Arbolino to begin Aragon attack from seventh

Arbolino to begin Aragon attack from seventh

Tony Arbolino feels he has the pace to challenge for the leading positions at the Aragon GP after qualifying seventh, while Senna Agius was a highly promising 21st.

  • Perfect conditions greeted the Moto2 field on qualifying day at the scenic Motorland Aragon Circuit, with track temperatures reaching 42 degrees during the Q1 and Q2 sessions on Saturday afternoon.
  • Tomorrow both Elf Marc VDS Racing Team riders have a ten-minute warm-up session at 9:20 to try out last minute set-up changes before the 21-lap Moto2 race kicks off at 12.20 local time.

/// TONY ARBOLINO, 7th – 1’52.289

  • Tony began the day by posting two promising runs in FP3, where he showcased a solid race pace in the mid-high 1’52s and low 1’53s. He ended the morning in fifth position.
  • The 22-year old tried out a new strategy for Q2, where he tucked into another rider’s slipstream to help with top speed on the long back straight. Although he felt he didn’t use the full potential of the new rear tyre, the Italian qualified seventh, 0.401s off pole.

“I’m confident to do a good race”

“I tried to do a different strategy in qualifying and find a slipstream to help me and have something more. I did it, but after that I was alone on track again. It was tough and I didn’t use everything from the new rear tyre. I feel good for the race because my pace is good. I did my fastest lap on the last lap, when the tyre was already dropping a bit in terms of feeling. I’m confident to do a good race, giving my 100 percent so I can go home with a smile. Let’s see if we can make a small step in the warm-up tomorrow but we don’t need anything crazy to be ready. We’ve decided on which tyres to use for the race and we’re confident. We’ll try to get a good start and overtake a few riders on the first lap. I want to be a bit aggressive because I have the pace. I don’t want to lose time behind someone else.”

/// SENNA AGIUS, 21st – 1’52.941

  • Senna started the day well, setting the 24th fastest time in FP3. Thanks to some good work by his experienced crew, the 17-year old felt his set-up was much improved going into his third qualifying session at world championship level.
  • Even though he felt he could have gone faster, the Australian equaled his best qualifying result in Q1, and will line up 21st on the grid for tomorrow’s race.

“We made a massive step with the bike”

“I felt really good in qualifying. It’s just I had some problems passing other riders on the last lap. I thought I could improve my time because I gave myself enough room, but I was catching them too early. We made a massive step with the bike. Internally, I think I could have gone a little bit faster but we have to stay confident. We’ve worked well this weekend. I’m excited for the race. We have to do the Long Lap Penalty and we’ll work out when the best time to do that is. Then we’ll make our pace and try to end this solid weekend well. Here you need to be smooth to be fast and hit all your points. When you think you’re riding smoothly here, the lap time comes. It will be important to keep this concentration for the whole race distance.”