Correos Prepago Yamaha VR46 Master Camp‘s Manuel Gonzalez was on a charge in Q2 at the Autódromo Internacional do Algarve. Though he just missed out on the first row, he is full of confidence that he can fight for a place on the podium in tomorrow‘s Grande Prémio de Portugal. Kohta Nozane suffered a luckless crash in P3, which prohibited him from taking part in the qualifying as he was still at a local hospital for extra medical checks. He‘s been diagnosed with a fracture in the lumbar vertebrae and will not take part in tomorrow‘s race.
Gonzalez showed great pace on the Saturday. He secured a place in Q2 with ease in this morning‘s P3 session. He continued the strong momentum in the afternoon. He was soon in the fight for front row. His 1‘42.728s, set on lap 4/9 held him in third until the final seconds of the session when he was pushed back two places after the chequered flag had already come out. He qualified in fifth position for tomorrow‘s race.
Nozane suffered a nasty crash in Turn 14 at the start of the P3 session. He was taken to the medical centre and later to a local hospital for further medical checks. He missed the Q1 session as he was still at the hospital. He‘s been diagnosed with a fracture in the lumbar vertebrae and decided to withdraw from tomorrow‘s race and focus on making a full recovery.
Nozane is currently deciding on the best course of action to return to a 100% level of fitness, with the full support of the team. The entire crew hope to have him back in the garage and on the bike soon.
