before the start of the session meant he had to be patient for a little while longer. With 25 minutes left of FP1, the Thai rider tested the water, so to speak. He hopped aboard his bike and cautiously tried what riding at a very wet Portimão circuit was like. At the time he was one of only three Moto2 riders willing to brave the conditions. However, his run ended in a sudden crash on Turn 3 on lap 5 due to the very slippery conditions. Thankfully unhurt, the youngster was quickly back on his feet, but it did mean he ended the session in 11th place out of the eleven riders that eventually had headed out on track.
The rookie rider learned from the mistake. The crash was a clear indication of the limits in the rain for the afternoon session, so he knew exactly what to do and what not to do in FP2. At the midway point, he had climbed up to 18th place in the provisional rankings with a 2’05.760s lap. However, the times tumbled at the end of the afternoon session. Kubo responded with a 2’02.802s on his 14th and final lap to take 12th place in the FP2 and combined standings.
Gonzalez arrived at the Portimão track keen to continue to build on what he had prepared during the preseason test here in February, but heavy rain meant his plans had to be altered. He waited for 20 minutes for the worst of the rain to end before he made his way out on track and briefly topped the timesheets with a 2’07.226s. He kept pushing, setting a personal best time in Sector 1, but then suffered a small crash in Turn 8 on lap 7. At the end of the FP1 session, he found himself in 7th place out of the eleven riders brave enough to venture out.
Back on track in FP2, the Spaniard focused on growing his confidence on the bike. He gradually upped his pace, especially as he was pushing extra hard in the final eight minutes of the afternoon session. However, he never really found a good feeling. He set a 2’05.498s best time on his 13th and last attempt, that put him in P25 in FP2 and P26 in the combined results.
