Both Aron Canet and Deniz Öncü are aiming to recover many places at the Indonesian Grand Prix on Sunday after qualifying 22nd and 27th respectively. 

Conditions at the Mandalika International Circuit are among the most challenging of the year with track temperatures a sizzling 65 degrees and humidity a sweltering 73%.

The Indonesian track, situated in the island of Lombok, is used infrequently, which means grip levels are at a very low level.

Elf Marc VDS Racing Team duo Aron Canet and Deniz Öncü are now keen to face Sunday’s 22-lap race, which kicks off at 13:15 local time.

Aron Canet, 22nd – 1’32.907 

It was a tough start to the day for Aron, who suffered a fast crash at Turn 11 in FP2. After a trip to the medical centre, he was declared fit for qualifying.

But the Spaniard was suffering from pain in his shoulder and neck. Despite that, he placed eighth in Q1, which was 22nd overall.

At the close of Friday, Aron was also handed a nine-place grid penalty for posting one or more slow sectors in excess of 135% of his best session time. That means he’ll start 27th.

“I have a lot of pain in my shoulder and my neck” 

Aron’s comments:

“A tough day. I’m feeling exhausted after the crash this morning. I got back to the box to prepare for qualifying just 30 minutes before it started. I’m not feeling the best. I have a lot of pain in my shoulder and my neck. Anyway, we still gave it our 100% today but it wasn’t enough. Tomorrow will be tough because it’s so hot and humid here but we’ll give it our best shot. The aim will be to make up as many places as possible and finish in the points.” 

Deniz Öncü, 27th – 1’33.492  

After his crew had worked brilliantly to rebuild his bike after a fast Friday crash at Turn 15, Deniz was able to post two solid runs in FP2, when he finished 24th.

The 23-year old then posted his personal best time in his first run of Q1 to sit just outside the top four places.

But the Turkish rider was unable to get a clean lap in during his second run, which meant he was 13th in the session and 27th overall. He will start 25th due to penalties for other riders.

“The team did an amazing job, a big thanks to them” 

Deniz’s comments:

“We finished the second day here in Indonesia. It’s been a really difficult weekend so far. There’s no doubt the crash yesterday didn’t help. The team did an amazing job to rebuild the bike last night, so a big thanks to them. But honestly, we’re struggling. The grip levels are very low and I’m just lacking some confidence through the fast turns. Tomorrow will be a long race. We’ll just try to do our best as always. The aim will be to make some moves, get stuck in and finish the race. I still think we have a chance of scoring some points. Let’s go for it.”