Arbolino scores important top seven in Jerez
Tony Arbolino scored his best result of the season as he finished 7th in the Spanish Grand Prix while Filip Salac came home in 11th.
- A bumper crowd of 144,678 was in attendance to watch the fourth round of the 2024 Moto2 World Championship at the Circuit of Jerez Angel Nieto, and produced a party atmosphere throughout the day.
- The rain that affected play on Saturday was nowhere to be seen come race day in Andalusia as Elf Marc VDS Racing Team riders Tony Arbolino and Filip Salac rode in perfect conditions and track temperatures of 33 degrees.
/// TONY ARBOLINO, 7th
- After qualifying 8th, Tony enjoyed a steady start and held his position in the first few laps as he contested a place in the top 7.
- From there, Tony maintained a consistent pace in the high 1’41s-low 1’42s until the final lap. Having ended Friday in 22nd, coming home in 7th represents a great turnaround by the Italian, who is looking forward to Tuesday’s test to sample further set-up changes to get him toward the front.
“We need to extract a little more performance”
“It was an important race for us to get some important feedback and points. We know where we need to work and where we need to extract a little more performance so we can show our maximum potential. We need to be focussed now on Tuesday’s test to see how we can get a little more out of the bike. We have a free day tomorrow to watch back the race and analyse it. I think my moment is coming. In fact, I believe that 100% so we need to keep going and I’m sure I will show what I’m capable of doing soon!”
/// FILIP SALAC, 11th
- The Czech rider enjoyed a fine getaway from 14th on the grid and ended the 1st lap in 10th. From there he focussed on setting a quick pace in the early stages and posted his fastest lap on lap 6.
- Filip was feeling more comfortable on the bike than in Austin, but started to struggle with the front end in the race’s second half as he suffered more tyre wear. 11th still represents decent progress as the 22-year old gains further confidence with his current package.
“Our results are getting better and this is positive”
“I enjoyed the race. That’s important and I had a good start. I was focussed so much on the early laps as I knew the first group would try to escape. They did that, but I was still in a good position from the second half of the race. When the bike was a little lighter, as we had less fuel and the front tyre was more used, I was struggling a bit to put the weight on the front and turn the bike. We still have a lot to work on but the team did an amazing job. My feeling with the bike was better than the last race and we’re coming step by step. The good thing is our progression is clear, our results are getting better and this is positive.”